Trisha Emish, 48, did her research homework before she bought her first bottle of Bodē Wellness Extract 1500 at the Telluride Farmer’s Market in 2018. She has arthritis in both knees and had knee surgery seven years ago. She is also, by her own reckoning, a “horrible sleeper, like every other middle-aged woman,” and was looking for sleep regimen support from CBD (Cannabidiol).

“Those were the two main motivators,” Trisha says. “Inflammation and sleep.”

From her research, she concluded that not all CBD tinctures are created equal. Quality and efficacy can vary greatly, as can taste. She knew, she says, that she wanted sufficient strength (measured in milligrams of CBD per ounce) in an organic formula that contained minimal amounts of THC. But it was pure serendipity that Cincinnati-based Trisha and her partner happened to walk by the Bodē Wellness booth at the Telluride Farmer’s Market when they were in Telluride.

“My consumption of Advil for inflammation is down 80%.”

The Extract 1500 checked off all the ‘musts’ on her list, and she decided now was the time to try it. Trisha says she liked that Bodē Wellness founder, Bodē Loebel gave her clear guidelines on how to start with CBD extract, with recommended dosing. She has since found her ideal dose, six drops before bedtime. She has stuck to that with great regularity.

What was truly unexpected for Trisha was the layered benefits she experienced, both short-term, and long-term. “My consumption of Advil for inflammation is down 80%,” she says. “I used to take it prophylactically before I’d get on the bike (for outdoor cycling) and after for swelling. I don’t do that
anymore.”

She says as soon as this year’s outdoor cycling season begins she’ll be interested to see whether longer rides will affect her. Trisha was getting cortisone injections regularly, about every six months in her knees, and she hasn’t done that since starting with CBD. She has found that the bedtime dose didn’t really benefit her sleep, though, paradoxically, it’s proven to work great as an occasional sleep aid for her partner, Randy.

“She was amazed and truly delighted to discover that her hormone imbalances she had been dealing with for years with thyroid and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) issues were balancing out.”

However, because she has found the anti-inflammatory benefits to be so profound, she keeps up with her regime—always at bedtime. After a few months, she was amazed and truly delighted to discover that her hormone imbalances she
had been dealing with for years with thyroid and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) issues were balancing out.

“I have my hormones checked every six months,” she says.
“They’ve been stable but high for four years, and on my last visit, two of them dropped significantly.”
Even more pleasantly, Trisha lost seven pounds without changing her regimen in any other way.

“It was a nice little benefit,” she says. “For me to lose a pound is a big deal.”

When Trisha began to run low on her first bottle of
Extract 1500, she decided to comparison shop for CBD extracts from retail vendors and in the online space. The explosion of CBD extracts means there were a lot of choices, and Trisha didn’t find a brand she felt was better than Bodē Wellness.

“’ Are all CBD extracts equal?’” she says was her question in
surveying what’s out there. “The answer is, they are not.”

Trisha feels like she’s found the product and the dosage that really work for her, in both profound, and also
long-term ways.

“You don’t feel your hormones,” she says. “But I do notice the
weight loss. Combine that with the anti-inflammatory benefits and not aching or feeling like I have to take Advil, and you have the key reasons for my loyalty.”