CBD for PMS Pain: Can CBD Help Ease Menstrual Discomfort?

Can CBD help women with PMS pain? In this article, we explain how CBD oil could alleviate that pesky discomfort.

That “time of the month” can be incredibly uncomfortable for so many women.

Serious mood swings, persistent cramps, lower back pain — the discomfort during PMS can have a lot of women dread their menstrual cycle.

Until recently, both women and their doctors were throwing their hands up when it comes to easing menstrual discomfort.

But now that CBD has been proven to be an effective tool for dealing with so many symptoms — from stress and anxiety to pain and poor sleep — many women are trying CBD oil to help themselves.

You can read about women using CBD oil for pain and other PMS symptoms on social media groups; many ladies have found that CBD (or Cannabidiol) helps relieve the pain and discomfort that bothers them for a few days every month.

About 75% of menstruating women experience Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) each month. That means women have PMS every 2 to 3 weeks for decades until menopause starts. Unfortunately, there is perimenopause to deal with too, before the hot flashes even start!

In this article, we’ll explain how CBD can help ease menstrual discomfort and how to use CBD oil for menstrual pain, mood swings, and other symptoms.

Way Beyond Pain: What Are the Symptoms of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome?

PubMed Health describes PMS as “a set of physical and psychological symptoms that start anywhere from a few days to two weeks before a woman gets her monthly period.” Thanks, PubMed!

When it comes to physical symptoms of PMS, they include, but aren’t limited to:

• Back pain
• Breast tenderness
• Debilitating abdominal pain
• Digestive issues
• Headaches
• Joint and muscle aches
• Sleep problems
• Water retention

Mentally, periods can be equally exhausting.

Women usually suffer from the following psychological symptoms during their periods:

• Anxiety
• Increased emotional variances to their normal feelings
• Insecure feelings
• Easily distracted
• Self-doubt

Although there are many natural ways to ease menstrual discomfort, finding a woman that will have the strength to even think about meditating or doing yoga when in pain can be challenging, and frankly, a big ask!

Pain-killers may help with pain, but they won’t help with anxiety. And who likes relying on over-the-counter medications just to endure your period with dignity. It just adds more hell to the hell!

This is where CBD can help.

CBD for PMS Symptoms: How CBD Can Help During Your Period

Here we explain how CBD can help you get through that difficult time every month with more dignity, less pain, and more of your usual self remaining intact.

CBD for Painful Period Cramps

Menstrual cramps are the signature symptom of almost every woman’s period.

The lucky ones don’t experience the pain so badly. But for the not-so-lucky ones, the pain can become intolerable. It affects every aspect of the day. From work to sleep!

Cramps result from muscle contractions that are stimulated by raging hormones in a woman’s body during the period.

These contractions are similar to labor pains but stem from the blockage of blood flow to the lining of the uterus. This the reason for 90% of pain experienced by women during menstruation.

CBD could help with that pain by relaxing the uterine muscles. CBD is a potent muscle relaxant and can prove very useful to reduce the intensity of period cramps.

You can use CBD both topically (for localized pain) or under the tongue if you feel the pain is coming from the inside.

CBD for General Pain and Discomfort

For some women, lower back pain is like clockwork each month telling them that it’s “period time.”

For others, these are intense headaches or breast tenderness that herald the incoming misery.

The pain and discomfort routine often repeats each and every month and can last for the entire cycle.

These headaches often turn into migraines, especially when a woman has been using birth control for a long time. Hormonal imbalances, too, can lead to migraines. Interestingly, scientists have recently discovered that migraine headaches can result from clinical Endocannabinoid deficiencies. CBD regulates the endocannabinoid system (ECS), so many women can use it to combat both their headaches and general discomfort.

CBD for Chronic Back Pain

In a report analyzing the use of CBD for chronic pain, researchers examined the results of several studies and clinical trials, and concluded that “patients who were treated with cannabis or cannabinoids are more likely to experience a clinically significant reduction in pain symptoms.

And here comes the best part: there are no proven negative side effects — at least not in most cases — linked to using CBD for pain.

Taking CBD oil, capsules, gummies, or vapes when you notice the first signs of PMS (and throughout the whole period) can help ease the pain and general discomfort the majority of women struggle with on “their days.”

CBD for Anxiety & Mood Swings

There’s a reason why you don’t want to cross a woman during her menstrual cycle. Her emotions can be all over the shop at that time.

Do you find yourself irritated one moment and crying the next?

Is anxiety and depression part of your cycle?

Do you become angry at the smallest of instances and give “daggers” at those you care about? You’re not alone.

Countless women have problems with a whole spectrum of emotional swings during their cycle. Again, CBD may help ease those symptoms.

Research shows that CBD has both anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) and antidepressant properties.

For one, it acts on serotonin receptors in a similar way some SSRI anxiolytics do. By making serotonin more available for the brain, it can help stabilize our emotions and reduce depressive behavior.

Another interesting fact about using CBD for anxiety is how it engages with the GABA receptors in the brain. GABA is a key neurotransmitter responsible for slowing down the nervous system when we get too agitated.

GABA is like a handbrake for the brain so that you don’t overreact when something stressful happens. By modulating the activity of the GABA receptor, CBD can help us stay calm and prevent emotional outbursts.

For women who experience mood swings during their menstrual period, CBD could help bring them a state of calm, easing the anxiety and mental discomfort they feel.

CBD for Sleep

CBD can help regulate our sleep-wake cycle on several levels.

First off, lower doses of CBD taken in the morning can increase your levels of daily alertness. Y our sleep-wake cycle heavily depends on how alert you are throughout the day.

If you feel fatigued during the day, your body will be more awake at night because it receives signals that you weren’t doing anything energy-consuming that day. On the contrary, when you’re more awake in the morning and afternoon, you’ll be more tired in the evening — but in a healthy way — and able to fall asleep with ease.

Interestingly, high doses of CBD have an opposite effect on the body. They tend to make users feel sedated due to the lowered blood pressure, so it can help you fall asleep faster if the problem lies here.

On top of that, CBD can alter pain transmission and alleviate anxiety; both factors have been identified as common causes of sleep deprivation.

Final Thoughts on Using CBD for Menstrual Discomfort and PMS Pain

If you’re one of the many women who experience PMS pain and psychological distress during your period, you know how exhausting it can be.

Hopefully, you can turn to natural resources for help if you want to ease that discomfort. Studies show that CBD has the potential to improve the quality of many women during that time of the month.

Do you use CBD for PMS pain?