CBD Product Reviewer
Vic Fichman
Female | 18-24
Exercise Recovery | Weight-Lifting
Vic has incorporated CBD into her recovery regimen as she takes any opportunity to help her body recover more quickly and give herself an edge over her competitors.
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Products Reviewed
Charlotte’s Web CBD Gummies 10mg – Recovery
$44.99
Charlotte’s Web | CBD Gummies | Exercise Recovery
PRODUCT RATING
WEEK 1
Part 1
I first took the ginger CBD gummies at around 10:30 PM on Friday night because I was excited to try them on the first day. My first reaction to the CBD gummies was that they have a very pleasant, chewy texture and the initial taste of the ginger CBD gummies is very good. I have had other CBD and THC edibles in the past and they are often an unpleasant texture like hardened jello or they dissolve while chewing with a ton of crunchy sugar on them. I really appreciated that there was no sugar on the CBD gummies. I also like that they are a natural flavor, not an artificial flavor. Past gummies I have taken often have a chemical-like taste with an attempt at some kind of artificial fruit flavour, which I am not a fan of. I will say the aftertaste is quite hashy, which doesn’t prevent me from wanting to take them. However, it would be nice if the after taste wasn’t quite so strong. I didn’t notice the effects of taking the CBD gummies at all, but I did go to bed about an hour after taking the CBD gummies. I did sleep well that night, so the CBD may have affected my quality of sleep. I have taken CBD edibles in the past, and noticed a mellow, relaxed body sensation within 30 minutes of taking them. The CBD edibles I took in the past were Stratos 15:1 CBD to THC ratio pills and Stratos 1:1 CBD to THC ratio pills.
Part 2
The second night I took the CBD gummies at around 10:30 PM right after I played 2 fifty-minute soccer games. I accumulated a few bruises and a sprained ankle during the game so I was hoping the CBD would help with pain and/or inflammation. My lower legs were noticeably swollen and bruised. My legs were fatigued from running and I had very little range of motion in my ankle. It was also very painful to walk and flex my left foot because of a contusion I sustained on my left leg. Typically, after games, I take Ibuprofen or Advil, but I have been trying to reduce my use of those medicines because of the adverse effects of taking them regularly. I played college soccer and was in the habit of taking 8-12 Advil or Ibuprofen every single day to manage the inflammation and pain from playing. I have also tried taking THC in many different forms including flower, concentrates, and edibles. I have found relief from combining both THC and CBD, and I have also found quite a bit of relief from using CBD topicals like Mary’s Medicinal Freeze cream. I was hoping to find a CBD product that doesn’t have THC in it so I can find relief when I don’t want to feel the effects of consuming THC. I did not notice pain relief in my shin and ankle, but I did notice feeling quite relaxed after about 45 minutes. I was happy to feel relaxed because I have a difficult time winding down after exercising late at night. The next day I did notice a reduction in the inflammation in my legs and had much better mobility and range of motion after taking the CBD gummies. I never had a definitive moment where I felt the effects of the CBD gummies, it was more like a gradual onset of relief in the background.
