Over one in four female veterans say theyve used cannabis to address symptoms of menopause.
Thats even more than the percentage who report using more traditional types of menopause symptom management, such as hormone therapy, according to a study being presented today during the 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS).
This study highlights a somewhat alarming trend and the need for more research relative to the potential risks and benefits of cannabis use for the management of bothersome menopause symptoms, said Dr. Stephanie S. Faubion, NAMSs medical director and a clinician who specializes in womens health.
Other experts, however, said theres good science behind the connection between menopause symptoms and the bodys natural endocannabinoid system, even if direct research on cannabiss effectiveness in addressing menopause is currently lacking.
In the new study, researchers examined data on a sample of 232 women in Northern California who took part in the Midlife Women Veterans Health Survey.
About half of the women, whose mean age was about 56 years old, reported menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats (54 percent), insomnia (27 percent), and genitourinary symptoms (69 percent).
Of these, 27 percent said they currently use cannabis (in any form) to manage their menopause symptoms or have done so in the past.
Cannabis products were most often used to address hot flashes and night sweats, researchers said.
These findings suggest that cannabis use to manage menopause symptoms may be relatively common, said Carolyn Gibson, PhD, a psychologist and health services researcher at the San Francisco Veterans Administration (VA) Health Care System and lead author of the study.
However, we do not know whether cannabis use is safe or effective for menopause symptom management or whether women are discussing these decisions with their healthcare providers particularly in the VA, where cannabis is considered an illegal substance under federal guidelines.
The study didnt differentiate between use of cannabis products containing the full spectrum of cannabis ingredients, including psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and those containing therapeutic doses of cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabioids but not THC.
An additional 10 percent of the female veterans expressed an interest in trying cannabis to manage their symptoms.
By comparison, just 19 percent said they used hormone therapy or other, more mainstream interventions to manage their menopause symptoms.
This is disturbing because hormone therapy is the most effective therapy we have for menopause symptoms, and the benefits typically outweigh the risks for women in their 50s and within 10 years of menopause, Faubion told Healthline. Cannabis, on the other hand, is not a proven therapy for menopause.
Cannabis use for menopause symptoms was consistent across demographic categories, including age, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and mental health conditions.
Smoking cannabis or consuming gummies or other products containing the full spectrum of cannabis ingredients, including psychoactive THC, could have mixed results for women seeking relief from menopause.
Cannabis is known to have a sedating effect, so it may have a positive effect on sleep disturbance and reduce symptoms of anxiety, but there is also evidence that cannabis use can result in lethargy, increased anxiety, and can provoke serious psychiatric illness, Samantha Miller, spokesperson for Drug Helpline, told Healthline.
Menopause is associated with cognitive changes, feelings of brain fog and difficulty concentrating. These are also side effects of cannabis use, so using cannabis might actually make these symptoms worse, she explained.
Mood changes and irritability are often prominent features during the menopause, which may be counteracted by the euphoric feelings produced by cannabis use. However, there is evidence of a higher incidence of depression in cannabis users.
Miller also pointed out that there are no reliable clinical studies looking at cannabis use to aid menopausal symptoms.
She notes that cannabis products may be illegal in some jurisdictions and are unevenly regulated.
It would be advisable to obtain these products from a reliable source and start at a low dose to assess any adverse effects, she said.
Anecdotally, however, many women have found cannabis products to be effective in treating menopause symptoms particularly insomnia and hot flashes according to Dr. Junella Chin, the chief medical advisor at CannabisMD.
Hot flashes are due to the hormonal ups and downs of menopause, Chin told Healthline. Estrogen is involved with the bodys endocannabinoid system, and CBD binds to those receptors.
She added that both CBD and THC are known for their sedative effects, which could explain their reported effectiveness against insomnia.
It makes sense that some women find relief with plant-based therapy, said Chin.
Dr. Felice Gersh, an OB-GYN and medical director of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine, California, told Healthline that beyond hormone replacement therapy, mainstream medicine offers little in the way of relief to women suffering from menopause symptoms other than opioid or NSAID-class painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs.
