Introducing Dr. Frank Michalski

Hi. My name is Stacey Pits, and I’m the co-founder of CBD Biocare. And joining me today is Dr. Frank Michalski, who’s a chiropractor but also a certified medical professional in New York. And he is our CBD Biocare expert. He sees patients on a daily basis using CBD Biocare. And he’s been studying this now for several years. And as our go-to expert, today we’re going to talk about a topic that we’re hearing more and more about. And I think the research is really promising in terms of:

How CBD can help people with MS or multiple sclerosis.

Thanks for having me. I’m really glad that we decided to address this topic because I think, as you mentioned to me before, all of us, most of us, know somebody with MS. So, of course, whenever we hear of something or talk to people who have conditions, and we know that CBD, because that’s our field, that’s what we’re passionate about. If we know that it can help people, we want to provide the science, we want to provide your expertise and your information, combined with our expertise and what we know about CBD and say, how can CBD help these people fighting this autoimmune disease?

Of course. So, this one really hits home for me, and I’m glad that we’re doing it, because, in Buffalo, we have a huge prevalence of MS. We have one of the largest clinics of neurology that takes on on MS here locally. So, this is really an important topic, and CBD is extremely promising when it comes to helping those suffering from MS. And I like to start, when I explain this topic, by referencing the government patent that is out there on CBD because it provides a nice summary of how CBD may benefit MS.

CBD is a powerful neuroprotectant without side-effects

And what that patent basically explains is that cannabis, and mind you, CBD comes from the cannabis plant, has been shown to be a powerful antioxidant and neuroprotectant. So what does that mean? That means that CBD has been shown to protect our nervous system, which is composed of our brain and our spinal cord. If we know people suffering from MS, the two primary areas that become attacked are the nerves which are located in the brain and the spinal cord. So anything that registers as a neuroprotectant, something that’s going to protect our nerves is very, very beneficial. I think it’s all the more beneficial when the government actually holds the patent and some of the research on that topic. Now, in that patent, I like to go on and just reiterate, they also mention that CBD does not appear to have that toxicity potential, those harsh side effects, that some of these other drugs out there have. So it’s a strong neuroprotectant, a strong neuro antioxidant without all of the potential side effects that we see from some of these other medications that I’m sure people with MS have experienced in the past.

So that would be the basis of it. Cbd is a strong neuroprotectant and anti-inflammatory. It helps to fight inflammation.

What is multiple sclerosis and what is the myelin sheath?

For those viewers who don’t fully understand MS, on a very simple level, imagine this. Imagine your nerves being a copper wire. And imagine a plastic coating around that copper wire. If that plastic coating becomes damaged, it’s very, very hard for those copper wires to communicate. Now, on the nerves in our body, we have a coating around them called the myelin sheath. This is what becomes attacked in MS. It’s an autoimmune disease. The body starts to attack its own Myalin, its own plastic coating around the nerves. When that happens, the nerves can no longer communicate back and forth to one another. And this then leads to inflammation of the nerves, inflammation of the brain. And what we’re hearing right from the government patent is that CBD seems to play a role as a strong neuroprotectant.

Now, more exciting, I would say, is there are clinical trials underneath the pharmaceutical drug Sativex. It’s not currently legal in the United States or approved by the FDA, but they are seeing very, very promising literature for the use of cannabinoids to actually treat MS.  I will say as a disclaimer…

What is Sativex?

Sativex a one to 1 ratio of THC to CBD. So it does involve THC. And for many of those suffering from MS, the THC does seem to play a role in helping with the muscle spasticity and some of the pain that they experience.

Does CBD repair nerve damage?

So do you think that the CBD helps repair or restore that sheet, or do you think that the CBD is calming the triggers that create a flare-up in someone that has MS?

Of course. I think we’re still waiting for the research to be able to say it’s repairing. I would love to believe that. And I hope one day we find that. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we do. But for right now, most of the focus on the research is calming down the triggers that surround MS. So most people suffering fromMS will agree that stress is a trigger. It results in a flare-up. A flare-up might be muscle spasticity, very bad fatigue.  And pain, an increase in pain.

What are the triggers for multiple sclerosis?

