My Epileptic Journey with CBD

 When I was eight years old, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Absence Epilepsy, meaning I wasn’t able to take CBD oil. It wasn’t until I switched to my family doctor in 2018, that I learned about cannabidiol. I had no idea what it was. The advice I received from my doctor was that, “CBD is like marijuana, but without getting high and it will relax your brain.“ What exactly did that mean? I was constantly stressed but didn’t understand how CBD oil would help. Now I know. 

For nine years now, I went from having juvenile absence seizures to absence seizures, also known as epilepsy. Before taking CBD, my doctor had me on different medications, which my body would react to differently. Not all medications were failures, but it was trial and error with others. I would “zone out,” meaning I was staring into space. I couldn’t hear anyone and did not know what was happening around me. After coming out of the seizure, everything was a blank slate in my mind. My parents would ask, “What happened?” and I could only tell them the last thing I remembered before having a seizure, which is when my parents decided to take me to a doctor. Having epilepsy did not bother me when I was young, but growing up, I would go back and forth with how grateful but frustrated I was living through it because I was limited to the type of activities I could participate in. To ease my frustration, I would make up flaws in the activities I was unable to do, making me thankful for my epilepsy. When I turned 18, my pediatrician recommended me to an family doctor who recommended CBD oil.

A few months later, I was about to start graduate school. I purchased my first bottle of CBD oil at a local shop on the boardwalk. It was called a CBD Tincture. I had nowhere else to get CBD at the time and that was my only option. Trying it for the first time, I felt relaxed. I don’t know if CBD made a difference, but it was nice to feel less anxious. At first, my epilepsy was stable and my seizures weren’t as bad. However, I continued to have seizures at random times. Over the next few weeks, I realized I wasn’t processing information how I used to. I struggled to remember words and couldn’t focus in school. I knew then that I was having epileptic problems again and I needed to try a different CBD oil.

After running out of my CBD Tincture, I looked but wasn’t able to find the product again. My roommate told me about a CBD store that sold different products and I was desperate and willing to try anything. I went to the store where they sold Lazarus Naturals. It was a higher dosage than my doctor recommended, but I didn’t care. I purchased a 1500mg CBD bottle. I took the Lazarus cbd oil for a couple of weeks to get adjusted to the new brand. While I was not having as many seizures, I didn’t realize until a few weeks later that the CBD oil was affecting me in other ways. I started to overthink. I would overthink simple multiple-choice tests and second-guess my answers. It made me very indecisive; I felt the opposite of calm. The pressure of school was challenging my mind and how I worked in different situations. The CBD oil wasn’t fully helping my brain and my seizures continued.

Eventually, I tried another CBD oil by Charlotte’s Web. I thought, “Finally, I hope this brand will be the right one!” But after a few days, I couldn’t sleep. I felt dizzy, and I was still having seizures. I didn’t feel like myself and again, I couldn’t concentrate on schoolwork. I was at my lowest point and didn’t want my epilepsy to get worse than it already was. It seemed the CBD oil was working in reverse. It seemed like it was time to give up and I became depressed. I continued to ask myself, “Maybe the CBD did work and it was all in my head?” I was ready to tell my doctor how his recommendation of CBD oil didn’t work, but I couldn’t. I was determined to find a CBD oil for my epilepsy.

I almost gave up on CBD until I stumbled across one last product. During my summer break in 2019, I went to a local farmer’s market where they sold Fountain of Health CBD Oil, which I continue to take today. The Fountain of Health brand kept my brain relaxed, prevented most of my seizures, and helped me to stay calm. It’s been working now for almost three years. While I continue to take my regular medication, CBD oil has allowed for a drastic improvement in my life with a decrease in seizures. Now, I am happy that my doctor shared CBD oil with me and I am a living testament that CBD products are great for those dealing with epilepsy. You just have to find the perfect brand for YOU!

Not everyone has similar epileptic struggles while taking CBD oil. Everyone is different and has to try a different brand or dosage until they find the right one. CBD oil still works for epilepsy. It just depends on which CBD oil is right for which type of seizures epileptics are having. My doctor has been slowly decreasing my prescribed medications and CBD oil has made a greater impact on my life. My goal in writing this article is to have other women share their medical stories and how CBD oil worked for them. I am happy, as a woman, that I can share my story about CBD and how it’s changed my life.