CBD Oil: What is it + How does it work?

CBD: abbreviation for cannabidiol, one of the many cannabinoids, or chemical compounds, found in marijuana and hemp. But hold up, wait, no – it doesn’t get you high. CBD contains such a low dosage of THC (another compound in cannabis which is “psychoactive”) that it won’t produce the “stoned” or “high” effect that you get when you smoke marijuana. So essentially, you’re able to enjoy all of the natural benefits of the marijuana plant without the “side effects.” CBD interacts with the body through the endogenous cannabinoid system (ECS) or endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system regulates the body’s “homeostasis,” or general state of balance, from mood, sleep, appetite, hormone regulation, and pain and immune response. Essentially, it attempts to restore our body’s “normal balance” to make us feel at our optimal level. In the past decade or more, there have been over 23,000 of studies published in peer reviewed medical journals detailing the effects of cannabis, cannabis oil, and cannabinoids on the body. Needless to say, there’s a lot of good information to be found about the positive effects of CBD Oil for people.

I first heard about CBD Oil from a friend who started taking it to help treat her anxiety and inflammation in her body… I was immediately intrigued and began doing my research. But first, let me take a minute to give you my “backstory in a nutshell” on why this interested me…

Back in November of last year my health took an unexpected turn, I started experiencing a series of pretty scary health issues, which I now know was due to hyperthyroidism. I’ve spent most of 2017 trying to treat my condition naturally in the attempt to find and heal the root of my issues. I’ve done more blood testing this year than my entire life combined and I’ve found a lot of “interesting” things about myself. I’ve discovered I have a methylation gene mutation MTRR that makes it difficult for my body to process and release toxins. I also found out through a test called C4A that I have a histamine intolerance – basically certain foods I was eating were making me extremely sick. I also have something called “Leaky Gut Syndrome” which basically means that the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged, causing undigested food particles, toxic waste products and bacteria to “leak” through the intestines and flood the blood stream. Gross, right? Yuck.  All of those things essentially contributed to the downfall of my thyroid – lol. The more built-up toxins in my blood stream, the more toxic my body became until it damaged my thyroid so much that it started leaking hormone into my body causing my body to, for the lack of a better term, completely freak out (debilitating anxiety, panic attacks, extreme stomach issues, heart palpitations + arrhythmia, hair loss, cracked nails, insomnia...) I’ve been taking an arsenal of supplements that have been helping + healing me for the past 9 months or so, but I’m still not 100% – and my ultimate goal is to be as close to that as possible… So my search for answers and treatments continues… Which is what circles me back to the CBD Oil… 

After doing a ton of research on CBD itself and how it effects the body I dove into the research of what company I should order from. This is the intimidating part – with so many companies out there it’s hard to know which is legit and which isn’t (not all CBD oil is created the same and not all companies follow the proper protocol in testing and producing their CBD oil.) It was around this time that another friend had posted on social media about her experience with CBD Oil from a company called ThoughtCl0ud and after hearing her feedback I knew I needed to check out this company myself… Heading over to their site I noticed they had a chat feature (which I love) and I immediately logged into that where I found myself chatting with Leo Pena who is actually the founder + owner of the company and is also a chemist, biologist, formulator, herbologist, and holistic medical practitioner. I told him about my hyperthyroidism condition and even asked him questions about his product vs a couple other “big names” in the CBD world. He was super patient, answered all my questions, explained his testing process for his product, etc. I felt a definite sense of peace after talking to Leo not only about embarking on the CBD Oil journey but doing it with his product. I purchased the Full Spectrum CBD (750mg) in whole plant oil (there is also a coconut oil option as well.) If you go to the shop section of his website you’ll be able to see all the options and different mg for each. The different mg options aren’t differing as far as potency, that’s simply quantity (I say this because I was confused at first and figured others may be as well.) All of the formulas are the same, just in different quantity so I chose at the price point I felt comfortable with starting out with a new product and the 750mg lasted me about a month, taking a full dropper daily. Recommend dosing was a half dropper 2X a day but I noticed I did best when taking a full dropper 2 hours before bed time. You’ll want to experiment with dosing to find what works best for you and Leo is great and will absolutely help to guide you (another reason I chose this company over others.) You also can get $5 off your first order by using my coupon code JENNRICHARDSON.

Let me say this, I was nervous. With every new supplement I add to my “arsenal” and every new treatment or medication I have attempted this past year – I’m always nervous. How will my body react? Will I have side effects? Will I feel better, or worse? What will it taste like, will it be gross? Maybe that’s a normal mental response – maybe that’s my extreme Type A response – but regardless, that’s where my head was at. I remember texting back and forth with a friend a couple days before taking my first dose and telling her how nervous I was and she felt the same way. But finally, I gathered up my courage and I told myself “look, you did the research, you bought the product, now it’s time to test it out.” So I went for it.

Around 11am I filled my dropper up half-way and dropped the green oil under my tongue. Dropping under the tongue is recommended for best absorption although you can rub on your skin if you prefer. I let it sit there (per recommendation) without swallowing and let it kind of “set” into my mouth. The taste wasn’t bad at all (I was anticipating it being gross based on some of the reviews I had read, but it wasn’t) it tastes very “earthy” basically exactly what you would imagine a plant tasting like – there you go. The aftertaste lasts for a couple of minutes before it dissipates completely. For me, I felt the effects within the hour. I was calmer, a little sleepy, more relaxed. My purpose for taking the CBD Oil was to 1) help with the inflammation in my body 2) to help me relax + sleep better at night when my Cortisol levels spike the highest. That being said, for me, taking during the daytime didn’t really serve my purpose and I decided the next day I was going to take in the evening instead – which is what I’ve been doing most days since.

I’ve been taking for over a month now (on my second bottle) and my feedback is that it definitely works. You can feel your body relax, you can just feel this sense of calm come over you (I do a full dropper around 9pm at night.) You don’t feel “high” or “stoned” or anything you might equate with ingesting a cannabinoid. Just relaxed and peaceful. I would say for people who struggle with anxiety this would be excellent to take during the day, it would probably balance you out. For people that struggle with insomnia (like me) you may find taking the full dose before bed would better suit you. Like I said before, just experiment with the dosing to find what works best for your body. I’ve also found that it has helped the inflammation in my mouth, which was interesting. I’ve had chronic inflammation in my gums, that only got worse as things with my thyroid worsened) and basically every trip to the dentist left me with a bloody, painful mouth. My last trip to the dentist a couple of weeks ago they asked me if I was doing anything different because the inflammation in my gums was almost nonexistent and they saw such visible improvement. It was something I hadn’t thought about when I started CBD but it was such  an exciting realization that it was in fact working! I’ll have my blood tests repeated in December for my thyroid, cortisol and vitamin levels so I’ll be able to compare my levels before starting the CBD with now. Regardless of seeing the numbers on paper, I can tell you how I feel, and I can feel it working and for that I am grateful.

Definite CBD Oil believer.

SAVE $5 OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER WITH THOUGHTCL0UD WITH CODE JENNRICHARDSON.