You can use cannabis to ease various menopause symptoms. This post discusses the top ones. Continue reading to learn more.
The Use of Cannabis for Menopause Symptoms: Hot Flashes, Mood Swings, and More.
Menopause is every woman’s hormonal challenge experienced at a later age. This inevitable phasecomes with many health issues and discomforting conditions a woman must face. For instance, hot flashes and mood swings are the most-known troublesome symptoms that may occur during perimenopause and menopause.
Women seek different ways to relieve their symptoms when this irreversible stage arrives. Some resort to traditional medications that may have adverse side effects. But cannabis legalization has paved the way for American women to use it to manage their symptoms. The trend is so popular that surveys reveal about 80% of American women use cannabis to manage their menopause-related issues.
The question is, does cannabis really benefit women during menopause? If it does, how effective is it? This post explores this alternative remedy for women. Read on to learn how you can benefit from it.
What Research Reveals About Cannabis and Menopause Symptoms
So, what does research say about cannabis and its use in relieving menopause symptoms? This section examines the facts from reputable studies and surveys. The average agreement is that more women are embracing this remedy.For example, a 2020 study reveals that about 25% of female American veterans use cannabis to manage their menopause symptoms.
Another new study featured in the journal Menopause suggests that the actual number of menopausal and perimenopausal women treating their symptoms using cannabis is higher than people think. No wonder Dr. Stephanie Faubion, the medical director of the North American Menopause Society, said the following in a press release.
“This study suggests that medical cannabis use may be common in midlife women experiencing menopause-related symptoms.”
She further stated that medical experts should interview patients regarding their cannabis use for menopause symptoms. Faubion also recommends doctors to provide recommendations for safe cannabis use based on the available clinical evidence.
This way, one can see that cannabis suits women seeking to improve their sleep, mood, and anxiety symptoms. Marijuana is beneficial here because it dims the prefrontal cortex, our brain’s decision-making section. You may find more valuable information regarding this topic at https://askgrowers.com/blog/can-cannabis-help-women-deal-with-menopause-symptoms.
Top Ways Cannabis Relieves Menopause Symptoms
So, marijuana helps women with their menopause symptoms. The question is, how does it do it? First, cannabis has substances that mimic a chemical(anandamide) female ovaries produce. This chemical’s production reduces during menopause.
Anandamide is an endocannabinoid, a moleculethe body produces. These molecules share a structure with cannabinoids. Endocannabinoids comprise our bodies’ endocannabinoid system, which regulates emotional processing, sleep, and temperature regulation.Can you see why it improves menopause’s top symptoms (hot flashes, insomnia, and mood swings)?
Anandamide also influences the female reproductive system, as its levels are proportional to estrogen levels but drop during menopause and cause symptoms.
CBD also represents a viable alternative to hormonal therapy many women resort to during menopause. This remedy can feature estrogen or can combine it with progestin. The problem is that this treatment has potentially deadly side effects, including blood clots, breast cancer, and stroke. Others use antidepressants to alleviate hot flashes, but these remedies aren’t any better.
Benefits of Cannabis for Menopause
Some women try unproven non-prescription supplements and herbals. Others utilize acupuncture and chiropractic interventions. However, the good news is that cannabis can become a safe and clinically proven method for alleviating menopause symptoms. This is how it helps.
Mood changes
Mood swings are common menopause symptoms because the hormone-controlling moods reduce during this stage. A 2010 study in mice discovered that CBD works like an antidepressantin the brain and alleviatesdepression symptoms. CBD mimics our body’s mood-controlling hormones, causing much-neededrelief.
Sleep disturbances
CBD oil reduces sleep disturbances and anxiety. Most women in this phase complain about sleeping difficulties, which negatively interfere with their daily lives. Thankfully, a2016 case study on an individual with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) revealed that CBD oil could reduce sleep disturbances and anxiety.
