Does CBD oil help you with your depression and/or anxiety?

Recently, discussion in some groups has focused on cannabidiol (CBD), a naturally occurring cannabinoid constituent of cannabis and medical marijuana. With these conversations come several concerns and the need for clarification.

1. Evidence vs usage
To date CBD to treat epilepsy (in children) is the only condition that has some scientific evidence supporting its use in some cases. CBD for pain, anxiety, inflammation and sleep remains as yet scientifically unproven and requires more validated research.

According to this article by NPR (https://n.pr/2HnI1SM), “By one estimate, the CBD industry has doubled in size over the last two years, and is now worth $200 million. But with this popularity the hype may have gotten ahead of the science.”

While there is promise and ongoing research into CBD effectiveness in managing pain, anxiety, inflammation and sleep, the jury is still out. Here are recent articles that help clarify.

- CBD Oil: All the Rage, But Is It Safe & Effective? (WebMD) https://wb.md/2K11QfD
- Does CBD Really Work For Anxiety? (HuffPost) https://bit.ly/2wF1VUs
- Anxiety Relief Without The High? New Studies On CBD, A Cannabis Extract (NPR) https://n.pr/2HnI1SM

2. Industry is unregulated
CBD is not regulated. “Because of the legally murky nature of marijuana, the FDA has not stepped in to regulate products like CBD oil.” States are struggling to put regulations in place. … Meanwhile, a 2017 study led by Bonn-Miller found that nearly 7 of 10 CBD products didn’t contain the amount of marijuana extract promised on the label.” Read more about regulation in this WebMD article (https://wb.md/2KCS4UW).

There are risks associated with medical marijuana CBD. See this post from a Mayo Clinic pharmacist (https://mayocl.in/2KDyip2). People should also consider interactions with other drugs and always discuss the use of CBD with their medical provider and consult with a pharmacist.

3. Concerns about attracting sellers and fraudsters
With the increasing activity related to CBD on Connect comes the unwanted attention of commercial sellers of product and fraudsters. Mayo Clinic Connect’s Terms of Use (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/terms-of-use/) prohibit “any material which … (viii) contains any information, software, or other material of a commercial nature; (ix) contains solicitations or advertisements of any kind; (x) constitutes or contains false or misleading indication of origin or statement of fact…”

Our Moderating team keeps a watchful eye for people with commercial interests posing as members on Connect. If you see posts that contravene the Terms of Use, please report them. Here's how: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/tab/moderators/

4. Is it legal?
It has often been stated or asked about the legality of CBD in all 50 states. According to this article in Forbes “CBD is not legal in all 50 states (https://bit.ly/2KFY2nV) — even though it is widely available. At best, the law is murky and open to differing interpretations.”

- Is CBD Legal? The Legal Status of CBD in 2018 (Medium) https://bit.ly/2EEuwYB
- The legal status of cannabis (marijuana) and cannabidiol (CBD) under U.S. law (Elsevier 2017) https://bit.ly/2tk68Zu
- State Medical Marijuana Laws (2018) https://bit.ly/1udxSs4

5. Information from Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic provides the following information on medical marijuana https://mayocl.in/2KyrGvp

6. Get informed
Information about the use, efficacy and legality of CBD and medical marijuana is constantly being updated. Do your research. It is advisable to talk with a health care professional if you have questions.

@lalyfa

Welcome to Mayo Connect. I am a Volunteer Mentor and not a medical professional. As such I can offer the benefit of my personal experience, as can others on this site, but not medical diagnoses nor medical opinions. We strive to help each other with the understanding that we are all different and what works for me may not work for you. I have gotten so much good from participating in Mayo Connect that I love it.

Yes, I have used CBD tincture and CBD Living Water for anxiety. I haven't used it for depression as I already take an antidepressant. It doesn't seem to interfere with my Citalopram.

I decided to try CBD when I was withdrawing from Tramadol, a synthetic opiate I had been taking for pain (with 2 other medications) for over a year. As I began slowly reducing my use, I experienced a lot of anxiety and muscle tremors in my legs especially. I know that using a marijuana medication meant that my pain doctor would not prescribe for me again, but I was getting off the pain medications one by one anyway, so I don't care.

The CBD Living Water was my favorite as it just was like drinking bottled water and was immediately available in my system. Within a few minutes of drinking one serving, my anxiety began reducing. It was so benign that I thought perhaps it was just my own thoughts that were calming me down--my belief that it would help. So, I bought the CBD tincture as kind of a test to see if I reacted the same. The next time I was having withdrawal anxiety I used the CBD Tincture. I didn't realize at that time that it can take up to 2+ hours to have effect when you take the tincture, but that was actually good for my test purposes. My anxiety continued for another hour until slowly the tincture began taking effect. I decided then that the CBD Living Water worked best for my anxiety.

