CBD Oil after surgery
2 September 2022Going to hospital for surgery is never fun. You feel vulnerable and anxious, and it requires staying in an unfamiliar and unpleasant environment, often for several days or longer. Post-surgery issues usually follow, including pain, difficulty sleeping, nausea, and lack of appetite. Luckily, CBD Oil can give you more control over your recovery after surgery. This blog explains how you can benefit from using CBD Oil after surgery – or even before.
Post-surgery recovery
No matter whether you have to undergo major surgery or a minor operation, such medical interventions usually leave you feeling less than ideal. They often cause pain, and the after-effects of anaesthetics may linger on after you wake up. Moreover, overnight hospital stays are no fun at all, and you may feel anxious as you worry about your health and recovery.
CBD Oil is increasingly used in hospitals and other care facilities as well as at home. By now, many doctors are at least vaguely aware of CBD’s health potential and how this could benefit their patients. Nonetheless, post-op recovery still tends to consist largely of regular prescription painkillers including opioids (morphine and its synthetic variants), non-steroid analgesics (NSAIDs such as ibuprofen) and a range of other drugs.
Fast and effective as such pain medication may be, it does come with all sorts of thoroughly unpleasant side-effects. NSAIDs, for example, can cause gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, ulcers, and diarrhoea. Opioid painkillers can cause confusion, vomiting, nausea, and brain fog, but moreover, they come with serious addiction hazards, as the recent opiate crisis in the US and beyond proves at a terrible cost.
What makes CBD Oil such a viable option after surgery?
The side-effects and risks associated with many regular prescription drugs above have many doctors looking for alternatives to treat post-op pain and other symptoms. That explains why they tend to be more open-minded to alternative treatment options including CBD (cannabidiol) , a natural cannabinoid compound derived from hemp plants.
CBD has few side-effects, which are mild compared to those of regular medication if they occur in the first place. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified CBD as safe for use even for long-term consumption. Moreover, CBD has a staggering diversity of potential applications, while scientists keep discovering new health-related possibilities all the time.
No matter what kind of surgery you are waiting to undergo, there is a good chance that you could benefit from CBD Oil after your operation; ranging from being more relaxed and sleeping better to pain relief and controlling inflammation or additional immune system support. But you don’t need to wait for a doctor to prescribe CBD Oil after surgery: it is entirely up to you to indicate your intention to try this natural supplement for better recovery.
Can CBD Oil help after every kind of surgery?
Obviously, whether CBD Oil can help you after your surgery largely depends on the nature of the operation and your reason for having it. Post-op symptoms for which CBD may be useful include pain, nausea, sleeping problems, and more.
CBD Oil has many useful qualities, including analgesic, soothing, and anti-inflammatory properties. The diversity of this natural supplement is due to its ability to interact with our body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), charged with maintaining our internal homeostatic balance. Taking CBD Oil can help support the body as it restores its physiological balance after surgery. Below, you can learn more about the specific advantages associated with using CBD after you undergo surgery.
Post-surgery nausea and vomiting
Some medical interventions require full anaesthesia, which triggers nausea in about 30% of all cases. A study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology demonstrated that CBD can reduce nausea and vomiting in rodent subjects. Another study indicates that CBD and other cannabinoids can relieve nausea caused by chemotherapy.
CBD Oil and pain after surgery
No matter how much progress medical science has made in recent decades, many conditions still call for invasive surgery. No matter whether the cause for an operation is a complex fracture, removal of a tumour, or trauma recovery, pain can last long after the procedure is completed. CBD Oil can help relieve and control such pain.
One study published in the Journal of Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management demonstrated the effectiveness of CBD’s analgesic and anti-inflammatory potential in treating severe and persistent pain.
Even nerve pain can be treated with CBD, as further research has demonstrated. The 24 patients involved in the study suffered from MS, spinal injuries, or amputated arms and legs. These are all conditions that involve disruption of neural functionality. Patient reported feeling significantly less burdened by their pain. We should note, however, that the study involved administering THC as well as CBD, which complicates our interpretation of the results.
CBD and physiotherapy
CBD Oil can also be a very useful option for anyone receiving physiotherapy for recovery after surgery. Examples of physiotherapy applications include easing the pain or preventing rigid joints. CBD Oil can also improve muscle recovery and protect the nervous system. All in all, there are plenty of reasons to consider using CBD for physiotherapy support.
CBD Oil and scar prevention
Surgery can leave scars, since many procedures require large incisions that have to be sutured. Fortunately, CBD Oil can prove helpful here too, as it can help control scar tissue formation after surgery, and may even prevent it.
The skin around the surgery location usually has to recover after surgery too. That makes it worthwhile to consider using our CBD Argan Salve or CBD Argan Cream to support natural recovery and get your skin back in shape fast.
Sleeping better after surgery with CBD Oil
Trying to get some sleep while in hospital can be a literal nightmare. On top of feeling unwell, a hospital is a noisy environment full of strange noises and medical staff moving about. Luckily, CBD Oil can help in this regard, too. Its soothing, relaxing properties can help you fall asleep more easily as well as sleep longer.
The effects of CBD on quality of sleep were investigated in a 2019 study involving 103 subjects affected by anxiety and sleeping problems. One month into the research programme, 79% of all patients showed lower anxiety scores that remained low persistently over the course of the study. For 67% of all subjects, CBD had positive effects on their quality of sleep.
CBD Oil can be used for sleeping problems including insomnia and behavioural sleeping disorders, as well as for poor quality of sleep after surgery. In addition, its soothing qualities can be very helpful to help control stress and anxiety before and after medical procedures.
CBD Oil before or after surgery?
Using CBD Oil can be a source of relief before as well as after surgery. It is perfectly normal to be worried about the procedure you are facing, bringing anxiety and restlessness in its wake. It can be tempting to fret about the procedure, it’s chances of success, and the prospect of full recovery afterwards.
It is often a good idea to gradually build up your blood levels of CBD to allow your body to get used to its effects. Moreover, the optimal dosage differs from one individual to the next, so it can be helpful to determine your personal need in advance.
CBD can also be used in the run-up to your hospital admission. No matter whether you intend to use CBD Oil before or after surgery, however, we advise consulting your doctor before doing so. CBD is known to influence the effectiveness of certain types of medication that you may receive before or after the procedure. Inquiring after the appropriateness of CBD in your situation is advisable.
We also wish to stress that trying CBD after a caesarean procedure is not recommended, since we discourage using CBD supplements while pregnant or breastfeeding to rule out any potential risks.
Once you verify that using CBD Oil is safe in your situation, however, it can be a wonderful source of natural support both before and after surgery. We hope it helps ease your recovery by making you feel more relaxed and confident as the pain subsides. If your local authorities permit it, don’t hesitate to bring a bottle of CBD Oil with you to hospital, or try using CBD Tablets for greater ease of use both in hospital and after you return home.
In addition to our CBD Oil and Tablets, we also have a full range of other supplements including CBD Coffee, CBD Skincare, and CBD Candy. That means we have a perfect CBD match waiting for everyone, whether you need surgery or not, and regardless of your personal taste and lifestyle!