After almost a month stay at UNC, Kim’s nurse brought her a one-page document outlining her dietary restrictions during discharge to complete the remainder of her outpatient care at a nearby hotel close to the hospital. She immediately began to ask questions as she was astonished there were no healthy, whole foods or plant based foods listed nor approved. Her immune system was as frail as a newborn. She’d even have to redo all of her childhood booster shots! Her bones ached and the protein drink suggested tasted like a bag of sugar to her over-stimulated taste buds. Narcotics only increased her sensitive gut issues stemmed from the amyloidosis and her back pain was so chronic even a laughing joke would have her in tears from the pain. The anger simply turned to fuel. She began to research cancer- causes and preventions, anything she could find. Time and time again, most of the periodicals mentioned cannabis in some form. Calling out THC or CBD, it was very interesting as well as encouraging. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the two most known cannabinoids in cannabis with numerous healing properties, including the ability to minimize depression, anxiety, chronic pain, inflammation, and insomnia. Both cannabinoids are great at reducing inflammation and inducing sleep and/or relaxation. To an ill patient needing nutrition, it is important to note THC aids in appetite stimulation. CBD does not contain the psychoactive power that gets one high like that of THC. More and more research is beginning to identify which illnesses benefit most from each form of cannabis.
Once fully returning to Charlotte, Kim completely changed her regimen. She became vegan and followed a clean diet, utilizing natural and organic skincare and cleaning products. She began taking routine yoga classes. She started taking CBD. She quickly discovered it helped her mobility and her gut inflammation altogether. Yoga allowed her body to relax and release the tension in her muscles. The more she practiced, the deeper she could get into poses. If she became sore after a class, she would apply a CBD topical to her back. The topical served as a quick rescue aid and made a difference immediately to the overall pain. She also paid attention to triggers. Sometimes over exertion would crank her back pain. Stress or hard to digest foods would aggravate her gut. When her stomach started to swell or bloat, she’d take a CBD capsule to eliminate the ache and the inflammation to find relief. By this point opiods had been tossed out as she had found a more holistic approach and one easier on her body. CBD comes in many forms. The most popular forms available are ingesting or edibles, rubs or topicals, inhaling vapes or smokable products, and sublinguals that go under the tongue.
Photos Courtesy of 1) Shutterstock 2018 2) Burst 2018 (yoga) 3) Authentic Hemp Company 2018
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