Medical Cannabis Strains for Migraines

The majority of migraine patients are given a strong pain medication, according to initial reports. However, many individuals claim cannabis helps them deal with the splitting headaches and other signs associated with migraine. That makes it worth looking into how cannabis might help. Migraine is a highly disruptive and excruciating sickness that has the potential to severely disrupt your life.

A migraine can last for hours, if not days. They aren’t comparable to traditional headaches in terms of severity: the only way to combat the symptoms is with heavy medicine. However, they do not work for everyone and frequently come with adverse effects. Many migraine sufferers look for alternative treatments, and cannabis appears to be just what the doctor ordered. This blog goes through it all, as well as a list of our top migraine marijuana strains.

Are All Migraines Alike?

A migraine is an intense, unpleasant headache that can be preceded or accompanied by sensory warning symptoms such as flashes of light, blind spots, tingling in the arms and legs, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.

More than 37 million Americans suffer from migraines, which is approximately 13% of the population. They are more common in females than males and can persist for up to 72 hours. Unfortunately, some individuals develop chronic migraines, characterized by recurrent headaches that last for more than 15 days each month.

Another thing to bear in mind is that each migraine sufferer sees things differently. The condition you experience will differ significantly from how your friends and family members encounter it.

People who suffer from migraines can often clearly identify specific triggers.

Migraine Triggers

• Allergies: These can be seasonal or even allergic reactions.
• Irregular Environments: This can include bright lights or loud noises. Party lights and even strong smells can trigger migraines.
• Stress: This can be any type of stress. Examples include work-related, depression, tension, and even physical stress.
• Sleep: Tiredness, jet lag, or irregular sleep can all lead to migraines.
• Change of Diet: When it comes to migraine, a lot of people claim that when they miss a meal, eat too much or too little of anything (chocolate, nuts, bananas), the pain will begin. A variety of foods high in tyramine (smoked fish, figs, beans) or nitrates (salami and bacon) are also known to induce headaches.

According to migraine.com, around 65% of chronic migraine patients suffer from depression as a comorbidity.

Migraine Treatments Cannabis and Conventional

Narcotics, anti-inflammatory medications (aspirin or ibuprofen), triptans (Frova and Imitrex), and ergots are some of the medicines used to treat migraines.

Let’s Explore Some Alternative Solutions

According to medical data, people have been utilizing cannabis as a migraine treatment for years but is just now being acknowledged. According to a study published by the University of Colorado’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, marijuana has been utilized as a migraine treatment for decades:

• Positive effects were reported by 40% of the adults in a recent study.
• The average number of migraine attacks fell from 10.4 per month to 4.6 over the course of the study.

Do All Cannabis Strains Have a Positive Effect on our Brain?

The answer to this question is no. Furthermore, before deciding on cannabis as a migraine therapy, it is advisable to chat with your medical marijuana doctor. Some marijuana strains may have the opposite impact. They could cause your heart rate to rise, resulting in allergic reactions and symptoms that might trigger a migraine.

If you suffer from migraines and live in a state where medical marijuana is legal, then it could be beneficial. But with so many different cannabis varietiesthere’s no easy answer. Fortunately, we’ve already done the legwork for you. The following are the top five finest marijuana strains for rapid migraine alleviation:

Harlequin Imparts a Soothing, Mellow High

Harlequin is a popular marijuana strain for alleviating migraines. It’s a 75 percent sativa-dominant hybrid cannabis plant with a 5:2 ratio of cannabidiol (CBD) to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

This is what you’ll want to use if you want to get rid of your mental fog and improve your alertness. Harlequin’s advantage is that it contains both THC and CBD, making it a powerful pain reliever while also delivering a mild high.

Remedy Offers CBD-Rich Migraine Relief

The name “Remedy” is quite descriptive: it does, in fact, provide a cure for migraine sufferers. This strain has THC levels of less than 5%.

Remedy is recognized for providing consumers a calm and soothing experience without causing headiness. It will also provide all of the anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety qualities due to its high CBD content—just what you need to cure migraines.

Purple Kush Can Help Migraine Sufferers Get Much-Needed Sleep

Migraine sufferers frequently attempt to sleep the agony away. However, how can you sleep when the discomfort is too severe? Purple Kush is a wonderful tool for producing numbness, which helps you fall asleep.

Purple Kush is a high-THC variety that ranges from purple to dark red in color and has a fresh, sweet scent. Purple Kush’s THC content ranges from 0.1% to 17%, although this may vary somewhat based on the grower. The pain fades as soon as you experience the head high, according to users, who claim it is long-lasting when compared to other cannabis strains. For optimum results, take Purple Kush before going to bed.

Choose ACDC for Migraine Relief Without a Head High

ACDC is the ideal solution for you if you want to use cannabis to cure your migraine but don’t want it to have psychotropic effects. This is a sativa-dominant strain with a CBD:THC ratio of 20:1, which means it has virtually no psychoactive THC—excellent for someone who suffers from migraines and doesn’t want to feel high.

