A Nurse's Guide to CBD, THC & Your Cycle
PMS, Cramps, Endometriosis & PCOS
Your body isn't malfunctioning. There's a real, measurable biological reason your cycle affects you this way — and real, well-sourced help.
"If the week before your period feels like your body is working against you, that's not weakness or drama. It's a real, measurable shift in a system that regulates pain and mood together."
What you'll understand by the end
- Understand why the week before your period feels like your body turned on you — anandamide rises and falls in sync with your estrogen
- See the measured biology behind cramps: CB1 receptors sit in your uterine lining, and the anandamide-to-2-AG balance tracks with prostaglandin levels
- Get the PMS and mood picture through CBD's serotonin and GABA activity — with a better way to judge whether it's working
- Read the strongest evidence in the guide: PCOS, where endocannabinoid levels and CB1 expression are measurably higher and track with insulin
- Hear the honest, complicated truth about endometriosis — where pain relief is well-supported and lesion research still isn't settled
- Start with real numbers: CBD 5–10 mg working toward 10–25 mg, THC in 2.5–5 mg microdoses, plus topicals for cramping specifically
A look inside
Your ovaries already make their own cannabis-like molecule
Your ovaries directly produce anandamide — part of the same endocannabinoid system CBD and THC work through. It climbs toward ovulation and drops through the days before your period, right alongside estrogen. Cannabinoid receptors are found throughout your uterine tissue, and gene-expression research confirms the system genuinely shifts across your cycle, not just your hormones.
Where the evidence is strongest: PCOS
A human study found anandamide, 2-AG and CB1/CB2 receptor expression significantly higher in women with PCOS — and CB1 expression correlated directly with glucose and insulin after a glucose challenge. A 2026 review examined FAAH's role in PCOS-related reproductive, hormonal, metabolic and inflammatory dysfunction. Up to 70% of women with PCOS deal with insulin resistance regardless of body weight.
What I won't oversell
For endometriosis, cannabinoid pain relief is genuinely well-supported. Whether cannabinoids help or could worsen the underlying tissue growth is not settled — one mouse model suggested CB1 activation may contribute to lesion development, and a 2025 study found 2-AG acting pro-inflammatory in endometriotic cells. I'd rather tell you where the proof stops than sell you certainty I don't have.
What's included
- The complete guide (PDF, instantly delivered)
- Condition-by-condition chapters: cramps and dysmenorrhea, PMS and mood, PCOS, endometriosis, perimenstrual migraines
- A nurse's starting framework for CBD, microdosed THC and topicals
- A supplement section from a Dietary Supplement Specialist — magnesium glycinate, omega-3s and myo-inositol, with real doses
- Honest safety notes on blood thinners, hormonal birth control, blood pressure medication and NSAIDs
- Quick answers to the questions women actually ask, plus 16 cited references
This is for you if
- You're doubled over with cramps that no heating pad touches
- Your mood turns into something you don't recognize the week before your period
- You have — or suspect you have — endometriosis or PCOS and want the real research, not hype
- You've been told your pain is “just part of being a woman” and never believed it
- You want a nurse's honest read, including where the science hasn't caught up yet
Ready to stop guessing?
One guide, $45, instantly delivered — the research, the starting numbers, and the honest limits, written by a nurse.
Get the GuideLiving through perimenopause or menopause instead? The Change, Understood covers those years.
Brands I trust
When clients ask me where to actually buy quality products, these are the three I recommend.
Affiliate disclosure: I may earn a small commission if you purchase through these links — at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I trust and use in my own practice.
Educational purposes only. Theresa Strahan is a registered nurse, not a physician, and this guide does not replace medical care. Endometriosis and PCOS both deserve a real diagnostic workup with your provider.