Cannabidiol CBD Side effects

- CBDTECH FRANCE

CBD products - Made from the cannabis plant called cannabidiol - are very popular at the moment. They can be purchased online or in points of sale. While companies make general declarations on the functioning of the CBD, the truth is that there is not yet much final scientific evidence. Here is the current corpus of knowledge on the side effects of the CBD and its effectiveness in the treatment of chronic pain, anxiety and sleep problems.

How your body reacts to CBD

First of all, the only cannabidol product which was approved by the ANSM is Epidiolex, a drug against epilepsy for children with rare epileptic disorders.

EPIDIOLEX CBD SUPERY EFFECT

For this reason, most of what we know about the side effects of the CBD comes from the clinical trials of Epidiolex. In these studies, the most common side effects were drowsiness, decrease in appetite, diarrhea, fatigue, increase in liver enzymes, rashes.

Do not generalize the side effects of cannabidiol

However, "this cannot necessarily be generalized to a broader population," said Dr. Ryan Vandrey, professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine de Medicine research unit.

"Children participating in these studies generally took many other drugs, so that the side effects observed would not necessarily result in healthy adults. They also took unusual doses of Epidiolex, much more than the typical person uses for anxiety or pain.

The CBD that you buy are not the same either, which means that side effects can vary, underlines Maureen Leehey, MD, director of the Department of Meaning at the School of the University of Colorado. of Medicine in Denver, co.

There is the question of dosage differences. You can take 5, 10 or 20 mg of CBD at a time, while the person who takes Epidiolex takes up to 20 mg / day per kilogram of body weight (or 1360 mg / day for a person weighing 70 kg). Dr. Leehey says that CBD at low doses is very well tolerated with few side effects.

How CBD interacts with drugs

CBD has the potential to interact with other drugs, which can cause side effects. "We do not fully understand the extent of these interactions at this stage," says Vandrey, "but the CBD seems to have an effect on the metabolism of several other classes of drugs".

Epidiolex studies have shown significant drug interactions, according to Dr Leehey. Since CBD is metabolized by the liver, it tends to interfere with the effects of other drugs also metabolized by the liver, such as certain antidepressants, anticoagulants, benzodiazepines and other crisis drugs.

"There are two specific liver enzymes thanks to which the CBD will act, so if another medication you take acts also through these enzymes, this medication can be more or less powerful," he explains.

The same goes for the way these drugs metabolized by the liver affect CBD - they can make CBD more or less powerful.

The two experts agree that it is important to speak to your doctor before using the CBD, especially if you take other drugs, because there are so many drug interactions.

Cannabidiol but does it work?

Much of what we know about the effectiveness of the CBD to treat chronic pain and helping you sleep is anecdotal, says Vandrey. "Maybe it helps, but we need evidence."

And while some studies have shown that CBD can considerably reduce social anxiety, "moreover, we always lack good quality data on how to assess its effects on anxiety," said Vandrey.

Without a solid research to support it, Dr. Leehey does not recommend using the CBD for anxiety or sleep conditions, and says it is expensive for what you remove it.

But if you are always curious to try the CBD, this is what Dr. Leehey says to find out:

To sleep, try a CBD product of about 10 mg. Take it at bedtime for 10 days and see if it helps. Otherwise, stop.

If you want to try the CBD against anxiety, plan to increase your dose gradually during the month (one dose takes around 6 to 8 hours).

Start with 5 mg of oil twice a day for several days, then go to 10 mg twice a day.

After that, try 10 mg three times a day, slowly increasing up to a maximum of 25 mg three times a day during a month.

Stay on this maximum dose for another month and see if this is beneficial. If this does not solve the problem, reduce the dose in half a half, then reduce it by half for a week, then stop it.

Proceed prudently and gradually

"Everything bought except for this product approved by ANSM has a risk. And quality insurance is questionable for many of these products."

There are studies, including one in which Vandrey participated, which repeatedly show that the precision of the dosage of CBD products is not very good.

These studies have shown that many products also contain contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides. "You must be a little concerned with what you get from the point of view of quality and also from the point of view of the precision of the dosage," he said.

Allegations The effectiveness of CBD products

can also be exaggerated at the moment. "I am not saying that they are not sure, I am not saying that they are not effective, but I say that each time you assess innocent or efficiency, it must be done for a specific product "Says Vandrey" in other words, while Epidiolex has been assessed for its safety and efficiency, this does not mean that all CBD products work in the same way or even contain the same amount of CBD.

For example, researchers from a study in which Vandrey participated bought 84 online CBD products which allegedly contained the same amount of CBD. They found that 26% of the products contained less CBD than claimed their labels, 43% had more CBD and only 31% had the amount of CBD indicated on the label.

In summary:

If you decide to try CBD products even if you do not have a specific medical condition, it's a good idea to talk about it to your doctor first.

This is particularly true if you take other drugs, including over -the -counter medications or supplements. Your pharmacist is also a good source of information on potential drug interactions. It is better to be zealous with regard to your health.