Hemp oil comes in a variety of different concentrations, but the most common is called “Hemp Seed Oil”. It’s made from hemp seeds, which are crushed and processed into a liquid. This oil has an extraordinarily high content of cannabidiol (CBD) in it, ranging from 19% to over 30%. CBD levels can even reach a maximum of 19%, making this a very effective migraine pain reliever. ACDC also works well against depression and anxiety, both of which frequently accompany migraines.

OG Kush Is a High-THC Option for Migraine Sufferers

Durban Poison, another migraine-relieving cannabis strain, has strong sedative effects. This THC-rich hybrid marijuana strain has a typical 20 percent THC content, so persons unfamiliar with high amounts of THC should be cautious.

The THC, on the other hand, can assist you relax, raise your mood, and take your thoughts away from a migraine.

God’s Gift Helps Ease Pain & Boost Mood

What you need if you’re suffering from a migraine and just want to get rid on the pain is God’s Gift. This plant has 20% THC, which is just what you need to relax your senses and enhance your appetite while fighting a migraine.

God’s Gift is said to have the best of a strong indica, with the euphoric high of a sativa. The THC content, on the other hand, will numb the body, which is exactly what you need when a migraine starts to take over.

The Migraine Mystery

Anyone who has ever had a migraine knows that the symptoms are on a whole other level. Anyone who’s ever had a migraine knows that the symptoms are on another level entirely. It is an illness of the brain. Migraine affects about 15% of the world’s population. Although heredity plays a role, so do environmental factors. The condition and its causes continue to perplex doctors and researchers.

Migraines can have a seriously negative influence on your daily routine. Episodes may be so strong that simple activities become difficult. Headaches are fairly frequent, often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to noise, scent, and light. Temporary (temporary) blindness is occasionally seen as a result of this.

Auras are a sign that you’re about to have a migraine. Hands can go numb or tingle, and your eyes might become sensitive to light. Migrating patterns of sensitivity are common in people with cluster headaches.

Causes Of Migraine

Although certain events, such as lack of sleep or stress, may trigger migraine headaches, doctors still don’t know what causes them. Modern imaging technologies aid in mapping out what happens in the brain during a migraine attack. The main reason for disruptions in the brain appears to be heightened sensitivity to stimuli, with an emphasis on the brain stem.

The brain stem relays messages to other parts of the brain and the cerebral membrane or meninx in particular under normal conditions. The membranes protecting the brain become overloaded, causing headaches. Serotonin is one of numerous messenger chemicals known as neurotransmitters that are involved.

 Regular Migraine Treatment

Over-the-counter pain medications such as paracetamol or ibuprofen can help with any type of migraine. Ibuprofen has a greater success rate, but if it fails, a doctor may prescribe triptan medicine. These must be taken as soon as the first symptoms appear. Triptans should take effect within two hours, and additional doses can be taken if further attacks occur. This is a delicate balance to strike: too much medication for the pain can actually cause a new migraine attack, making things even worse.

Cannabis And Migraine

The endocannabinoid system in the human body is affected by cannabinoids found in marijuana. This system controls a wide range of physiological functions, including blood pressure and pain perception. These features might make cannabis effective against migraine headaches. Medical professionals and others have long suggested marijuana as a migraine treatment for centuries. Cannabis’s 20th-century prohibition cast deep shadows over this option, but nowadays it’s back on the table as a potential remedy for migraines.

Analgesic Effects

To date, research on cannabis for migraine has been restricted. In 2013, the Journal of Neuroscience published a study on cannabinoids and migraine pain. Chronic migraine sufferers had painful trigeminal nociceptive pathways that became oversensitive, according to studies. That’s a fancy way of saying that blood vessels and nerves in the skull become more sensitive to pain: a headache, in other words. Cannabis activates ECS-induced endocannabinoid anandamide activation of these nerves via the endocannabinoid system to decrease their pain response.

Vascular Effects

The process of vascular constriction and dilation is another key migraine trigger. Blood flow through blood vessels may be blocked when vessels suddenly narrow, causing blood pressure to jump dramatically. This might explain the severe headaches associated with migraines since serotonin has been linked to vessel constriction. Vasoconstrictive medicines are frequently used to treat migraines because they can cause vasoconstriction. However, because cannabis also has vasoconstrictive effects, it may provide comparable relief.

Serotonin Release

Serotonin is a migraine trigger, as discussed above. Just before the start of a migraine assault, serotonin levels increase. The endocannabinoid system is involved in serotonin neurotransmission. The CB1 receptors on the ECS’send can be activated to limit serotonin release. Cannabis use may become a viable option for preventing rapid surges of 5-HT that bring on headaches.

User Experience Research

A study conducted by Carrie Cuttler of Washing State University looked at data from over 1,300 participants. The Strainsprint app was used to ask participants about their cannabis use for migraine and headaches. The Journal of Pain published the findings in 2018.

