Everything Seniors Need to Know When Trying CBD for the First Time
By: Cyrus Sepahbodi
Osteoarthritis runs heavily in my family. My mother deals with pain in her hands, knees, and lower back every day. My grandmother spends most of her day lying down or seated because her knees are swollen to the point, she can barely stand for more than five minutes. Both feel the physical and emotional strain of day to day life because of their conditions. But it goes beyond the pain on most days. My mother and grandmother are proud women. They’ve both raised families, taken care of children, and worked accomplished careers. But to see them in the elder years fighting pain and not being able to do the simple tasks of life is heartbreaking. If you ask my grandmother about her pain, she would tell you, ‘I can’t cook anymore. I can’t help your mother around the house. Life with non-stop pain is hardly worth living.’
Prescription painkillers also run heavily in my family. My mother, a strong woman of 67, has a regular routine of opioids and steroid-based transdermal patches on a weekly basis. My grandmother, a powerhouse of intelligence and strength at 85, applies a steroid patch onto her knees every three days besides the painkiller cocktail she takes daily. The side effects are the most harrowing part to witness— dizziness, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, opioid induced pain, and disorientation. But recently, in the last six months, they have both turned to cannabis and hemp-derived medicines and remedies to combat their pain and reduce their need for opioids. The effects have been astounding. By using a CBD pain balm. The swelling in her knees has reduced and her need for the steroid patches has decreased to only twice per month.
