I was in a bad way at about age 47.
Sleep was a mess. Rolling panic attacks.
I tried everything!!
First, I went the whole doctor route.
Xanax. Losartan. Propranolol.
Oh Boy. That's not going to work.
I felt terrible!!
ER-level bad.
No problem...a new round of medications to offset or replace the prior round.
Ativan. Hydrochlorothiazide. Metroproponol.
ER visits. Part Deux.
Okay…let's really send her reeling.
Lexapro after Klonopin. A beta-blocker. New fangled ACE inhibitor for good measure.
So...3rd ER visit with a bad reaction to anti-nausea prescription (didn't like the Lexapro).
That almost broke me.
I stopped all of it. This was my personal choice.
I don't recommend this course for others but it was killing me.
I then started researching and trying everything under the sun.
5HTP. Terrible stomach response
L-Theanine. Didn't like how that felt.
On and on.
There are probably about 40 bottles of anything and everything dealing with anxiety, mood, and gut in a big white bag at the bottom of our pantry.
Finally, bioidentical hormones...primarily progesterone and estradiol (the protective version of estrogen) brought relief.
I was still having issues at night with sleep and anxiousness.
I came across CBD in my many searches online.
Wrong turns. Dead ends. Bad info.
I asked my friends if they had heard of CBD.
Or even used it!
Not much there.
Hmmmm. Not a good start.
I went online and tried to compare the CBD brands out there.
Good luck!
- They all claim to be the best.
- The purest.
- The most organic.
Etc.
I ordered a bottle of CBD oil from a brand that stated they made their CBD for women.
It had a comforting brand name and look that could be mistaken for a skin moisturizer so I took the bait.
It was pretty expensive but I need something to finish off my night issues.
I wouldn't realize until much later just how expensive it was.
A rookie mistake!
The bottle arrived with not much guidance in a simple bubble-wrapped postal envelope.
The receipt was the only thing there.
- When do I take it?
- How much?
- Is it safe?
- Do I refrigerate it?
You know...the basics.
Nothing!
By the way, check out our CBD Quick Start Guide to many basic questions.
First time to the CBD Rodeo
The first time I tried CBD was pretty funny.
You would think I was testing out LSD for the first time!
In highsight, pretty funny.
I took about half a dropper and put it in the mouth.
Not a great taste.
Very "planty".
Kind of like the terrible wheatgrass fad from a decade ago (good riddance).
I braced myself and waited for...I don't know...my head to pop off!
That didn't happen.
How much did I take?
I honestly couldn't tell from the instructions.
The bottle said 250mg of CBD.
250 sounds like a lot.
I read online that serious issues were looking at 300-600mgs so 250 should be big, right?
I went to bed that night and CBD didn't do much for my sleep.
Turns out it was 250mg for the WHOLE bottle!
There was probably less than 8-9mg per dropper.
I only had ½ a dropper.
I didn't know!
It was a total rip off.
That's why CBD did nothing for me.
I kept reading about how great CBD was working for people.
I'll try again.
Another day. Another brand of CBD.
This one said 1000 mg.
That's better right?
Turns out it was 1000 mg of "hemp oil".
So basically, it was a lot of oil.
My more informed self (now) would have known better.
The research found here for CBD and Anxiety is based on…
CBD!
NOT hemp oil.
Great. Back to the drawing board.
Okay...I'll try again because hey...I'm so sleep-deprived, who cares anymore!
I made sure the next purchase clearly indicated how many mg's of CBD are in the bottle.
And that it was sufficient.
After further research, I saw that 160mgs of CBD is generally needed to improve sleep.
Okay...so I'll go with 2000mg bottle of "CBD".
Everyone keeps raving about "full-spectrum" so of course, I can fall in line with the masses.
Anything to sleep!
The bottle arrives.
Very green but finally enough CBD.
One dropper will now be 66mg so I can take a few to test.
I took out the dropper to look at it in the light.
A dark, viscous green.
"I guess that's good".
Natural, right??
What followed was a click in the back of my throat followed by some gurgling in my stomach.
Some coughing like when you eat something with pepper and it doesn't go the right way.
Turns out I'm a proud member of the roughly 60% of women with allergy or histamine issues.
While the CBD was probably helping, the other plant material or "botanicals" was sending my immune response into overdrive.
Must kill all green, foreign things!
Turns out that histamine can feel just like….
Anxiety!!
Strike 3.
Learn all about CBD and Histamines here.
One more brand of CBD that did nothing for me.
I had the right dosage. I had verified CBD levels.
I just had a lot of other stuff that my body didn't like.
It's gotten worse as I've gotten older.
Foods. Pets. Pollen.
I feel a lot more sensitive to this stuff.
Only found out later that there's a direct tie between levels of estrogen (which start going down in your 40's) and histamines!
Great. Now you tell me.
So...was CBD a total bust? The first 3 tries at CBD did nothing for me and left me about $300 poorer.
Eureka! CBD that actually worked for ME
I was going to give it one last go.
After the past year, this is the least of my worries, right??
Research is showing that CBD and Sleep and CBD and Anxiety is showing great promise.
The 4th try was the charm and here's the magic formula:
- CBD isolate in MCT oil (not hemp oil which is all the rage right now)
- At least 1000-1500 mgs of CBD for a 30ml bottle (that's 33 to 50mgs per dropper).
- 3rd-party tested to have no pesticides, heavy metals, solvents, bacteria, or mold
- Organically grown
- With a cost of about 5 cents per mg of CBD
That did it.
- It addressed my histamine or allergy issues to the hemp oil and other material.
- It gave me enough CBD to be effective
- It was doable in terms of cost
Funny thing...after about 2-3 months of purchasing the 1000 mg of CBD, I quickly realized that I wanted a higher level of CBD per bottle.
Ideally, my body seemed to settle on about 200 mg of CBD per day and I didn't want to take in all that oil just to get the CBD.
It's one of the things you'll learn as you go.
Otherwise, you can expect to be super cautious upfront while you experiment with its effects.
By the way, we crafted IndigoNaturals to AVOID all the issues above.
Hopefully, I can save you some time, money, and….sanity.
Good night!
Always work with a doctor or naturopath with any supplement!
The information provided here is not intended to treat an illness or substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified healthcare provider.