Tag: neuroprotective

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Are your Nerves getting your Nerves?!

How CBD helps with Multiple Sclerosis & Peripheral Neuropathy  –

We have had many questions about these two things, and yes we know with that being said these two things are not the same thing!

Starting with Multiple Sclerosis, what is it? : Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that affects an estimated 2.3 million people worldwide (1).

Therefore symptoms to those with it are; pain, muscle spasticity, fatigue, inflammation, and depression. When you use CBD having MS, it acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiemetic, antipsychotic and neuroprotective. Helpings with heart rate, blood pressure & physical body temperature. Along with reduced fatigue, pain, spasticity, and ultimately improve mobility.

When visiting your doctor or physician, they will usually be ones to prescribe pharmaceutical opioids, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants. These though have the side effects of physical dependency, dizziness, sedation, nausea, vomiting, tolerance, constipation, and respiratory depression. If while taking these drugs and taking CBD, please be cautionary for it will make these medications more potent but also these side effects more prominent.

When taking benzodiazepines, these will affect sleep and staying asleep — also giving anterograde amnesia. As well as if you take this medication for an extended amount of time with getting drowsiness or also known as the “hangover effect.” If taking antidepressants to combat the other medication side effects, you will get nausea, fatigue, drowsiness. The anxiety may worsen and vision impairment and dizziness. Thus only causing more problems not fixing things, unlike CBD with no side effects.

What is Peripheral Neuropathy? 

As part of the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system is made up of two components within the nervous system of humans. It is consisting of the nerves and ganglia outside of the brain and spinal cord.

To find out of you or someone else have PN, there must be a thorough examination of medical history and also be given a neurological exam.

Polyneuropathy – cause of peripheral nerve damage

There are many different causes of polyneuropathy, with some of the most common ones being:

  • Diabetes
  • Shingles
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Vitamin B12 deficiency
  • Hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid gland)

Guillan Barre Syndrom:

One of the severe leading type of polyneuropathy. Characterizations of this would be progressive tingling and weakness, starting in the feet and rapidly growing up the legs. GBS can then affect the muscles that control breathing.

Mononeuropathy

It is a localized neuropathy, which is where only one nerve is damaged. Usually from trauma, compression, or entrapment. Which would be carpal tunnel syndrome, which refers to compression of the median nerve, causing numbness and tingling in the wrist.

Sensory

Receiving input from various locations of the body. Then to send messages to the brain about the body’s sensations, such as hot and cold, pain, and touch. If a sensory nerve is damaged, these would be the results.
  • Lack of sensation to pain changes in temperature
  • Unusual sensations like vibration, numbness, and tingling, burning, stabbing, electrical, or crawling
  • Pain from a light touch that is ordinarily painless (called allodynia)
  • Loss of position sense and balance problems
  • Change in temperature
Diabetic polyneuropathy is an example of predominantly sensory nerve damage (in this case, from high blood sugar levels). Symptoms usually begin in the toes and feet (on both sides of the body) and may include numbness, prickling, tingling, burning, and pain which become worse in the evening or while sleeping. If the disease progresses, it will then move up the legs, mid-calves, and even hand problems would begin to develop.

Motor

Motor nerves transmit messages from the brain and spinal cord, telling various muscles to move. When motor nerves are damaged, the most common symptom is muscle weakness.

Other symptoms and signs may include:

  • Muscle cramping and shrinking
  • Fasciculations (when a muscle twitches without your control)
  • Reflex abnormalities

Autonomic

By regulating how your internal organs, such as your blood vessels, stomach, heart, and sweat glands, function.
Common symptoms and signs of autonomic nerve damage include:
  • Excess sweating
  • Heat intolerance
  • Early satiety
  • Impotence
  • Orthostatic hypotension
Keep in mind, the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can range in intensity from mildly bothersome to severe and disabling and develop gradually over the years, or in some cases, over days.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy begins with a neurological examination.

Neurological Examination

Blood Tests

Nerve-Specific Tests

Autonomic Tests

How CBD Can Help:

For example, if a person’s neuropathy is occurring as a result of diabetes, then obtaining better and tight control of glucose (sugar) levels may help preserve nerve function. Likewise, if a nutritional deficiency is the neuropathy culprit, then correcting it, should help the neuropathy. Therefore, CBD can help with maintaining correct blood sugar levels. As well as pain reduction, better sleep, and improved function, even in patients with symptoms refractory to standard therapies.
Many Doctors usually recommend the use of the following, but these only show adverse side effects and can hurt the body over time, only to cause more issues to arise.

1. Browne P, Chandraratna D, Angood C, Tremlett H, Baker C, Taylor BV, et al. Atlas of multiple sclerosis 2013: a growing global problem with widespread inequity. Neurology (2014) 83:1022–4.10.1212/WNL.0000000000000768