CBD Oil for mental health issues

[Poison Ivy]

Has anyone here successfully used CBD oil to help with their anxiety disorder or to help wean from an addiction to benzodiazepines like Valium or Xanax that you have been on for a long time?

Any replies or suggestions will be most appreciated.

Thanks--

[michaelswarm]

My wife has used CBD oil, to help control shakes, while tapering from long term use. She found CBD without THC worked for her. She has also been doing much mindfulness, meditation, life coaching, etc., to practice good skills and habits to cope with real life without the tranquilizers. She has already reduced by 2/3, and is holding for the moment to work on more life skills. It is a very difficult process. I believe it is worth the effort.
Good luck.

[Poison Ivy]

@ foodie, thanks but------I will never commit to inpatient detox ever again. The protocol they use is woefully inadequate for bzd w/d. I tried this back in 2006. They simply snatch you off cold turkey and give you lots of other psychoactive drugs to prevent seizures. I am not being melodramatic when I say to you I almost died from that inpatient detox during my 30 day stay. After my discharge from the hospital, I ran to my doctor and begged him to put me on valium because I was in so much pain and was suicidal. Prior to the inpatient detox, I was only on .5 mgs of the benzo klonopin and I had taken this daily for 11 solid years for panic attacks. I never took anymore or less of this drug but I eventually became tolerant after 11 years of continuous use. It is a hell that I would not wish on my worst enemy. Withdrawal from heroin pales in comparison IMHO.

[Poison Ivy]

My wife has used CBD oil, to help control shakes, while tapering from long term use. She found CBD without THC worked for her. She has also been doing much mindfulness, meditation, life coaching, etc., to practice good skills and habits to cope with real life without the tranquilizers. She has already reduced by 2/3, and is holding for the moment to work on more life skills. It is a very difficult process. I believe it is worth the effort.
Good luck.

Thanks for your reply Michael. I also meditate daily and do mild aerobic exercise on a stationary bike for 30 minutes each day. Do you know what benzo she is on? How long has she been on them? Why (what condition) were they initially Rx'd for? 2/3 of the way off is terrific. Kudos to her. Even with a slow controlled taper, it can still be pure hell trying to come off these things. I ask about the CBD oil to use only as a crutch until I can finally manage to get off the valium and stay off for a little while.

[Poison Ivy]

Thanks Atheria.

[michaelswarm]

While not directly related to McDougall plan, and understanding much conflicting advice, I can partially relate my wife’s personal experience. The problem is deep and a few sentences hardly begins to scratch the surface.

About 20 years ago she was prescribed Klonopin in for anxiety-depression. She’s been switched to Xanex by 2 OBGYNs through 3 pregnancies. She switched to Valium equivalent for the ability to cut the does.

Any reductions need to be sustainable in the real world, with children, family and life stresses. That’s where all the extra mindfulness, mindset, meditation and council seem to be just as or more important.

[RussT]

The CBD Oils for sale are not regulated and are not pharmaceutical grade. I've heard many contain THC even though it is not listed as an ingredient. Please use caution when using these products. You really have no idea what you are getting.

[PJK]

Be wary. There is only 1 good study on CBD oil, and it involved very high dosages for epilepsy. That means, for all other ailments, there is no evidence that CBD oil can help. None.

Also, the stuff is not being regulated. That means you have no idea what you're getting. A product may have more CBD oil than is shown on the label, it may have less, or it may have none. You simply don't know.

A professor quoted in this HealthDay news story (republished by WebMD) says it's the "wild west."
https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/n ... ffective#1

[JeffN]

Hemp & CBD: Independent Testing & Legality

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=57438

[JeffN]

Hemp & CBD: Independent Testing & Legality

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=57438

As i mentioned in the above thread, the doses that are in most CBD are merely a small fraction of what is being used in research.

- Most studies on CBD use very high doses, ranging from 100 mg to 1000 mg (or more) per day.

- Most supplements contained dosages of CBD between ~5 mg and ~23 mg per serving.

The study (posted below), which showed a benefit, was on anxiety and cravings in former opioid users. It used a dose of 400 or 800 mg which can be 20-40x (or more) what’s in an OTC dose and is what could be in 1/4 to 1/2 of a bottle of concentrated oil.

For example, this product, a concentrated extract, got one of the highest ratings at Consumerlab.

https://www.bluebird-botanicals.com/pro ... lassic-6x/

It was also found to to have one of the lowest cost for CBD of those that passed independent testing.

A 1 oz bottle has 1500mg of CBD and costs $110. They say a serving has 25 mg and this is a concentrated product.

At a 400mg dose, as they used in the study, you get 3.75 doses per bottle, which is ~$30 a dose

At a 800mg dose, as used in the study, you get 1.87 doses per bottle, which is ~$60 a dose

In Health
Jeff


Cannabidiol for the Reduction of Cue-Induced Craving and Anxiety in Drug-Abstinent Individuals With Heroin Use Disorder: A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
Published Online:21 May 2019

https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18101191


Abstract
Objective:

Despite the staggering consequences of the opioid epidemic, limited nonopioid medication options have been developed to treat this medical and public health crisis. This study investigated the potential of cannabidiol (CBD), a nonintoxicating phytocannabinoid, to reduce cue-induced craving and anxiety, two critical features of addiction that often contribute to relapse and continued drug use, in drug-abstinent individuals with heroin use disorder.

Methods:

This exploratory double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial assessed the acute (1 hour, 2 hours, and 24 hours), short-term (3 consecutive days), and protracted (7 days after the last of three consecutive daily administrations) effects of CBD administration (400 or 800 mg, once daily for 3 consecutive days) on drug cue–induced craving and anxiety in drug-abstinent individuals with heroin use disorder. Secondary measures assessed participants’ positive and negative affect, cognition, and physiological status.

Results:

Acute CBD administration, in contrast to placebo, significantly reduced both craving and anxiety induced by the presentation of salient drug cues compared with neutral cues. CBD also showed significant protracted effects on these measures 7 days after the final short-term (3-day) CBD exposure. In addition, CBD reduced the drug cue–induced physiological measures of heart rate and salivary cortisol levels. There were no significant effects on cognition, and there were no serious adverse effects.

Conclusions:

CBD’s potential to reduce cue-induced craving and anxiety provides a strong basis for further investigation of this phytocannabinoid as a treatment option for opioid use disorder.