As women, we’ve all had painful periods
of new tissue, alleviated pain and
restored cognitive function, including
improved memory function.
that have had us reaching for the hot water
bottle at some point. But imagine the pain
you feel from your period was so bad you
missed days of school, university or work?
A sensation so bad that it left you in constant
chronic pain with little or no options for relief.
Endometriosis is a condition that
affects 1 in 10 women in the UK
and Ireland. This infl ammatory
disease affects 176 million people
worldwide, causing chronic pain,
infertility and exhaustion combined
with depression. Endometriosis UK
estimates that the condition costs
the economy about £8.2bn per
year in loss of work, healthcare and
treatment.
What is Endometriosis
and who suffers?
Endometriosis happens when cells
like the ones found in the lining of
the uterus end up elsewhere in the
body. These cells react the same way
to those in the womb by building up
before breaking down and bleeding.
However, the blood has no way to
escape the body so instead it forms
as scar tissue resulting in a lot of pain.
Current recommended treatment is
hormonal (contraceptives) or surgery
(laparoscopy) with no prospect of a
cure. Surgery comes with a success
rate of just 62.4% which drops to 55%
a year later as the endometriosis
tissue reforms.
Campaigner, Aimee Brown is
currently taking a drug normally
prescribed to terminal cancer
patients post-surgery. “I’m on 23
prescription tablets daily. One is
64
called Palexia. This is a controlled
drug that’s normally prescribed to
cancer patients.”
She says it helped initially, before
noticing a decline. “I was prescribed
150mg which helped at fi rst. I had my
post-op appointment and the team
decided to treble my dose to 450mg
daily. Palexia made my nausea so
much worse.”
She adds that she would welcome
access to medicinal cannabis for
endometriosis patients, saying, “My
consultants are happy to give me
opioids but not sign off on medicinal
cannabis.”
Scientists are
currently exploring
the success of
THC on patients
like Aimee. A
recent study into
the benefi ts of
THC on mice has
prompted clinical
trials in Barcelona.
Researchers
observed that
female mice
implanted with endometrial tissue
that developed mechanical hyper-
sensitivity in the abdomen showed
anxiety-like behaviour that has been
noted in people with the condition.
While the THC showed no effect on
the anxiety, it did stop the growth
Alejandra Escudero-Lara, a PhD
candidate at the University Pompeo
Fabra and author of the study, said:
“Together our fi ndings show that
THC limits the development and
symptoms of endometriosis in an
experiment model and highlight
the interest of conducting further
research to ensure the safety and
benefi cial effects of this treatment in
women with endometriosis.”
Author Lara Parker has written
extensively on her journey with
endometriosis and her medication
with cannabis in LA. “Cannabis is my
medicine, full stop. I cannot imagine
my life without it, and I don’t want to,”
she says. “A life without cannabis is a
very scary thought to me. I wouldn’t
be able to eat many meals, I wouldn’t
be able to orgasm without pain, I
would live a life fi lled with much
more pain.”
Parker is based in California where
accessing medicinal cannabis is
not as restricted as it is this side of
the Atlantic. “I’m lucky that, living in
California as a white woman, most of
the people in my life understand and
don’t blink an eye at my daily use.”
The reality for women in the UK and
Ireland can be quite different.
The pain-relief property of
cannabinoids is the
reason why we are
seeing more period
pain and hygiene
companies exploring
CBD products
alongside moon cups
and pain relief patches.
At the Indie Beauty
Expo in London, British
brand BeYou displayed
CBD drops, sprays and
balms prominently.
“My consultants
are happy to
give me opioids
but not sign off
on medicinal
cannabis.”
Kat Tyndall of BeYou told us the
reaction to their range has been
unprecedented.
“We were overwhelmed with requests
for a high quality and trustworthy
CBD range. We’ve had great
feedback from our community, some