Self-Treatment

One of the advantages of my retail job is that I can try out bicycle-related clothing and accessories at a discount. One of the disadvantages is that I've been injured a couple of times in the past year while riding my bicycle to work. Since my most recent crash in June I have been trying out a couple of products that turned up in stock in the store. Please keep in mind that I am totally unqualified to give medical information or advice - just relating my experience. Also, Sierra buys up overstocks and past season merchandise as available, and doesn't consistently carry any particular brands or products.

Cannabis products have been legalized in Washington state for a few years now, including recreational edibles and smokables, and also medicinal and cosmetic products that contain cannabinoids but not THC, the chemical that makes you high. Back in my crazed youth I tried smoking marijuana maybe a dozen times, but always found it made me so nervous and anxious that before I was 21 years old I decided it was just no fun and quit trying. Since becoming an arthritic old person I sometimes thought about trying topical products for pain and stiffness, but worried about having a bad reaction. But the impact of my most recent crash caused quite a bit of soreness in the bones around my shoulder, ribs and neck and off-the-shelf pain meds either didn't work or made me too spacey to use at work.

The first topical that turned up in the store was a Pachamama brand roll-on that contained CBD and "ancient Chinese herbs" in a menthol and camphor solution that created an intense hot-and-cold sensation which pretty much obscured any effect the CBD might have had. It felt really good, though. At bedtime I put on my PJs, rolled the gel solution across my shoulders and upper back and up my neck, sighed in relief and went happily to sleep. When my cuts and scrapes healed up to the itchy stage I rolled the solution about a half-inch around (not on) the broken skin and instantly stopped the itchiness. It may have been the hot-and-cold feeling, or a placebo effect, but in just a few days I began to feel a bit psychologically dependent and used up a two-ounce roll-on bottle in a few weeks.

After that I tried a Pachamama cream containing CBD in a menthol, arnica and capsaicin lotion. This had a milder warm-and-cool feeling but I seemed to notice more muscle relaxation and pain reduction, without the instant happy relief I felt before. It did have an odd smell, a combination of hot peppers and peppermint. The roll-on had a strong medicinal smell, though.

This week the store received a Sagely Naturals brand CBD Relief & Recovery cream which has a mild peppermint scent and only a light cooling feel. It is quite a bit less expensive than Pachamama - I'm getting these at about 50% off, full prices range from about $20 for 4 oz. for the Sagely Naturals, to $45-$60 for 2 or 3.5 oz. Pachamamas. So it will probably be best to wean myself off them.

To the right is my left elbow after I collided with a recycling wheelie bin in the dark about a year ago. So that's what a hematoma looks like - the skin wasn't broken or bleeding at all and I think I had some crushing injury to the bony point of my elbow.

Below is my left elbow and knee about ten weeks after my wipe-out in June. I'm just attaching these for clinical interest.

Left elbow

Left knee