Andrea: I use cannabis oil for hot f lushes
ANDREA McLean has revealed how she used cannabis oil to help her cope with the effects of the menopause.
The Loose Women host said cannabidiol, derived from hemp, has ‘taken the edge off’ her hot flushes and ‘awful’ anxiety.
Mrs McLean, 49, had a hysterectomy in 2016 and the procedure induced an early menopause.
She was prescribed the beta blocker-type drug propranolol to slow her heart rate and her anxiety.
Although that helped, she also tried cannabidiol (CBD) on the recommendation of a friend.
The oil belongs to the cannabis family but contains only minute levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component that gets users ‘high’. The remedy is legal and available over the counter.
She said: ‘It has massively taken the edge off things with the flushes and it has made me less anxious because anxiety is still a key thing for me.
‘Unless you have experienced it like I have, where it feels like there is a tiger in the room, then no one really understands what it is like. It is awful.’ She still finds social situations ‘overwhelming’ but has found it easier to cope since meeting husband Nick Feeney, a businessman. She said: ‘He is gregarious but understands me well.
‘I’m a lot better, although I have still been known to cancel an hour before I am due to go out.
‘Then I hate myself for it. I find being in social situations overwhelming. I lack confidence and I feel stupid.’