Part 3
Since I noticed some inflammation reduction when I woke up after taking the CBD gummies at night, I decided I should try taking the CBD gummies first thing in the morning regularly so I could get into a routine and monitor the effects when I had a clear, fresh mind. I was initially hesitant to start my day with them because I wasn’t sure how they would affect me mentally and physically at work. I was worried I would become sleepy or too mellow. I took the CBD gummies at around 7:15 in the morning. I was worried that I wouldn’t feel the effects because I had nothing in my stomach and I know with THC edibles you may not feel the effects if you do not consume food, especially with a fatty content. I did eat breakfast about thirty minutes later and I did not feel the effects of the CBD gummies immediately. I left for work at 7:55 AM and by the time I walked over to the office and got settled in at around 8:00, I actually noticed that my mood was significantly improved and happier than when I woke up. I felt peppy, talkative and light-hearted. I also felt very clear-headed and not sleepy at all. My leg was still sore from playing soccer the night before, but I noticed a significant improvement in mobility even compared with the night before and earlier in the morning when I first woke up. I never noticed the effects wearing off, I felt like I maintained a peppy mood all day long and never noticed a crash or feeling sleepy. When I have taken CBD products in the past, I have noticed being tired and sluggish after the effects wear off, even if they only had a small ratio of THC like the 15:1 CBD to THC ratio Stratos pills I took. I’m not sure if taking the CBD gummies every single day can compound the effects, but I felt like I felt the effects more strongly after taking them for several days in a row
$44.99
WEEK 2
Part 1
Today I started my Monday with 2 CBD gummies at around 7:15AM. I had a great sleep the night before so I was looking forward to seeing how the CBD gummies would affect me after waking up feeling well rested. I was slightly irritable because I didn’t want the weekend to be over. I noticed by the time I walked to work at 8:00AM, I was feeling happier, more relaxed and far less irritable. I never noticed when the CBD wore off, but I had a very productive day at work. I also noticed feeling optimistic and positive throughout the day. Overall, I have noticed feeling more regularly optimistic and positive throughout the week since taking the CBD. In the past when I have taken CBD maybe once or twice a month, and relied on regular THC consumption, my mood has not been as optimistic and positive as consistently as it has been when regularly consuming CBD. I’m not sure if there is a direct correlation between the CBD gummies and feeling more optimistic and positive, or if other factors have contributed, but it seems to me the CBD has had a positive impact on my daily outlook and attitude.
Part 2
Tuesday I forgot to take the CBD gummies first thing in the morning. I had a tough workout on Monday evening and noticed feeling quite tight and sore, especially once I got to work and sat down at my desk. I decided to take the CBD gummies after my lunch break so I could find some relief from the discomfort and tightness I was having while sitting down. I felt the discomfort in my hips and my upper back. I also wanted to test whether or not I would feel the effects more quickly when consuming on a full stomach versus an empty stomach in the morning. I took the gummies at around 1:15pm. I sat on a couch to continue working and was definitely still feeling very tight and uncomfortable through my hips and back even an hour after consuming the CBD. I decided to stretch to try to relieve the tightness and discomfort and I did notice that I was much more relaxed than I usually am when I stretch. I was able to focus on my breathing and get into a deeper stretch than I normally can, even when I am not sore from working out. I also noticed by 4:00PM that my mood had significantly improved. I was feeling a bit irritable after a meeting that went through lunch and that feeling was completely gone by 4:00. It may have been relieved prior to that, but I was not aware of the change in my mood because I was focused on working. By the end of the day, I felt so much looser through my hips and back, despite only stretching each hamstring and hip flexor for 30 seconds each. Initially, I thought I was going to have to have a mild workout because of the tightness and soreness but after the positive turn my body took this afternoon, I felt I could attack a much more aggressive workout.
Part 3
On Wednesday night I had football tryouts and suffered a severe bruise on my foot after being stepped on. The pain was high and I couldn’t finish the tryout because I feared I broke my foot. I immediately had significant inflammation and a golf ball sized knot on top of my foot. The swelling was so severe I wasn’t able to feel my toes because of the pressure the inflammation was putting on a nerve in my foot. After having a medical professional look at my foot and determine that it was just a bruise, I shifted my focus on getting back on the field as quickly as possible. With another upcoming tryout, I needed to get the swelling down and try to flush the bruising out quickly. I took gummies on Wednesday night after practice around 9:30PM. I also iced and elevated my foot to help push the swelling out. I had very little mobility in my toes and foot because of the bruise when I went to bed on Wednesday night. In the morning, I took more gummies when I woke up around 7:15am. When I first woke up, I noticed the swelling was significantly reduced and I was having much less trouble walking and moving my toes. By the end of the day, the swelling on my foot was almost completely gone. The next day (Friday) I was feeling so good that I was able to go on a run without issue (no pain or mobility problems). As of Friday evening, there was no bruising and only a little bit of swelling. I have been stepped on countless times throughout soccer and football and I have never seen a bruise react that quickly to treatment. In the past, I have treated these injuries with ice and ibuprofen. Typically, it has taken 3-5 days for the swelling to reduce and I usually see a bruise developing within a week. It hasn’t quite been a week, so I’m not sure if a bruise will develop. However, the reduction in swelling and inflammation was so significant I will continue to use CBD to treat swelling in the future.
