Eileen Konieczny RN - Healing with CBD: How Cannabidiol Can Transform Your Health Without the High

HEALING with CBD

HOW CANNABIDIOL CAN TRANSFORM YOUR HEALTH WITHOUT THE HIGH

EILEEN KONIECZNY, RN with LAUREN WILSON

Text copyright 2018 Eileen Konieczny and Lauren Wilson. Design and concept copyright 2018 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the United States by:

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61243-851-1

Acquisitions editor: Casie Vogel

Managing editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Renee Rutledge

Proofreader: Shayna Keyles

Front cover design: Rebecca Lown

Interior design and layout: what!design @ whatweb.com

Interior art:

Production: Jake Flaherty, Claire Sielaff

Distributed by Publishers Group West

IMPORTANT NOTE TO READERS: This book has been written and published for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as medical advice or to be any form of medical treatment. You should always consult with your physician before altering or changing any aspect of your medical treatment. Do not stop or change any prescription medications without the guidance and advice of your physician. Any use of the information in this book is made on the readers good judgment and is the readers sole responsibility. This book is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition and is not a substitute for a physician. This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked brands or other products mentioned within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The authors and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality brands mentioned in this book.

Contents

Introduction

It was years ago now, but I will never forget the day I learned that cannabis can be medicine. I was speaking with a beekeeper friend of mine. He had asked about the health of my sister, who at that time had been living with stage IV breast cancer for the past five years. We spoke about her current chemotherapy regimen, the tingling in her hands, imbalance, fatigue, and the fog they call chemo-brain.

He asked me if she ever used cannabis, and I was surprised by the question. Having a brother who had issues with drugs and alcohol, cannabis did not factor positively in my life. My friend began to tell me about the history of the plant and how safe it was, how it was used as medicine back in the day. He called it a truly amazing plant and that he knew people who used it to help tolerate their chemotherapy. It was that conversation that changed the path of my life, and I have never looked back.

My name is Eileen Konieczny, and I have been a registered nurse for over 25 years. My specialty is bedside nursing care for patients diagnosed with cancer. I have run the gamut within oncology: oncology nursing certification, stem cell transplants, high dose chemotherapy, symptom management, and end of life care.

I am proud of the work I have done as a nurse. Some of the main responsibilities of our profession are to promote and restore health, to prevent illness, and to alleviate the suffering of individuals and society at large. This is done respectfully and unrestricted by considerations of age, color, creed, culture, disability or illness, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, politics, race, or social status. Everyone looks the same in a hospital gown and it has been my greatest honor to be of service to people when they are experiencing some of the darkest times of their lives. It certainly isnt for everyone, but like with many of my colleagues, it is a calling.

So it is with the education and experience of a nurse and the heart of a daughter and sister that I began my journey to understand cannabis as medicine. This book is a step forward in this journey.

My Journey

My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the month after my wedding, January 1996. She had died by the end of that summer. I watched her shrink to mere skin and bones before my eyes. She had no desire for food; nothing had enough taste to waste energy eating. Oh, how she wanted food to taste like food again.

Had I known or thought to consider cannabis then, I believe she would have tried it. And knowing the value of utilizing cannabinoids for health and wellness, I believe she would have experienced a better end to her life. I believe she would have eaten more, laughed more, and experienced less pain.

For the past ten years, I have educated myself and anyone else who would listen about the medicinal benefits of cannabis. The more I learned, the louder I became. I remember many of the patients I cared for over the years and the limitations I faced trying to alleviate their suffering.

I remember what was lacking in the care of my mother and sister.

I have vivid memories of a trip I took with my sister to California. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer within a year of giving birth to my niece, and I was painfully aware of what the years ahead of her would hold. In the later years of her diagnosis, the breast cancer cells that had already been in her liver also went into her brain. This made traveling alone dangerous of her, so when I announced that I would be traveling to California for a seminar on cannabis, I was surprised when she decided to come along.

Traveling together had always been a joy, filled with plenty of laughs, beautiful scenery, and great company. Unfortunately, early on in this trip she insisted that I stop talking about pot. I was deeply entrenched in my cannabis education and had an irritating habit of preaching about the incredible things I was learning, making it the topic of conversation most of the time we were together. My sister had no interest in using cannabis in any form. She didnt care about the information that I was learning, that I was desperate for her to hear.

So I stopped talking about it and our days became very quiet. She never did try using cannabis.

My memory often takes me back to get glimpses of significant moments in my life, and that trip is one of them. It had lasting effects for meon a personal level, I have learned to temper my enthusiasm and be mindful of the boundaries of others. On a professional level, I quickly became part of a small yet growing number of healthcare professionals who stand up, educate, and advocate for safe access to cannabis medicine.

Here is a plant that has been used safely for thousands of years in traditional and western medicinal practices; anecdotally helps individuals cope with the side effects of chemotherapy, pain, and other maladies; and has research that points to what Raphael Mechoulam, PhD, a pioneer in the field of cannabis research, calls a treasure trove of bioactive compounds that are known to have beneficial, therapeutic, and medicinal effects.

If that isnt enough, in the early 1990s, researchers uncovered a newly discovered endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is a system that is inherent and hard-wired within our body, and whose job it is to maintain homeostasis: a balanced internal environment despite the daily fluctuation in our external environment (poor diet, pollution, stress). It does this by continuously regulating functions in our brain, skin, digestive tract, liver, cardiovascular system, genitourinary function, and even bone.