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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Neuropathy
- Thread starter Joy F
- Start date
- Status
mikeyB
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi @Joy F, welcome to the forum. You may be our most distant member, so well done for finding the most friendly forum for folk with diabetes🙂
I don't have any diabetic neuropathy, but I do have a neuropathy that has led to muscle wasting in my legs, which have a tendency to repetitive muscle twitching and, particularly at night, severe cramps. I use CBD oil to treat this - the only regular alternative is Baclofen which has a litany of side effects taking it, and indeed stopping taking it.
So what does the CBD oil do for me? Well, after taking it the muscle twitching disappears, and I get no cramps. That allows me to get to sleep. The CBD oil has no side effects. I have come across a man with Parkinson's Disease who uses Cannabis to successfully reduce his symptoms, but that he grows in his greenhouse for a cheap supply. That does contain THC, of course, which means he's constantly a bit high. And illegal, for some reason.
So given its effect on a mixed bag of neuropathies, I see no reason why it shouldn't work in diabetic neuropathy. What dose and strength? Well, you can do this two ways. I started at lower strengths - the sort you can buy in any pharmacy these days. But rather than give up, I move to high strengths. It doesn't have a long effective half life, so when you reach the dose that works you may have to take it more often. Don't worry, you can't overdose on the oils or indeed full bore cannabis.
The other way of doing it is start on the highest strength you can buy. and if it works, gradually reduce the strength until it doesn't work, than you know for sure the correct dose.
I take capsules of 900mg of cannabis oil, which contain 15mg of active ingredients, morning and evening. I also have a bottle of higher strength CBD oil for emergencies, such as I did the other night when I was woken by a sudden severe cramp in my left leg. A few drops of the oil under my tongue fixed that in less than two minutes.
Now the downside - it is expensive. The higher the strength, the more expensive it is. A bottle of the higher strength oil from a reputable supplier will cost in the region of £45- £55. But it does last for a few weeks, because you only use three or four drops under your tongue. If you find it cheaper online it may be less effective, and may contain higher levels of THC ( It's expensive to remove it totally). I get supplies from Healthspan, who rather curiously list it as a dietary supplement!
By the way, all this is done with the approval of my neurology consultant, who of course can't prescribe it.
I don't have any diabetic neuropathy, but I do have a neuropathy that has led to muscle wasting in my legs, which have a tendency to repetitive muscle twitching and, particularly at night, severe cramps. I use CBD oil to treat this - the only regular alternative is Baclofen which has a litany of side effects taking it, and indeed stopping taking it.
So what does the CBD oil do for me? Well, after taking it the muscle twitching disappears, and I get no cramps. That allows me to get to sleep. The CBD oil has no side effects. I have come across a man with Parkinson's Disease who uses Cannabis to successfully reduce his symptoms, but that he grows in his greenhouse for a cheap supply. That does contain THC, of course, which means he's constantly a bit high. And illegal, for some reason.
So given its effect on a mixed bag of neuropathies, I see no reason why it shouldn't work in diabetic neuropathy. What dose and strength? Well, you can do this two ways. I started at lower strengths - the sort you can buy in any pharmacy these days. But rather than give up, I move to high strengths. It doesn't have a long effective half life, so when you reach the dose that works you may have to take it more often. Don't worry, you can't overdose on the oils or indeed full bore cannabis.
The other way of doing it is start on the highest strength you can buy. and if it works, gradually reduce the strength until it doesn't work, than you know for sure the correct dose.
I take capsules of 900mg of cannabis oil, which contain 15mg of active ingredients, morning and evening. I also have a bottle of higher strength CBD oil for emergencies, such as I did the other night when I was woken by a sudden severe cramp in my left leg. A few drops of the oil under my tongue fixed that in less than two minutes.
Now the downside - it is expensive. The higher the strength, the more expensive it is. A bottle of the higher strength oil from a reputable supplier will cost in the region of £45- £55. But it does last for a few weeks, because you only use three or four drops under your tongue. If you find it cheaper online it may be less effective, and may contain higher levels of THC ( It's expensive to remove it totally). I get supplies from Healthspan, who rather curiously list it as a dietary supplement!
By the way, all this is done with the approval of my neurology consultant, who of course can't prescribe it.
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