Efficacy Of Cannabis For Treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome

What is IBS?

As the name implies, IBS refers to a collection of various symptoms that brings about severe discomfort within the area of the abdomen, leading to the inflammation and painful contraction of the digestive tract.

In most cases, it takes several years for the symptoms to grow with intensity. As a result, it is challenging to detect or diagnose IBS.  As it is now, no laboratory test has successfully pinpoint it. In other instances, the test process usually excludes conditions such as the lactose intolerance test, overgrowth of tiny intestinal bacterial and parasitic infections.

But let’s take a look at the symptoms.

Symptoms of IBS

The central characteristic that defines an IBS symptom is an extreme inconvenience in the abdominal area. By this, we mean, acute stomach cramps and strange pains, diarrhea, nausea, constipation, production of excess gas and bloating. Others are uncontrollable bowel movements and loss of weight. These are the typical symptoms associated with IBS.

A frequent occurrence of some of these symptoms often results in the development of other dangerous conditions like migraine, depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, and fatigue. These have prompted the need to explore CBD for IBS.

But the question remains: what are the causes of IBS? Well, let us see. 

Causes of IBS

According to some theories, a deficiency in endocannabinoid is the central cause of IBS in people. Endocannabinoids are natural substances that are produced naturally in the body. In chemical terms, they look similar to CBD and THC, because you can typically find them in cannabis. 

It is a fact that endocannabinoids plays a prominent role in the activities of the gastrointestinal tracts. So we can say that this theory is credible. A few preliminary pieces of research has demonstrated that people that suffer from IBS display a lower rate of endocannabinoids. 

CBD oil for IBS can go a long way in correcting endocannabinoid deficiency levels. It does it by supplementing the natural supply of the body with cannabinoids. In return, this could help to lower the symptoms of IBS in people. 

Another thing that causes IBS in people is its relationship with the gut-brain axis. It is a reasonable fact that stress can give rise to gastrointestinal issues in the lives of some people. The stress issue and its response in patients lead to abnormalities in the nervous system sympathetic functions, and the HPA axis.  About the HPA, it is a term that describes the connection of feedbacks and influences between the pituitary glands, adrenal glands, and the hypothalamus.

These three important glands are responsible for controlling many processes in our body. These include digestion, immune system response, reaction to stress, energy storage, and use, sexuality, and general mood. 

The connection between IBS and the endocannabinoid system

Be honest; would you have believed it if someone tells you that humans have cannabinoids chemicals in their body? It is part of our human endocannabinoid system. While no one has entirely understood this, we are quite aware that it features endocannabinoid chemicals and cannabinoid receptors. 

You will find the receptors throughout our peripheral and central nervous systems. You can also find a massive volume of them within the confines of our digestive system, a reality that prompts scientists to look for ways to exploit them in treating medical conditions like peptic ulcer disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease. 

As stated earlier, the body’s inability to produce adequate endocannabinoids without external influence, causes the body to lose balance. When that happens, it paves the way for cannabis chemical compounds to announce their entrance. 

Dr. Ethan B. Russo is a famous researcher, the first to make the connection between CBD and IBS. He did that by inking the deficiency of internal endocannabinoids chemical compounds and IBS. 

Strains for IBS

Various studies have demonstrated that high CBD strains and high THC-strains are capable of reducing IBS symptoms. 

You can choose to use a 1:1 CBD or THC ratio. It happens to be the best therapeutic way because it lowers the level of inflammation without any form of psychoactive or ‘high’ effect. 

There are two things you will need considering that the effects of cannabis are highly subjective. These are:

1.     Experimental strain.  You will need to get yourself some strains that would help you measure the efficacy of treating IBS with CBD. 
2.     Proper dosage guide. A guide which could be a user manual, an eBook, or others, would show you the appropriate dosage you need to follow. Make sure you get one that will instruct you on how to dose THC/CBD, CBD, and THC products. You may contact us for help with this. 

Research on IBS and cannabis

Many studies have revealed different findings of IBS and cannabis. For instance, one research on cannabis and IBS notes that the numbers of receptors of CB1 and CB2 found in the gut are many and functions differently. 

While the receptors of CB2 tends more to impact systems like the immune response, the receptors of CB1 only affects the nervous system. 

Another study finds that CBD for IBS is remarkable in treating cases like nausea and vomiting, which are parts of the IBS symptoms but are not familiar with IBS. Research on medical cannabis in the treatment of cancer patients, has so far, look encouraging. Thus, people believe that it can also work well in curing other ailments like IBS.

Again, we know that IBS relates heavily to inflammation. But, as fate would have it, CBD is a tried and tested anti-inflammatory compound.  CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties make it ideal for treating bowel/abdominal and intestinal diseases. They also can reduce pain, according to a 2004 study. 

The good thing is that it does all of these healing processes without causing a high or psychoactive effect on the patient. That is just how rich CBD oil for IBS has become.           

Final thought

The health benefits of marijuana concerning IBS are no longer in doubt. Do you think medical marijuana is right for you? Well, if you are under the negative impact of IBS, it is good to consult your medical practitioner to know if CD will be right for you or not. It is trite that the case that what is another man’s meat is another man’s poison. So be sure it is fit for you before embarking on a ride to cannabis-IBS healing town.