Stress. Stress is a trigger. Heat sensitivity is often a trigger for MS. Infections. Common infections, such as the cold or the flu, are often triggers for MS. And insomnia would probably be the other large trigger because insomnia certainly can result in fatigue. So we know that CBD can benefit a healthy stress response. We know that CBD has anti-anxiety effects, that’s already been proven. So if we have a patient with MS and they’re very anxious, they work a high-stress job or they’re stressed because, unfortunately, this disease has put them on disability.  If CBD can help with that. I think that’s an amazing thing.

CBD protects the immune system

We know CBD benefits the immune system. Now, can I say it prevents the flu or prevents a cold? No, but we do know it’s an antioxidant. It has positive benefits on our immune system. So if we can use CBD to prevent an immune system flare up, that’s a great thing. And I’m sure you’ll agree with this one, Stacy. Sleep and pain are probably the top two reasons we hear people using CBD Biocare products, right?

CBD promotes sleep

When it comes to sleep, how many people have you heard say that their sleep is better and that their pain is decreased? So if we can help people suffering from MS with sleep cycles, helping get them a healthier sleep cycle and helping them reduce pain, could we then potentially have less flare-ups? Could that then potentially lead to a slowing down to the progression of that disease? I don’t think it’s going to be long before the research points us in that direction.

Research on MS has progressed

It’s so encouraging to hear that. I had a friend in high school who actually passed away from MS, and she died very early and left children behind. And it was really, really devastating. And thank goodness, that was 25 years ago because she died about five years out of high school, so very, very young. And you don’t really hear that anymore, at least within the people that I’ve associated with. So, thank goodness, it seems that the medical community has progressed in terms of treating people or helping people live a full life with this disease. But it is so encouraging when I hear you talk about what CBD could potentially do for the millions of people who are suffering from this disease, to give them a better quality of life. And now you’re seeing celebrities that are coming out and they’re stating that they have MS and living a relatively normal, quote, unquote lifestyle, which is amazing. And that’s what we want. And so if CBD can come along and partner with those people, if you will, and say, Hey, we’re going to help you sleep better, we’re going to help to reduce stress. We’re going to help with the pain. Some people have tremendous success using CBD for pain. Some people find that it helps with the pain. But, wow, are they sleeping better. So everybody’s a little bit different, but it’s so encouraging to hear what you’re saying.

Personal testimony on the effects of cannabis oil on multiple sclerosis patient

I’ve worked one on one with an individual I can think of. We’re not going to use names, but he’s very prominent on YouTube speaking about MS. And it’s really amazing that I got that opportunity. I was actually working with them on a fitness regimen. They were actually exercising and strengthening their muscles. And he would be the first one to tell you how much he supports cannabis and how much it’s actually done for him. He was one of those using more of a one to 1 ratio through dent neurology.  But even with the additional CBD, he felt there was further benefit. And I can tell you, I saw it firsthand. It was really an amazing thing, and it’s not that everyone’s going to get those results. I do believe there are many people. Because you’re seeing their personal stories, I got to see one of them first hand. It was truly an incredible transformation, especially as we here in New York that occurred after we got the legalization for medical marijuana. It was really an amazing thing.

I was just going to say, cannabis continues to amaze me. It’s really been off my radar for so many years, I thought it was just honestly something people with cancer wanted to use to help with pain and to help them with end-of-life coping. That was my only real idea of what medical cannabis means. And now we know without a shadow of a doubt that medical cannabis means two things:

Medical Grade Cannabis

it means medical-grade hemp – that is the exact same thing as the marijuana plant except it has low THC, and then you have an oil with all the cannabinoids with all the terpenes and everything wonderful and that’s what we offer at CBD Biocare – a full spectrum, full plant, wonderful medicinal product. And then, on the flip side, you have what we used to think was the only medical cannabis out there, which was the medical marijuana product that people used.

Are cannabis laws changing?

And thank goodness the laws are changing. CBD is legal for us to ship to anywhere in the United States and 40 countries around the world. The laws on cannabis, in general, are loosening up so you have to check what’s available in your own state or city. But, it’s so encouraging because we’re learning more and there is still so much to learn.

