Wild Lettuce The Best Natural Painkiller Similar To Morphine That Grows In Your Backyard

Thursday, July 8, 2021 11:19

 

Wild lettuce is a plant. The leaves, sap (latex), and seed are used to make medicine.

Wild lettuce has been used since the 19th century for pain relief, to help induce sleep and as a tonic for the nervous system. It was traditionally used by native North Americans for lucid dreaming purposes.

The origins of Wild lettuce are traced back to ancient Egypt where hieroglyphics often depict Min, a fertility god, with the plant. It was believed to be an aphrodisiac and psychoactive substance. Today Wild lettuce may be found growing in southern parts of the United States and across central and southern Europe. It grows in well-drained sandy soils around fields, vacant lots and roadsides.

This relaxing herb can be beneficial for people needing help to get to sleep, calm restlessness or anxiety, and even as an aid when overcoming tobacco and cannabis habits.

Wild lettuce is used for whooping cough, asthma, urinary tract problems, cough, trouble sleeping (insomnia), restlessness, excitability in children, painful menstrual periods, excessive sex drive in women (nymphomania), muscular or joint pains, poor circulation, swollen genitals in men (priapism), and as an opium substitute in cough preparations.

The seed oil is used for “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis) and as a substitute for wheat germ oil.

Some people apply wild lettuce latex directly to the skin to kill germs.

Some people inhale wild lettuce for a recreational “high” or hallucinogenic effect.

How does it work? Wild lettuce has calming, relaxing, and pain relieving effects.

Whooping cough.

Asthma.

Urinary tract problems.

Cough.

“Hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis).

Trouble sleeping (insomnia).

Restlessness.

Painful menstrual periods.

Sexual disorders.

Muscle and joint pain.

Killing germs, when the latex is applied to the skin.

This milky sap contains sesquiterpene lactones, which are essentially the active chemicals responsible for its opiate and pain relieving properties. According to one study, just a 30 mg/kg mg dose of lactucopicrin, the active compound, is comparable to a 60 mg/kg dose of ibuprofen .

Other conditions.

More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of wild lettuce for these uses.

Wild lettuce seems safe for most people in small amounts. Large amounts, however, can slow breathing and might cause death.

Applying wild lettuce directly to the skin can cause irritation. Large amounts can cause sweating, fast heartbeat, pupil dilation, dizziness, ringing in the ears, vision changes, sedation, breathing difficulty, and death.

Special Precautions & Warnings:

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Not enough is known about the use of wild lettuce during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.

Enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia, BPH): Don’t use wild lettuce if you have this condition. It contains a chemical that can harm people who have trouble urinating.

Allergy to ragweed and related plants: Wild lettuce may cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to the Asteraceae/Compositae family. Members of this family include ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies, and many others. If you have allergies, be sure to check with your healthcare provider before taking wild lettuce.

Narrow-angle glaucoma: Don’t use wild lettuce if you have this eye condition. It contains a chemical that might make glaucoma worse.

Surgery: Wild lettuce can affect the central nervous system. There is a concern that it might cause too much sleepiness if it is taken along with anesthesia and other nerve-numbing medications used during and after surgery. Stop using wild lettuce at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.

Sedative medications (CNS depressants) interacts with WILD LETTUCE

Wild lettuce might cause sleepiness and drowsiness. Medications that cause sleepiness are called sedatives. Taking wild lettuce along with sedative medications might cause too much sleepiness.

Some sedative medications include clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan), phenobarbital (Donnatal), zolpidem (Ambien), and others.

Herbs and other natural remedies can be as effective as traditional treatments, often without the same negative side effects,” says Roberta Lee, MD, medical director of the Continuum Center for Health and Healing at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. Here are 10 super healers you’ll want to add to the all-natural section of your medicine cabinet—and even to your favorite recipes. Folding one or two of them into your cooking every day can yield big benefits.

Preparation Methods & Dosage :

When a stem or leaf from a wild Lettuce plant is broken or cut, it will bleed a thick milky sap. This sap can be made into an alcohol tincture, (Lactucarium) or the fresh leaves and flowering tops can be tinctured, or dried and made taken as teas,smoked or less often in capsule form.

Here’s how you can use it :

For pain, the dose is 1.5 grams of opium lettuce sap infused in a tea.

Just 0.25 grams are required if smoked in a pipe, as it is considerably more potent in this form.

If using a supplement, take 30 to 120 milligrams before bed.

In tincture form, use 12-24 drops daily for acute stress or anxiety.

Take 12-24 drops every 15 minutes for 1 or 2 hours before bed for insomnia.

Typical Use:

Wild Lettuce cut leaves

1-2 teaspoon per cup of hot water up to 3 times a day.

Herbal Tincture

2-4ml up to 3 times a day.

or as recommended by a herbal practitioner

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All painkillers have loads of harmful side effects, and all you need to do is watch a commercial to hear it. Opiods work to relieve pain by altering how the brain functions. It builds up a tolerance, meaning you will need higher dosages which increase your chance for overdosing. Addiction is a huge problem as people become so addicted to these painkillers over time, that they end up going through withdrawal symptoms.Also, opioids cause memory loss because it damages the brain to alleviate pain. Taking natural remedies instead of drugs is one way to avoid long-term bodily damage.

If you need another reason to try herbal remedies, painkillers taken over a long period of time quadruple your chances of ulcers, giving you more pain to worry about and heal from.

One of the best reasons to use wild lettuce is because it numbs pain and by not introducing new complications to the equation. The side benefit is that it grows in your yard, rather than from your cold medicine cabinet.