Over 1,300 migraine sufferers were tested on their pain and mood before and after using cannabis. For 49.6% of individuals, the degree of migraine agony decreased after smoking marijuana. According to the research, using extra cannabis did not lead to more headaches; rather, it mimicked the effect of constant analgesics. However, subjects appeared to increase their doses over time, which could suggest tolerance to cannabinoids.

In 2013, a similar picture was painted in previous studies. Patients reported that their migraine symptoms decreased by up to 20% after using cannabis on a daily basis.

These findings do not rely on choosing a certain cannabis strain or specific THC and CBD levels. These factors appear to have little bearing on pain relief success. This might be due to the study’s structure. There are several arguments in favor of recognizing cannabinoid content and terpenes in marijuana strains as key players against migraines.

CBD, THC, And Cannabis Terpenes To Counter Migraine

There are over 100 cannabinoids in marijuana, each of which has the ability to reduce pain. Furthermore, researchers believe that other cannabis components such as terpenes play a role in the overall affects. When several cannabis chemicals collide or combine their effects, we call it an entourage effect. The entourage effect can be observed in the impact that CBD/THC ratios have on migraine sufferers. If you want proof, look no further than Charlotte Figi and her parents’ most famous story about CBD and migraine: their experience with Charlotte’s Web.

Famous CBD Strains: Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte Figi, a baby girl from Canada, began suffering from epileptic attacks soon after birth. The seizures worsened over time and began occurring more frequently. By the age of six, Charlotte’s parents were on the verge of despair because she had been diagnosed with Dravet’s syndrome, a severe and hereditary form of epilepsy that can be deadly if not treated.

Charlotte’s parents were hesitant to try cannabis oil because there is no known treatment for Dravet syndrome. Charlotte’s condition was worsening despite the fact that they tried several medications and therapies, so her parents decided to give cannabis oil a try. They had read positive CBD oil results on the internet, despite their disapproval of medicinal marijuana products being legal. However, getting there was not simple: doctors refused to work with them, and high-CBD weed oil was difficult to come by. Fortunately, they were in touch with the Stanley brothers. They ran a firm that produced CBD-rich cannabis. This enabled them to create a unique strain especially for Charlotte: Charlotte’s Web.

The Effect Of CBD Cannabis On Epilepsy

The results were amazing: whereas Charlotte had up to 300 (!) seizures each day before, she experienced only two or three after beginning to use Charlotte’s Web. The new standard was one seizure a week rather than several per day. The tale drew worldwide media attention and contributed to the acceptance, legality, and fame of CBD supplements worldwide.

Charlotte lived for a whopping 30 YEARS before succumbing to cancer in 2020. Unfortunately, she still met her untimely demise. She died of pneumonia in 2020, despite having been tested negative for coronavirus. Whether the virus was ultimately to blame is debatable, but her story was cut short as abruptly as possible.

Despite CBD’s failure to cure Charlotte’s severe epileptic fits, the news of CBD’s success in treating the frequent seizures she suffered drew new attention to CBD against other brain diseases, such as migraine.

Tackling Migraine With Cannabis Terpenes

Cannabinoids and terpenes can also interact to create entourage effects. Terpenes are chemical compounds that plants use for a variety of functions, including protection from predation. Over one hundred cannabis terpenes have been identified thus far, many of which show promise in the treatment of migraines.

Caryophyllene

Caryophyllene is a very potent terpene in the cannabis plant that is frequently used to treat headaches. This terpene can be found in black pepper and rosemary, among other things. Caryophyllene has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and nerve-protecting properties. Despite the fact that there is still a lot of research being done into this chemical, many hands-on experts will choose strains with high quantities of it for migraine and other types of headaches.

Myrcene

Another interesting terpene for those who get migraines is myrcene. Myrcene, like caryophyllene, has pain relieving qualities. It may be found in a variety of marijuana strains, as it is one of the most prevalent cannabis terpenes. Myrcene has two additional advantages over analgesic potential. Through the entourage effect, myrcene lowers the barrier that cannabinoids must pass through to enter the brain. This improves the effectiveness and speed of CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids in your migraine strain.

Sativa Or Indica Strains For Migraines?

As previously stated, there are significant distinctions between cannabis sativa and cannabis indica strains. These variations should be taken with a grain of salt because we see so many hybrid crossings today. However, it’s not a bad idea to think about them while shopping for the ideal anti-migraine marijuana strain. Sativas, in general, tend to target the brain, whereas indicas aim to target the body. As a result, you may examine whether a sativa-dominant strain is better at alleviating migraine headaches as well as other “brain effects.”

Many migraine sufferers report that their attacks start with a tense, cramped feeling in the neck and shoulders. That would explain why you should try a high indica strain to relieve symptoms. Furthermore, indicas are recognized for their body buzz effect. This lazy, calm sensation throughout the body might assist you relax and sleep better, for example. Obtaining a good night’s sleep is one of the few methods for many migraine patients to get through an attack. That absolutely makes indicamarijuana strains worth considering as well.

Final Thoughts

Marijuana must be consumed in moderation. When experimenting with new strains, proceed carefully. Also, like with any other health change, please talk to your doctor first.