Lipedema/Lymphedema and Cannabis

You might already know about or even are diagnosed with Lipedema or lymphedema, however up until about a year and a half ago I had no idea what that was. Lymphedema had been staring me I the face for years though my mother and I hadn’t even known. Lipedema is chronic condition that is understood as the systematic buildup of painful fat and swelling in the legs and arms. Lipedema is thought to be curated by genetic predisposition and/ or hormonal changes such as puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. Lipedema is know to have a preference for high estrogen levels, that is why very few cases of men diagnosed manifest. Another key difference about Lipedema is the majority of retention is around the legs and arms but do not transfer to the feet or hands.

Lymphedema however has all to do with your lymphatic system. The swelling you see will be from fluid retention and can affect arms, legs, feet, hands, and gives zero f*cks about your estrogen levels. Normally, when my mother’s Lymphedema flares up you can see that one leg is much more swollen than the other, that’s a difference as well between the two diseases. I personally have never seen anything like that until I saw my mothers leg one day. I remember looking at her and just asking, ” are you in pain?” I thought there was no way she couldn’t be. I mean, her leg looked like it was going to explode. I feel bad talking about it like that but I just remember feeling so scared because I had no idea what to do.

Because Lipedema is diseased fat in your body that doesn’t break down your body is forced to continuously fight this with using your lymphatic system which in turn can cause your lymphatic system to overwork it’s self and become unbalanced. This unbalance can cause lymphedema. It’s important as a Lipedema patient that I keep a balance of a healthy diet and low stress exercise so that my chances of developing lymphedema are low.

My mother and I had been struggling with our weight for a long, long time. Well since I hit puberty, and her, before that. Between her mother making southern meals, her father making her eat everything on the dinner plate, and then her being a single mother not being able to afford to put healthy meals together every night, made our eating habits so far from healthy that at this point trying to change is one of the hardest things we’ve ever done. Lots of people struggle with outside forces like school, money or work. A lot more people struggle with something they can’t control, something that is part of who they are, and something that society views as undesirable.

Speaking of undesirable, let’s talk about how I smoke cannabis to help me with the daily symptoms of my Lipedema, endometriosis, depression, and the normal daily struggles. I also eat cannabis, drink cannabis, rub it on my skin, put it under my tongue, and sometimes when my cramps are really bad, it put it in my vagina. Cannabis is far gone from the days of hiding it under your house and using it to get high, we are back to the original, medicinal use. Not to say I don’t smoke recreational most days as well, because I surely do. But please, don’t call me Shirley.

Now that we got that joke out of the way I was talking about the various ways I use cannabis. That’s exactly why cannabis will be vital tool for me, because I can use cannabis for so many of my different issues I don’t really have to look elsewhere. I can wake up in the morning, pack a bowl of Sativa flower to get my good mood juices flowing, put some CBD in my coffee to help with the tenderness of my legs, and make sure to use my salve on my inner thighs for those blemishes. Now doesn’t that sound nice! I can make all that from the same plant, cannabis.

On of my favorite go to product is one my Green Revolution out of Washington state and its a tincture called Beauty Sleep. It has my three favorite cannabinoids, THC,CBD, and CBN. Now if your not too familiar with that last one it is a cannabinoid that is five times more sedative than CBD. I absolutely love this product because with my lippy legs I tend to have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. So the CBN helps with that where as the CBD will help with the inflammation and tenderness, and the THC is just enough to boost the other two.

I also use salves and lotions a lot as well. What I love about transdermal salves and lotions are that they don’t break the blood barrier to get into the blood system. So even though a product can have lots of THC, unless you eat it, it is highly unlikely you will receive the psychoactive head high. It’s great for when I’m out and need a little extra help or just in conjunction with other outlets.

Like most people I also struggle with multiple issues and with cannabis I can kind of treat them all with one swoop. Not only does that CBD in the morning help with my inflammation and tenderness it also helps with my anxiety and depression. However cannabis is a plant that comes in all forms with different medicinal properties so experimentation is a big step. There are strains out there that will actually trigger your anxiety and make the experience unpleasant, however that same strain may make someone feel super happy and excited. I recommend using a diary like journal for your experiences as well as having a personal relationship with your Bud Tender.

In the cannabis plant there are lots of different terpenes and cannabinoids and each one has its own properties and effects. I could go though them all one by one but I might save that for another post. But the main thing is how they all interact together. This is called the entourage effect and it’s something our bodies kind of do on their own. Our bodies work together to make things function and to have the greatest impact. Whether it’s working together to tell you something is wrong or to tell you that feels great, your whole body works together. So same concept with terpenes and cannabinoids, one by one they are great, put them together they accomplish exceptional tasks. For example, the Beauty sleep tincture that has CBN, THC, and CBD.

CBD is known for being a immune system modulators well, and that is super important for lymphedema and Lipedema patients because this means that while your lymphatic system is going crazy trying to get those immune boosters out CBD is going to come in and kinda help it calm down a little. Not a lot, just enough to boost whatever healthy lifestyle changes you should be implementing.

Knowing what I struggle with everyday and having the understanding of causes and symptoms makes it possible to learn something new everyday and share it. Next step is to make this information available to everyone and help as many as I can. Once you understand how you can help yourself no one can stop you. Thanks your reading!

My mother and I

Florida 2017