Bone density loss
Low bone density is common during menopause. Brittle bones expose a patient to bruises and bone fracturing. Fortunately, CBD interacts with the body’s cannabinoid receptors that affect bone density loss. CBD can reduce the rate at which bones lose weight, especially during menopause. Thus, there’s much promising clinical evidence in this realm, as researchers have just begun to unravel how the endocannabinoid system works and its role in bone health.
Hot flashes
Lastly, cannabis helps with hot flashes because its cannabinoids mimic the body’s endocannabinoid responsible for regulating temperature. Cannabis contains two main elements—tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
THC causes you to feel “high,” but CBD is more soothing. THC imitates some of the body’s natural endocannabinoidsregulatingbody temperature. This functional similarity explains why THC-based remedies reduce hot flashes.
Experts agree that cannabis may also help treat anxiety and depression, sleep disturbance, and vaginal dryness during menopause. It affects the amygdala, which regulatesour emotions, behavior, and motivations. These three elements heighten when menopause arrives. Fortunately,using cannabis in different forms suppresses the response, reducinganxiety and depression.
What Are Women Users and Medical ExpertsSaying About Cannabis and Menopause Symptoms?
So, what are women users and doctors saying about cannabis use and menopause? We quote some ladies as interviewed by the Washington Post. Look at what they say about this natural alternative.
Nola Blackburn
Nola Blackburn, a 49-year-old lady from West Kelowna, British Columbia, said she hates using hormones (for the reasons we saw earlier). So, she takes daily cannabis pills daily to manage her symptoms. Here are her words:
“I find I sleep better and have fewer nightmares due to the anxiety caused by hormonal fluctuations.”
Vanessa Fleeton
Vanessa Fleeton, a 53-year-old, said cannabis is her best choice for managing various menopause symptoms. Some symptoms she treats using cannabis include sleep challenges, anxiety, body aches, and brain fog. Below is her testimonial.
“Medical marijuana is much better than anything else that I’ve tried for menopause.”
Women doctors aren’t lagging. Below are some thoughts from leading American doctors regarding cannabis and menopause symptoms, as captured by TODAY.com.
Dr. Lauren Streicher
She is the medical director of Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, Chicago. Lauren has written several books about menopause symptoms. In her most recent book titled, “Hot Flash Hell,” In her most recent book, “Hot Flash Hell,” Lauren dedicates a whole chapter to guiding women on utilizing cannabis to treat hot flashes. Here are her words.
“What we know is many women use cannabis to relieve menopause symptoms, and they really have no direction at all…So far, we haven’t hadenough research on this subject.”
Please note her tone. She doesn’t warn women against using medical marijuana for their menopause symptoms but emphasizes correct usage.
Dr. Sameena Rahman
This lady is another prominent American doctor. Below are excerpts of what she told VeryWellHealth in an interview regarding menopause symptoms and cannabis. Dr. Sameena Rahman, MD, is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist at the Center for Gynecology and Cosmetics, Chicago. She testifies that cannabis has benefited some of her patients in managing mood or sleep challenges.
Rahman confesses she can confidently recommend cannabis for patients who don’t want primary treatment options like hormonal therapy. She asks her menopausal patients about their treatment history and experience with hormonal therapy before recommending cannabis.
“The fact is people use cannabis. And depending on patients’ perceptions, it seems to help relieve their symptoms.”
“She’s sleeping better than she has been, she’s doing better at work, she’s doing better with her children, she’s handling things a lot better…Her overall function has improved.”
This way, you can see that medical practitioners are growing increasingly positive about cannabis use in menopause. It’s vital to inform patients and encourage them to seek a physician’s consultation before using cannabis to treat menopause symptoms. The reason is that cannabis can interfere with some conventional treatments and affects anesthesia amounts one might need when undergoing surgery.
Bottom Line
There you go with all you need to know about cannabis and its impact on menopause symptoms. Go ahead and use them to make an informed decision.
The author of this article is Lana Braslavska, a cannabis expert and writer at AskGrowers. Lana is passionate about sharing her knowledge about cannabis benefits with female consumers and improving women’s health and well-being with safe weed products for various health conditions.