Cannabinoid (CBD) oil has been a godsend since I found out my son was diagnosed with a tic disorder.

In late October of 2016, my 7-year-old son, Lincoln, was diagnosed with Transient Tic Disorder. It’s fairly easy to say that this moment shook me like I’ve never been shook before. I have never been so scared in my life! I’m sure all fathers out there have experienced the hopelessness of having a sick child. It’s excruciating and overwhelming.

Around late August, I’d noticed Lincoln had started this heavy, exaggerated blinking. I didn’t think anything of it, initially, as I used to do the same thing as a kid…and still do occasionally. Back in the day, my parents thought it was some strange habit I’d picked up. Within a few weeks, Lincoln’s blinks had increased in rate and exertion. He’d also started rolling his eyes in really pronounced ways…sometimes so hard that he’d turn his head to the side.

Then, almost suddenly, he was experiencing these episodes that were like seizures. His eyes were rolling back in his head, his tongue would go limp or roll in his mouth. His face would grimace. His hands, feet and limbs would twitch erratically. And he would make these noises…groans, growls and moans. Sometimes he’d whistle or repeat words during these spells.

The episodes would last between 5 and 45 minutes. It was painful to watch. Especially, when he’d come out of the episodes with no recollection of what he’d just experienced. He could not hear us calling his name or feel us holding him while he endured these episodes. He’d snap out of them confused, exhausted and in physical pain.

From September to November, we’d made countless trips to the ER and doctor’s appointments, including spending Thanksgiving in the hospital Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. We were relieved that seizures had been ruled out. But, the thought that the tics were causing this much chaos was unnerving. We also had to remove Lincoln from the school bus and set up a treatment plan with his school, as he was sensitive to loud noise, bright lights and rapid movement. We were also advised that if the motor and vocal tics continued for a year, Lincoln would be diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome.

During this entire process, we drastically altered the family diet, eliminating dairy, white sugar and taking meat out of the house, except for one meal on the weekends as sort of a cheat day. We also started a daily essential oil regimen, using doTERRA oils. The Frankincense oil was a major support . Overall, we saw some healthy results and improvement from these changes, especially regarding his ability to sleep soundly.

By this time, I’d already done extensive research on CBD oils and the benefits of medicinal Cannabis. I was strong in my belief that adding the CBD oil would be the completion of our treatment regimen. So, after some convincing of his mom, I ordered the best CBD oil I found during my research. I’m so elated to learn that I was correct.

Lincoln takes one veggie-cap (15 drops) of CBD oil a day. The facial tics, eye rolls and motor tics have essentially dissipated. He has not had an elongated episode in almost two months. His teachers have stated that they have really noticed a difference as well. I couldn’t be happier! An added bonus of not having my son on some medication to treat his symptoms and add toxins to his system, is that the CBD oil was half as much in cost and four times the usage.

I’m a pretty private person, so not many people know the pain and torment that my family has endured throughout this process. I also fought with myself to even share this story. But, I simply could not deny the sheer joy of the results that my son has seen with the use of CBD oil.

I say all that to say this. I’ve never been a huge proponent of legalizing marijuana, as I don’t smoke it. I’ve really just had a “live and let live” kind of approach to it. Now, that I’ve had the benefits of cannabis/hemp directly affect my family, I truly feel that there is a need to treat with what we have been naturally given.