Choosing THC or CBD or both

But let’s talk a little bit more because I don’t know that people are going to understand the one-to-one ratio. We always tell people, look CBD is legal, and it’s easy to get. It’s easy to take. There’ are some things that you need to know to make sure that you’re getting a quality product and you can go to our website, on the homepage, and there are six points there. It talks about the six things you need to know before you buy a CBD product to make sure that you’re getting good quality. Of course, we’d welcome your business at CBD Biocare. We’re here to answer your questions. Dr. Frank is available to you, so that is available. Second of all, try CBD. Enter that into your regimen. Dr. Frank can talk more about when do you incorporate, or when do you search for THC. I always say, cannabis works. It’s a matter of finding what works for you. When is CBD alone okay, and when do you need to explore entering into the THC community and start seeing if that can help give you even more benefit.  If you could take that a step further from your standpoint talking about how much. Where do you start and when is THC an option?

In our experience, here in New York, so this is how we work with people if they’re not already seeing a neurologist, which all of them are. Everyone I work with is already seeing a neurologist. It’s usually the neurologist who introduces the idea of the THC and then we kind of handle the CBD side of things. When it comes to CBD, I think that’s the easiest starting point. You don’t need to go through a registry in New York. You don’t need to get a medical card for it. It’s just much easier to acquire a quality product. Obviously, we work with your company and that’s it’s easy for us. We usually start patients on that if they’re not already using a THC product, which here in New York many already are. I think they actually have statistics on this. As high as 66% of people with MS are actually using cannabis already. The reason why we start with CBD is most of the health benefits revolved around cannabis are from the CBD itself. In our opinion, less is more. Not that we have anything at all against THC, but if you could get away with just a CBD product and potentially avoid any of those psychoactive effects, why would you not want to do that? Now in my experience, the individuals who start to speak with their neurologists to seek out the THC-containing products in addition to the CBD, are the ones who are really suffering from pain and muscle spasticity. Those individuals with the more advanced symptoms of MS seem to do quite well with the THC-containing products. In New York, we’re not allowed to advise on THC. They have to go through a registered physician that’s set up with a medical marijuana clinic. But, the people that I see going that that direction are the ones with the really bad muscle spasms and the ones with a lot of pain. And again, that depends on the progression of the disease. How long ago were they diagnosed? How advanced is it?  That’s really where we start to see THC become involved. Sativex, you said this earlier, is a one-to-one ratio, which means it’s one part THC one part CBD. Equal quantities of each one of the main things they talked about in their findings with the clinical trials was the improvement of quality of life. That was what people said. The pain was down. Fatigue was not so bad. Sleep was improved. Focus was improved. Quality of life factors. And, when you look at the treatments currently out there, with traditional medical treatments the aim is to help these people have a better quality of life because right now, there is no cure-all.

Cannabis oil allows a reduction in other medications 

The other thing I would like to mention too, that we’ve seen first-hand, and that they saw in this clinical trial with Sativex in other countries, these people were able to significantly reduce other medications. Let’s not forget, many people suffering from MS are prescribed opioids. They’re prescribed anti-anxiety medications – benzodiazepines. They’re prescribed antidepressants and pills for insomnia. All those medications come with side effects. We are always fans of less is more. I think most people out there at this point in time would agree that they want to be taking less, not more. Those using CBD – I believe many of them accomplish that.

Is MS easily diagnosed?

Is MS easily diagnosed? I’ve heard some things before with some reports that have stated that people can have MS-like symptoms but not actually have MS. Do you think that this is a disease that is misdiagnosed often or do you think that’s not really an issue?