Cannabis products do offer an alternative to whats out there, she said.
Gersh recommends only organic, hemp-based products containing CBD but not THC to her menopause patients.
She cites the comparative safety of CBD and the lack of regulation of THC products, including raw cannabis.
Marijuana can be grown with a huge amount of herbicides, she noted.
Gersh added that some evidence suggests that excessive use of THC-containing cannabis can lead to cognitive problems.
On the other hand, said Gersh, The cannabinoids found in the hemp plant are very safe and have benefits for things my patients are seeking help for, including pain relief, sleep problems, and hot flashes.
Other than lacking the THC that gets users high, hemp contains all of the 80 to 100 cannabinoids and 300 noncannabinoid chemicals found in the cannabis plant.
Some of those may also play a role in addressing menopause symptoms by interacting with receptors in the brain and in the immune system, said Gersh.
I always encourage using the whole plant for the entourage effect, she said. CBD is one of the major components, but its not the only one.
The rest is here:
Why Some Experts Say Cannabis Is Effective in Treating Menopause - Healthline
- Bio Identical Hormone replacement therapy "alternative medicine" OMT - June 1st, 2010 [June 1st, 2010]
- Healthbeat - Hormone Replacement Therapy - August 5th, 2010 [August 5th, 2010]
- Does Hormone Replacement Therapy increase breast cancer risks? - August 11th, 2010 [August 11th, 2010]
- Hormone replacement therapy increases risk of cancer - October 20th, 2010 [October 20th, 2010]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy Risky For Women - October 20th, 2010 [October 20th, 2010]
- Can Hormone Replacement Therapy Lead To Breast Cancer? - January 31st, 2011 [January 31st, 2011]
- Women Turning To Holistic Hormone Replacement Therapy - February 18th, 2011 [February 18th, 2011]
- Is Hormone Replacement Therapy Dangerous? - March 17th, 2011 [March 17th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy Complications - May 8th, 2011 [May 8th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy - May 10th, 2011 [May 10th, 2011]
- The New Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy - John Crisler, DO - May 13th, 2011 [May 13th, 2011]
- Suzanne Somers on hormone therapy for menopause, part 2 of 6 - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- Symptoms of Menopause (Menopause #2) - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- How to Relieve Menopause Symptoms : Hormonal Replacement Therapy for Menopause - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- HRT - Hormone Replacement Therapy - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- What is hormone replacement therapy? - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy and Breast Cancer - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- Natural Treatments Instead of Hormone Replacement Therapy - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- Suzanne Somers on hormone therapy for menopause, part 1 of 6 - May 23rd, 2011 [May 23rd, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy for post-menopausal women - June 19th, 2011 [June 19th, 2011]
- Joe Rogan talking about hormone replacement therapy 6-14-2011 - June 25th, 2011 [June 25th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy and Weight - June 25th, 2011 [June 25th, 2011]
- HRC Hormone Replacement Therapy - June 25th, 2011 [June 25th, 2011]
- Study Hormone Replacement Therapy Increases Breast Cancer Risk - kdka.com - June 25th, 2011 [June 25th, 2011]
- 020 - Neo Hormones - July 1st, 2011 [July 1st, 2011]
- Making Sense of Hormone Replacement Therapy - July 28th, 2011 [July 28th, 2011]
- HRT MTF Transition Report Week 10 - July 29th, 2011 [July 29th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement - Part 2 - July 30th, 2011 [July 30th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement - Part 1 - July 30th, 2011 [July 30th, 2011]
- Goldie Lookin Chain - HRT - August 9th, 2011 [August 9th, 2011]
- Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT): Optimizing Clinical Outcomes - Michael Aziz, MD - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Thyroid Replacement Therapy - Ronald Rothenberg, MD - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Dr. Ralph Turner discusses Hormone Replacement Therapy. - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- 1 year on HRT - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- The Wiley Protocol - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- My Journal with Low Testosterone TRT Replacement Therapy - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- 12 years of HRT: My Transition in photos - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Dr. Steven Jepson talks about Bio-identical Hormone Replacment Therapy - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Estradiol Valerate Injection HRT (Part 3)of(3) - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Study: Post-Menopausal Hormone Therapy Increases Cancer Risk - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Bio-identical Hormone Replacement (anti-aging) Therapy - Westchase, Tampa, Florida - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- natural hormone replacement - September 28th, 2011 [September 28th, 2011]
- 6 Month Hormone Effects (before and after) - September 28th, 2011 [September 28th, 2011]
- Jeff Life, MD - Cenegenics, Hormone Replacement Therapy - September 29th, 2011 [September 29th, 2011]
- Huge - September 30th, 2011 [September 30th, 2011]
- Transsexual hormones,Intramuscular injection, Progynon Depot,Estradiol - October 2nd, 2011 [October 2nd, 2011]
- Dr Whiting on Menopause and the Dangers of HRT - October 12th, 2011 [October 12th, 2011]
- Ahuviya Harel (ADF-Fuensalida) to Start Hormone Replacement Therapy - October 13th, 2011 [October 13th, 2011]
- Clomid Defined - Video - October 14th, 2011 [October 14th, 2011]
- Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapy - Dr. Denis Rebic - Video - October 14th, 2011 [October 14th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy - Video - October 14th, 2011 [October 14th, 2011]
- Dr. Pamela Smith - Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement - Video - October 15th, 2011 [October 15th, 2011]
- Jasper Carrott - Traffic - October 22nd, 2011 [October 22nd, 2011]
- VIDEO: Breast Cancer, Hormone Replacement Therapy Connection - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy with Dr. Sulak - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Menopause - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- bio identical hormone replacement therapy raleigh durcham chaepl hill north carolina - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Endocrine Related Hair Loss, Can Hormone Replacement Therapy Help Treat This? Friedman - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Dr. Navarro Discusses Bio Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy by the Book - Eldred Taylor, MD - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Sangeeta Pati, MD, FACOG, discusses Hormone Replacement - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Active Center's Dr. Gross Discusses Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy on NEWS 12 NJ - Video - October 28th, 2011 [October 28th, 2011]
- DALLAS ANTI-AGING MEDICINE BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONE THERAPY - Video - October 29th, 2011 [October 29th, 2011]
- Hormone Replacement Therapy and Menopause in Women - Video - November 8th, 2011 [November 8th, 2011]
- Amberen - Natural HRT Alternative Commercial - Video - November 9th, 2011 [November 9th, 2011]
- The Dangers of HRT - Video - November 11th, 2011 [November 11th, 2011]
- The Benefits and Risks of Male Hormone Replacement Therapy - Video - November 16th, 2011 [November 16th, 2011]
- Natural Menopause Treatment - Herbal HRT Alternative - Video - November 23rd, 2011 [November 23rd, 2011]
- Dr. Ian Thorneycroft - Hormone Replacement Therapy - Video - November 24th, 2011 [November 24th, 2011]
- Sarah,MTF Transgender 3months HRT - Video - November 24th, 2011 [November 24th, 2011]
- 26. ftm 1 month on t - Video - November 24th, 2011 [November 24th, 2011]
- Dr. Quint Jardine - Hormone Replacement Therapy with Pellets - Video - November 24th, 2011 [November 24th, 2011]
- 6 Month Changes MTF HRT - Video - November 24th, 2011 [November 24th, 2011]
- Medical Mondays: Will hormone replacement therapy increase my risk of breast cancer? - Video - December 6th, 2011 [December 6th, 2011]
- HRT EXPERIENCES NOT ALL GOOD - Video - December 8th, 2011 [December 8th, 2011]
- Sarah, MTF transgender 9 months HRT - Video - December 9th, 2011 [December 9th, 2011]
- Full: Effect of Testosterone Replacement Therapy on Prostate Tissue in Men with Late-Onset Hypogonadism (Dramatic Health) - Video - December 10th, 2011 [December 10th, 2011]
- Suzanne Somers on hormone therapy for menopause, part 3 of 6 - Video - December 11th, 2011 [December 11th, 2011]
- 1 Year HRT MTF Transition - Video - December 12th, 2011 [December 12th, 2011]