Foria Relief or Why Cannabis Made my Uterus Happy

Foria became known to the sex toy world when they created a THC-enhanced lube that has gotten a range of reactions; but I’m not talking about any of that today. I’m talking about Foria’s latest product which is sadly not available to most of the US – the Foria Relief vaginal suppositories.  Yeah, I know, this isn’t my usual topic but it still involves Lilly being a geek, doing experiments.

Not long after Foria released Relief my Twitter timeline was buzzing with reactions and opinions – from “Cool” (mixed with damn, I wish I could have this) to some really infuriating, uneducated judgment and misconceptions. I expected better from the people I follow because they’re mostly pretty open-minded folks. No, you’re not “shoving weed up your vagina”, you’re not going to get high and yes, it’s perfectly fucking healthy. Let me assure you that using any Foria product or any topical THC item (or really any form of cannabis that isn’t burning the flower to ashes) is a whole lot healthier than drinking alcohol – which is quite easily socially accepted. It is certainly healthier than taking prescription or OTC pain relievers.

I live in Connecticut and have a medical marijuana card. I officially received it to help me deal with anxiety related to PTSD and I also unofficially use it for pain relief and all of the health benefits that come from CBD (the non-psychotropic other beneficial component to marijuana). Here’s something that most people do not know: Using THC topically will not get you stoned. It will work quickly, and safely, to relieve pain wherever it is applied.

A few days before my experiment I started having bad menstrual cramps – uncommonly bad. Nearly always my cramps are silenced with 3 Advil, but not this time. My mind immediately went to the Foria Relief suppositories but I, of course, didn’t have them and can’t get them. I do, however, have concentrated THC oil in syringes which I use to make my own medibles and my own topical pain relief. Nothing else on the planet has given me pain relief in my feet (I suffer from severe, incurable plantar fasciitis or something else that they have yet to diagnose) and I easily get to the point now where I am in agony just to hobble around after moderate activity but a home-made foot spray gives me short-lived relief. At one point in my life I was getting expensive (painful, useless, unhealthy-for-me) corticosteroid shots in my back. I relied on patches that I would plaster all over my lower back – one for pain relief, one to relax the muscles. These methods barely worked. Topical THC in a coconut oil salve works nearly immediately and almost totally with zero side effects. It’s only drawback is that it tends to only last 1-3 hours. So I’m well-versed in how and why these Foria Relief suppositories work.

Now, this isn’t a review specifically for Foria Relief since, as I said, I can’t get them. But after reading a few other reviews – one of which was super informative despite the irritating headline – I learned what the suppositories are made of and decided to create my own. My current syringe of oil doesn’t have much CBD in it so my version is 96% THC composition, 4% CBD. Mine are also an odd shade of green (from the yellowish hue of cocoa butter plus dirty-motor-oil-brown of the THC concentrated oil-goo) but that’s okay. At first I tried to just use the coconut oil salve I already had on hand, but I ended up with a mess as coconut oil quickly seeped out of me. I did shove a thumb-sized chunk of solid coconut oil in my vag, after all. I also temporarily had a sort of itchy vulva but I think it was just from the sensation of the oil slowly leaking out of me? It may also have been a tingling sensation from the THC since I’d never experienced topical THC on the sensitive mucous membranes. I’ve never had an itchy vulva from coconut oil before. I celebrated 4/20 by making my own more “proper” suppositories with cocoa butter. Even with the smaller amount of melty stuff in my DIY suppositories, oil still leaked out of me. I feel like this would pair best with a menstrual cup, perhaps, to help keep the melted oils in your vagina while you wait for the cannabis magic to happen – which incidentally happens pretty quick. I get much faster pain relief from topical THC than I do from swallowing a few Advil.

Whether it was the spur-of-the-moment low “dose” coconut oil or the homemade 60mg THC “pastille” shaped domes, I experienced something amazing. I can tell you more of how I made these if anybody wants to know but I think I know what you are really here to find out: Did it work?

Skeptics, marijuana critics, judgy-Judys and the ill-informed can shut the hell up because this was a godsend. Even my “back cramps” went away. I don’t think I really needed to make these as strong as I did and I will try out breaking a piece in half for the next time. The cost of the THC oil, for me, was $70 for 760 mg and I made 12 very strong suppositories. Is this affordable? Not for most. Is this available to everyone? Sadly no, but you’re more likely able to DIY a cannabis suppository than buy Foria Relief which is only available in California. If you suffer from debilitating menstrual cramps and currently take liver- and stomach-harming pain relievers that come with a host of unwanted side effects, this will be a welcome relief if you can find a way to get it.  I will be saving these for the bad days, when I can’t ignore the cramps and instead of reaching for Advil I’ll use my THC suppositories. The only thing that the cannabis suppositories don’t relieve is the phenomenon known as period poops and the nausea that many sometimes also have in the first few days. It was disheartening when my uterus cramps died off but my intestinal cramps did not. Still, something was better than nothing. I am currently writing this 4 hours after my last dose and am still pain-free from uterine cramps.

If you’re in Canada you can get Cannalife products but they don’t yet have a special suppository – they do have a Foria Pleasure-like genital oil. There’s the Salve¹ which I can attest to working well as a pain relief salve but the odor is very musky and earthy and not really my favorite. It does indicate use for menstrual cramp pain relief, they’re just not outright saying “shove a thimblefull up your vag” so before you try that, consider asking the company first. The ingredients in the salve are all body-safe.

Author’s Note: I wasn’t compensated by anyone to write this post, and I’m not partnered with Foria or representing them here. I’m writing about this because I want to; it’s a product I needed and a product that many are skeptical about. If you want to know more about how cannabis and sex relate to each other, please go check out my friend Ashley’s site, Cannasexual.