What are your experiences and recommendations about CBD oil?
June 11, 2017 7:19 PM   Subscribe

I've been researching CBD oil for my mom who has a severe essential tremor. I don't have any knowledge on it except what I've been able to find by extensive googling. I found a ton of information but I'd love to hear people's experiences with it - especially in cases of essential tremor - and recommendations for brands, dosages and concentrations.

My mom is 70 and has had the essential tremor for several years. She takes prescription meds for it but they aren't super-effective. To say she's an avid quilter would be an understatement and I feel so bad that her tremor makes it difficult for her to fully enjoy the hobby she spends most of her time doing.

She's willing to consider using CBD oil and asked me to do some research on its efficacy. I found a bunch of information but of course a lot of it is targeted toward selling products. I'm turning to you the trusted hive mind for honest advice and anecdotes.

I live in a US state where recreational and medical marijuana are legal. I don't need advice on any legal issue.
posted by bendy to Health & Fitness (6 answers total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
I haven't used it for essential tremor, but I've used CBD oil for other health issues with great success. I'm happiest with the high quality and reasonable price of Green Mountain CBD, which I order online even though I live in a state with very easy and legal access to cannabis.

I take doses of 20-40mg CBD at a time as needed. There's no THC in this formulation, so you don't get any psychoactive/"high" effects. It's a low-risk approach with few drawbacks and many potential benefits.
posted by quince at 8:45 PM on June 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


Unfortunately, outside of a few studies, most of your evidence is going to be anecdotal. I was suspect of the medicinal side of cannabis for a long time, until I had some personal experience with it.

Consuming CBD only (without any psychoactive THC) isn't an intense experience, and isn't psychoactive at all. As quince states, you don't really get 'high' as it were. It feels akin to taking a really small dose of lorazepam. It's kind of calming, and sometimes can induce hunger (which, if you're not used to you should try to police a little bit).

Some therapeutic properties of cannabis has some interplay between CBD and THC ratios. Sometimes, for some conditions (and I have no idea if essential tremor is one) seem to respond better to CBD when it's paired with some level of THC (sometimes this can be as low as 1-5%, which can be mildly psychoactive, but not really intense, and in some cases undetectable.

I don't have any brands to recommend, but I would speak with the folks over at Farma. They attempt (better than most) to take a fairly scientific approach to to their offerings and the producers they work with. They'll be able to point you towards less-than-100%-anecdotal territory. They'll also have some really good information about dosages and concentrations. It's not uncommon for people to wander into recreational dispensaries at this point and go "is this good for X ailment." They're very used to this, and if you're not going to "Dank buds R us" there's usually someone in the building who knows something of value.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:26 PM on June 11, 2017 [2 favorites]


I use CBD for other reasons, but wanted to confirm that even in products that have 'some' THC it is highly unlikely that someone would get high from consuming them. I use Treatwell's 20:1(the ratio of CBD to THC) CBD tincture, which I love because you can use it in a variety of ways. A dropperfull in your morning coffee is pretty much undetectable and provides a delayed effect, or you can put it under your tongue for something more immediate. I use this every other day, and while results will surely vary, the side effects are mild to non-existant.
posted by deadwater at 7:02 AM on June 12, 2017 [3 favorites]


I also use Green Mountain for endometriosis pain, and I notice a difference in my pain level.
posted by missrachael at 8:47 AM on June 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


CBD is super-popular in the support groups for post-concussion syndrome. An acupuncturist recommended 25 mg CBD twice a day; that seemed like a lot to me (marijuana and I do not get along), and also to the sales person in the store. I picked up some mints with 10 mg of CBD and 1 mg THC in them, instead. Taking them twice a day seems to be helping my PCS, and it's such a small dose that I don't feel at all impaired. Unfortunately there are so many variables in my case it's hard to say for certain what's working.

Everyone I've talked to who knows anything about CBD says, unfortunately, that the research isn't available yet and that it's pretty much up to patients to figure out for themselves what works. I'm sorry. I hope your mom gets better answers.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:42 PM on June 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


I take CBD oil for chronic pain, but I've read that it can help with essential tremor. In my experience, CBD isn't psychoactive, and hardly produces any side effects for me other than a feeling of full-body relaxation. My body has a very idiosyncratic reaction to cannabis and I need an unusually small amount, so I won't confuse you by offering any dosage recommendations!

Like furnace.heart mentioned, CBD sometimes works better if it's paired with some THC—this is sometimes the case for tremor, too. In these types of formulas, the CBD actually inhibits the psychoactive effects of the THC, so as long as there's a base of CBD you can ingest a much higher amount of THC than you'd think without getting many of the psychoactive effects at all. If your mom tries CBD only and isn't getting results, she might want to give the CBD + THC combo a try, too.

One thing which might be helpful for administering the medication is sublingual vs. digestive absorption. If you put a dropperful of oil under your tongue and hold it there for a minute or two, it will absorb sublingually—this kicks in a lot faster. On the other hand, if you just swallow it, or add it to food or drink, it will need to be absorbed by your digestive system, and start working more slowly.
posted by stellarc at 3:06 PM on June 13, 2017


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