It is estimated that 5 to 30 percent of women of reproductive age struggle with endometriosis, which is approximately 180 million women worldwide (including approximately 1 million Polish women). The pain and other ailments that accompany the disease negatively affect the quality of functioning of patients, their mental well-being and life satisfaction. Diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis are complex and long-term. Research on the possibility of using CBD and other hemp cannabinoids in patients with endometriosis has been conducted for years. The results of studies involving patients confirm the beneficial effects of CBD in endometriosis.

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a chronic, autoimmune disease that involves the presence of cells of the uterine mucosa - endometrium - outside the uterine cavity, i.e. where they should not be present physiologically.

The endometrium is the lining of the uterus and grows during the monthly cycle, creating a favorable environment for the reception of a fertilized egg. If fertilization does not occur, it sheds during menstruation. In some cases, menstrual blood and endometrial cells enter the abdominal cavity and begin to grow elsewhere in the body.

Abnormal endometrial cells form cysts in the ovaries, ovarian fossa, and on the uterosacral ligaments. They may also occur in other places in the pelvis, e.g. in the intestines, stomach, urinary bladder, and in rarer cases also in distant places in the woman's body, e.g. in the pleura, pericardium, eye socket, brain. .

In some patients, in parallel or independently of endometrial cysts outside the uterus, a special form of endometriosis develops - adenomyosis , which involves the formation of endometrial foci in the muscular layer of the uterine wall. This leads to disruption of its structure, "spongeness" and is associated with pain in this organ.

Growing, infiltrating endometrial cysts can lead to serious health complications, both at the body and mental level, e.g.:

fusion of internal organs, which may lead to impairment of their functioning,
inflammation of the digestive system,
chronic, severe pain causing disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system, which leads, among others, to hyperreactivity to pain signals,
mental problems (depression, anxiety).

Symptoms and diagnosis of endometriosis

Endometriosis is a disease of a complex, heterogeneous nature, the symptoms of which occur in different patients to varying degrees. The symptoms are often non-specific, endometriosis is sometimes confused with other diseases, and diagnosis is usually long-lasting and requires patients to consult many specialists and perform various tests to exclude other diseases.

Obtaining a diagnosis often takes patients a very long time (even several years), which, as the patients themselves declare, has a negative impact on their mental condition and is often associated with the progression of untreated disease. Patients talk about years of "bounced by doctors", the experience of downplaying or "psychiatrizing" their ailments.

The most common symptoms of endometriosis are:

extremely painful periods,
heavy menstrual bleeding,
pelvic pain (during ovulation or throughout the menstrual cycle),
digestive system problems (intestinal pain, stomach pain, flatulence, digestive problems, inflammation of the digestive system, bacterial and inflammatory intestinal diseases, constipation, diarrhea),
frequent or chronic headaches,
feeling of pressure on the bladder, frequent urination,
numbness of lower limbs,
arthralgia,
painful intercourse,
painful bowel movements and urination,
feeling weak, lack of energy.

Treatment of endometriosis

Currently, there is no medicine available to permanently cure endometriosis. The most common treatment methods offered to patients are therapy and surgery. Urogynecological physiotherapy, light but systematic physical exercise and an anti-inflammatory diet are recommended as additional therapeutic tools.

Psychological support is also important, including: aimed at better coping with stress, coping with pain, learning relaxation techniques and relieving tension in the body.

It happens that only surgery, hormonal therapy and systematic use of all the above methods for a long time allow the symptoms to be reduced to a level that allows active, satisfactory functioning.

Hormone therapy, like any other long-term treatment, may be tolerated better or worse by patients and is associated with side effects. Some patients decide not to take hormones. In such situations, it is possible to treat pain , follow an anti-inflammatory diet, avoid stress, attend physiotherapy, and practice light sports. CBD and other cannabinoid therapy endometriosis treatment.

CBD and other cannabinoids in endometriosis – scientific research

The most important properties of CBD that may be helpful in the treatment of endometriosis include: anti-inflammatory effects, analgesic effects, regulation of the immune system, mood regulation, and stress relief.

Let's look at two selected studies on the use of CBD in endometriosis:

An article published in 2022 described the results of an animal study, which showed that daily administration of CBD significantly reduced the diameter, volume and area of endometrial lesions, and also managed to modify the morphology of the lesions. CBD showed an antioxidant effect and alleviated inflammation both in the collected lesions and in peritoneal fluids. CBD has also been shown to have an analgesic effect.

Patients who self-use cannabis cannabinoids to alleviate the symptoms of endometriosis were recruited to participate in a questionnaire study.

The collected data showed that 56% of participants experienced a decrease in pain level by 7.6 points on a 10-point scale during the 6-month treatment period.

The same group reduced their dose of painkillers by 50%. Cannabis improved the sleep quality of patients (some women suffering from endometriosis complain of sleep problems, often caused by pain) and alleviated problems related to the digestive system.

A new study by Polish scientists confirmed earlier foreign reports. Despite the small study sample (10 patients), scientists consider it significant.
The study lasted 3 months, and the endpoints were the assessment of pain intensity and general comfort of life of patients before and after therapy. All patients improved in both assessed parameters with low side effects.

Scientists agree that the current research results encourage further analysis of the effectiveness of CBD and other hemp cannabinoids in the treatment of endometriosis. Clinical trials involving female patients are currently taking place in several research centers around the world.