I don’t know so much about misdiagnosis, but I think it’s missed a lot. We’ve seen this before. We had one case of MS in my five and a half years. They had seen so many people for numbness and tingling in the legs and no one ever thought a young female… no one ever thought MS. We were fortunate that having the background that I had, through functional medicine, it was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw her. I wasn’t even thinking about chiropractic work, I was thinking this girl might have MS. And, it turned out, she got worked up by a neurologist and she did. I think maybe sometimes at the entry-level medical visit, it might be missed, or it might be blown off as back pain or sciatica pain. That I do believe is still a problem. Once you’re into the neurologist’s office and they’re doing blood work, and they’re doing MRIs of the cervical spine in the brain, and they’re doing a spinal tap, at that point I think a diagnosis of MS is pretty comprehensive, especially with the nerve conduction studies involved. But, there are such things as just an acute flare-up of MS-like symptoms. It’s MS, but it doesn’t really qualify, and you just kind of watch it as it goes. They’ll tell you at the physician’s office, we’ll watch and see if this might be MS, but at this point, we’re not going to do anything. Maybe they’ll just prescribe a one or two-time prednisone steroid pack. There are acute MS flare-ups, then you have progressive MS, and then there are three or four different types. I’m certainly not the expert on I’m each type. But there is one that is just acute. I think the more knowledge the entry-level non-specialists have about it – your physical therapists, your chiropractor, your primary care physician, your gastroenterologist, your OBGYN, the more knowledge they have, that should eventually lead to a better diagnosis. But once they’re in that neurologist’s office I think it’s pretty concrete.

Where to start with cannabis oil dosage

Okay good to know.  I think the most logical next question is, where to start? I automatically think if somebody is suffering from nerve pain and having some of these flare-ups, I immediately go to the 3,500ml, because it’s our strongest. You can take one drop, or you can take a full dropper, but is that too much? Where would you recommend people start?

We say in all of our videos it’s going to be very individualized. I, in my experience and talking to patients, and working with patients, don’t see anyone below 30 milligrams a day. I think that’s very unusual. 30 Milligrams a day, and the 3500, is very simple: it’s two drops in the morning, two drops in the afternoon, and two drops in the evening. I love the 3500 milligram because one drop is five milligrams of CBD. I think that’s a very easy way for patients to work up or work down that serving size, or that dosage. We’re always recommending the 3500 when we see a disease like I’m MS, and most of the authorities, the books that you see written, the research out there would recommend between that standard to macro dose, which is anywhere from 10 milligrams a day upwards of 400 milligrams a day. I’ve seen studies referencing giving people upwards of fourteen hundred milligrams a day. I wouldn’t recommend that. That’s not something I’m doing. But, they reported that it was tolerated in some of these individuals. I think most people are probably going be on between 30 and 300 milligrams a day. That’s probably safe. But hence, the 3,500 – to get the 500 it’s not enough per drop, and I love being able to say one drop is five milligrams, two drops is ten, three drops is 15. It’s simple. It leads to easy compliance, and the nice thing about any CBD product that you’re taking of ours is that you can increase or decrease as needed. If you’re having a flare-up then you would want to take more to manage that flare-up, or the pain, and the other nice thing is that you’re not going to hurt yourself. You’re not going to overdose. You can take more when needed, or take less when needed. A lot of people are going to ask this too, so you should always work with your neurologist. Of course, on these topics, chances are you’re going to be using other medications. Of course, now I can say this. From the Sativex study, some other things that they looked at – the amazing thing was, even in higher amounts, CBD was well tolerated in the presence of other medications. People always ask about medication interactions and there’s always that potential. It’s good to make your physician aware. They’re not seeing those interactions with commonly prescribed MS drugs. That does not, at the time, seem to be a concern. Let your medical team make them aware but the concern just is not there right now. In the literature it’s it appears very well tolerated and very, very safe. And to your point, we always tell people that this is just what the research is suggesting, and we’re sharing our experiences and our knowledge of the CBD products. But, of course, always work with your physician. We’re certainly not recommending that you stop taking the medication that you’ve been given, but we do have so many success stories of people talking about medications being decreased. To your point, what if it helps with sleep? Now you’re not taking some other product to help with sleep. So often in the medical community, we find that we take this pill and then this pill causes us to take this pill, and so forth. So, really, really encouraging information from you today. Of course, any time. I’m happy to share.

Like I said, MS is a huge problem here. I’m from Buffalo, New York, so this is always a topic I love spreading information about. Well, I’m sure it will help people around the country and even around the world and I’m excited to see more on what the research says and how CBD will continue to help people who are suffering from this disease, so thank you, Dr. Frank. Anytime Stacey, thank you.