CBD Living Water is expensive at $5.00 per bottle with 2 servings. It has no flavor (the tincture had a sweet weird flavor I didn't like) and is easy to drink. I only used 4 bottles to help me through my withdrawal. I don't use it now, but I will if I have anxiety in the future. I am impressed with how helpful it was in my withdrawal. I think it would help in withdrawal from cigarettes too. I did that 34 years ago though.

Are you willing to share what you're anxiety is about? I had panic and anxiety attacks for years and used Ativan and later Lorazepam for them, especially when I had to fly in planes. About 6 years ago I started taking Citalopram antidepressant, and all my anxiety/panic attacks went away. I only had it again recently during my withdrawal process. I know my relief from anxiety is from the Citalopram. I even did 7 zip lines in Costa Rica a little over a year ago. My flights there, to Panama and back were anxiety free. That has been so incredible for me! I love traveling now.

Please let me know if you have questions,. I also hope others on Mayo Connect will let you know their experiences with CBD and Marijuana as medical alternative treatments.

Gail B
Volunteer Mentor

@lalyfa

Welcome to Mayo Connect. I am a Volunteer Mentor and not a medical professional. As such I can offer the benefit of my personal experience, as can others on this site, but not medical diagnoses nor medical opinions. We strive to help each other with the understanding that we are all different and what works for me may not work for you. I have gotten so much good from participating in Mayo Connect that I love it.

Yes, I have used CBD tincture and CBD Living Water for anxiety. I haven't used it for depression as I already take an antidepressant. It doesn't seem to interfere with my Citalopram.

I decided to try CBD when I was withdrawing from Tramadol, a synthetic opiate I had been taking for pain (with 2 other medications) for over a year. As I began slowly reducing my use, I experienced a lot of anxiety and muscle tremors in my legs especially. I know that using a marijuana medication meant that my pain doctor would not prescribe for me again, but I was getting off the pain medications one by one anyway, so I don't care.

The CBD Living Water was my favorite as it just was like drinking bottled water and was immediately available in my system. Within a few minutes of drinking one serving, my anxiety began reducing. It was so benign that I thought perhaps it was just my own thoughts that were calming me down--my belief that it would help. So, I bought the CBD tincture as kind of a test to see if I reacted the same. The next time I was having withdrawal anxiety I used the CBD Tincture. I didn't realize at that time that it can take up to 2+ hours to have effect when you take the tincture, but that was actually good for my test purposes. My anxiety continued for another hour until slowly the tincture began taking effect. I decided then that the CBD Living Water worked best for my anxiety.

CBD Living Water is expensive at $5.00 per bottle with 2 servings. It has no flavor (the tincture had a sweet weird flavor I didn't like) and is easy to drink. I only used 4 bottles to help me through my withdrawal. I don't use it now, but I will if I have anxiety in the future. I am impressed with how helpful it was in my withdrawal. I think it would help in withdrawal from cigarettes too. I did that 34 years ago though.

Are you willing to share what you're anxiety is about? I had panic and anxiety attacks for years and used Ativan and later Lorazepam for them, especially when I had to fly in planes. About 6 years ago I started taking Citalopram antidepressant, and all my anxiety/panic attacks went away. I only had it again recently during my withdrawal process. I know my relief from anxiety is from the Citalopram. I even did 7 zip lines in Costa Rica a little over a year ago. My flights there, to Panama and back were anxiety free. That has been so incredible for me! I love traveling now.

Please let me know if you have questions,. I also hope others on Mayo Connect will let you know their experiences with CBD and Marijuana as medical alternative treatments.

Gail B
Volunteer Mentor

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Yes. I have been on antidepressants for almost 20 years and have had a terrible time with discontinuation symptoms each time I try to stop taking them. Every antidepressant I have taken has given me at least one undesirable side effect so I decided to get my medical marijuana card and try that route. I bought a CBD capsule from Knox Medical called Perla and I cannot believe how well it has been working. I completely stopped Well Turin and am on my 5th day of not taking Cymbalta. I am having brain zaps and dizziness but no anxiety or depression. It’s truly like a miracle. The difference between the CBD I take and what’s in the general market is that it is from the marijuana plant and not the hemp plant. It does not give a high effect. I just noticed that the elephant that weighed on my chest for so many years had gone away about 2 weeks in to taking it. The more I have read about Cymbalta the more furious I have become that my phychiatrist didn’t warm me of all of the side effects and discontinuation effects. I had been on Effexor several years ago and never wanted to go on a drug like that again. I was skeptical of the CBD but was desperate to try something that wasn’t Xanax or addictive to calm my anxiety. Hope my experience helps someone reading and hope I can make it through these awful brain zaps over the next few days. I will never take another antidepressant again!