Posted by mtom on April 26, 2019, at 11:40:54
In reply to Re: CBD Oil as augmentation to meds or stand-alone?, posted by linkadge on February 9, 2019, at 13:20:40
Hi Linkadge,
I started CBD Oil in Feb, low doses. Initially I felt some effect on reducing anxiety. However I was becoming light-headed and my blood pressure became very low (side effects I've read about). These effects reduced over a week or 2 and I started titrating up gradually, eventually as high as 17 mg CBD per day divided in 2 doses. My product also contains a very small amount of THC, less than 2 mg/ml (25 mg/ml of CBD). (again Medical Cannabis is prescribed by Doctors specializing in Cannabis in Canada and provided by government licensed & regulated suppliers).
At this dose I started getting other side-effects, notably bouts of intense fatigue throughout the day, and I think it started interacting with my escitalopram which I still take at low dose of 5 mg/day (could not tolerate higher doses). My morning anxiety and jitteriness increased which had been side-effects of higher doses of escitalopram. I think the CBD may have been interacting - I've read this is possible as both are metabolized by some of the same liver CYP 450 enzymes.
No affect on depression yet. How long did that take for you?
I had a new consult with Cannabis Doctor who suggested I back off dose (I already had), and go slow. But he believes the ideal dose for me would eventually be about 12.5 mg per day CBD, less than the first Doctor I saw who suggested I titrate up to 18.75 mg per day.
I also have Lupus, and this doctor put more emphasis on treating that although I'm equally interested in reducing anxiety and depression, which he said CBD will also help with. CBD Doctors seem to think it's the best thing since sliced bread, he told me 95% of patients benefit from it for all sorts of conditions.
Did you have any side-effects at any point, e.g. when titrating dose up? Did they go away over time? Between the light-headedness, then jitteriness and fatigue, I started avoiding driving as much as possible for a while until after I reduced my dose. I still have to take benzos for anxiety, although a little less lately. Thanks!
> Yes, I have been using medical cannabis with very good success (almost 1 year now).
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> My depression is improved (basically in remission) as is my anxiety and insomnia. The biggest improvement is in my insomnia. I use a combination of CBD and THC. Probably in the ratio ratio CBD:THC = 2:1.
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> I still use 300mg of lithium and occasionally a bit of mirtazapine. I have not used benzodiazapines in about a year (I was previously a chronic user).
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> The main issue for CBD is cost. For THC, it is cheap to get a large effect. For CBD, doses in the 100's of mg could cose you $10+ a day, without coverage, which is too high for me.
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> I use between 20-50mg a day of CBD and 1-2mg of THC a day. However, I don't use THC daily.
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> Cannabis has don't wonders for my sypmptom profile: undersleeping, overthinking, anxiety, low appetite, anhedonia etc. I can use a higher THC product 2-3 times a week and have not had any issues with tollerance or withdrawal.
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> Suprisingly, the most significant effect is on rumination. After using THC, I just want to move forward. I can 'see' how the rumination isn't helping me and I can very easily chose then to let go.
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> Linkadge
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poster:mtom
thread:1103166
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20190206/msgs/1104167.html