$44.99
WEEK 3
Part 1
On Monday, I continued creating the habit of taking the CBD gummies first thing in the morning. By being consistent with when I take the CBD gummies, I’m hoping to uncover some patterns in how the CBD affects my mood and any inflammation from working out and playing sports. I took the CBD around 7:30 AM with breakfast. I did not work out over the weekend so I had no notable soreness or inflammation. The bruise and swelling I sustained in football the week prior were completely gone, so I had no real physical concerns. I didn’t wake up feeling irritable, but I also was not in a great mood. I felt a bit of Monday dread for the upcoming work week. By around 8:00 I felt an uptick in my mood. I felt relaxed, mellow, but happy and cheerful. I didn’t feel overly energetic, but I felt noticeably better than when I initially woke up. My cheerful mood continued through the morning until around 11. I didn’t feel a drop in my mood at 11, but I no longer felt quite as smiley. By the time I returned from my lunch break at 1:00 PM, the effects of the CBD were completely gone. I played soccer at 6:30 PM, and I felt very loose in warm-up with no noticeably tight muscles- which could be a result of a restful weekend or CBD or a combination of the two.
Part 2
On Tuesday, I started my day with CBD again- this time consuming the CBD gummies around 7:45 AM. I woke up feeling general lower body soreness, especially in my ankles, knees, and hips. These are the areas I typically feel sore and tight after playing soccer. I did not have any notable bruises or major swelling from the night before, but my left knee and ankle had some mild swelling. As I have experienced in the past, I did not notice any relief in my tight hips from taking the CBD. Sitting all day at a desk seems to make the tightness worse as the day goes on. I did notice that my mood was positive and cheerful again for the majority of my morning (8:20-11: 00 AM). I also noticed that my knees and ankles were not noticeably sore by around 10:00 AM. Prior to taking the CBD, my knees and ankles were sore while walking and sitting. After taking the CBD, I could no longer notice any discomfort when I was sitting at my desk, though I still had some mild discomfort in my left knee and ankle while walking around. After the CBD wore off in the afternoon, the soreness in my knees and ankles did not return. I played soccer again on Tuesday night and felt noticeable soreness and tightness in my hips, hamstrings, calves, feet, and ankles. I had a hard time shaking the soreness off through my warmup and felt slow for the entire 45 minute workout. In the future, I’d like to try taking CBD right before a workout on days I am feeling more sore than usual to see if I can find some relief and ease into secondary workouts more easily.
Part 3
On Thursday, I took CBD immediately when I woke up at around 6:45 AM. I had a football tryout the night before which accumulated with playing soccer on Monday and Tuesday. I was experiencing extreme soreness in my lower body. I also developed quite a bit of soreness in my right shoulder from throwing. Our practice was on artificial turf, and I had developed some moderate-severe swelling in my left knee through my shin and left ankle/foot. I also sustained another bruise on my right ankle from being kicked during practice. A bruise was already forming with noticeable swelling. I knew I needed to take CBD to try to replicate the results I saw the week before when my foot was stepped on and I suffered similar bruising and swelling. I monitored my swelling throughout the day and determined that the bruise I sustained on my right foot was responding positively to the CBD just like my foot did the week before. By the evening, around 5:15 PM, the swelling in my right foot was significantly reduced. There was still some noticeable bruising, but I could see the contour of my bone again which was too swollen to see at the start of the day. The swelling in my left knee and lower leg did not respond as positively. It seemed to me that the swelling in my left leg stayed the same at best and may have gotten worse. I also did not notice any improvement to my shoulder soreness and tightness. I had limited mobility in my shoulder at the start of the day, and little improvement by the end of the day. I also experienced a constant aching throughout the day in my shoulder and behind my shoulder blade. The only way I was able to find relief in my shoulder was to get a dry needling treatment to release the tight muscles behind my scapula and deltoid.
$44.99