Using CBD oil to help taper off anxiety & depression meds?

Posted by tundra @tundra, Apr 14, 2018

I am currently in tolerance taking 30mg a day of Serepax (Oxazepam). I want to get off the benzo and realize I have to taper after 15 years of being on it. Has anyone used CBD oil minus the THC to taper off benzo's?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Depression & Anxiety Support Group.

@lisalucier - Can I jump in here? It might be an oil other than the CBD. Other oils are used in combination to CBD oil. No one gets 100% CBD oil. If vaping worked better than go back to that. But it doesn't last as long as the oil., although it goes into your system faster.

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@lisalucier

@artscaping may have some input on the nausea with taking CBD, as well as have thoughts about regulation related to CBD.

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@lisalucier, and others with questions about CBD. Here are the never, never, rules for CBD. And I am only speaking of medical cannabis with THC. 1. Don't use any medical cannabis on an empty tummy. 2. Don't mix medical cannabis with alcohol including right before and right after. There are no real side effects of CBD. The best results and pain relief are when THC is used in concert with CBD. Right now there is almost a panacea of CBD products on the market that are supposed to fix everything.

To your other issue...regulation. I am an advocate of total legalization because it ensures that the products you purchase from a licensed dispensary have been through a standardized regulation process. I was in California during the introduction of recreational products. It was a mixed-up world for months. The implementation of regulations required many products to be returned more than once for better labeling or consistent amounts of ingredients.

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@artscaping

@lisalucier, and others with questions about CBD. Here are the never, never, rules for CBD. And I am only speaking of medical cannabis with THC. 1. Don't use any medical cannabis on an empty tummy. 2. Don't mix medical cannabis with alcohol including right before and right after. There are no real side effects of CBD. The best results and pain relief are when THC is used in concert with CBD. Right now there is almost a panacea of CBD products on the market that are supposed to fix everything.

To your other issue...regulation. I am an advocate of total legalization because it ensures that the products you purchase from a licensed dispensary have been through a standardized regulation process. I was in California during the introduction of recreational products. It was a mixed-up world for months. The implementation of regulations required many products to be returned more than once for better labeling or consistent amounts of ingredients.

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@artscaping - Great response

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@jamienolson

Hello @tundra. Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Thank you for starting this conversation. I see that you also posted in the group talking about using CBD oil for withdraw on effexor. Lots of helpful information in that thread! You may also find helpful information regarding CBD oil in this thread: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cbd-oil-and-depression-anxiety/?pg=4#comment-99190

I would like to introduce you to @gman007, who also has been through the process of tapering off Benzo. However, I'm not sure if he used CBD oil to do so. Also, you could check with member,@ronlin1948, who used CBD to taper off of seroquel. Hopefully they will have some insight to share with you.

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Please tell me how you tapered off Seroquel. I’ve been taking 100-150 mg at night for sleep. I would like to switch from my antipressants to CBD oil.

Jack Arute, aged 67

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For generalized anxiety I have been taking pristiq (SNRI) and Wellbutrin (related to SSRI), plus klonopin and seroquel and ambien (seroquel and ambien for sleep). I want to taper off these meds and I hope to replace them with CBD oil. Does anyone have any suggestions? Things like how long it might take.

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@elawhomey66

For generalized anxiety I have been taking pristiq (SNRI) and Wellbutrin (related to SSRI), plus klonopin and seroquel and ambien (seroquel and ambien for sleep). I want to taper off these meds and I hope to replace them with CBD oil. Does anyone have any suggestions? Things like how long it might take.

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Welcome to Connect, @elawhomey66. You'll notice that I moved your message to this existing discussion about Using CBD oil to help taper off anxiety & depression meds. I did this so you can connect with other members who have similar experiences. Simply click VIEW & REPLY to scroll through past posts.

Ela, you mention that you are taking Pristiq and Wellbutrin, plus Klonopin and Seroquel and Ambien. Simply scroll through the Depression & Anxiety group as well as the Sleep Health group and you'll find several discussions about each of these medications.

Here are couple of related discussions:

- Weaning off Effexor with CBD Oil https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/weaning-off-effexor-with-cbd-oil/
- Will CBD oil help reduce withdrawal symptoms of tapering down Effexor? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/will-cbd-oil-help-reduce-withdrawal-symptoms-of-tapering-down-effexor/

Do you plan to taper off one drug at a time?

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I'm just jumping in to say I did recently purchase a CBD oil for sleep to add to lunesta and melatonin. I also purchased CBD gummies for anxiety although I take buspar for that. And prozac.

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@georgette12

I'm just jumping in to say I did recently purchase a CBD oil for sleep to add to lunesta and melatonin. I also purchased CBD gummies for anxiety although I take buspar for that. And prozac.

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I'm sorry to say that I tried CBD for both sleep and a autoimune disease. I took it both by itself and also with THC(?). It didn't help me.
I had been on Ambien for about 15 years.
I went off because we thought it may be causeing some of my symptoms. Jury is out on that. I switched to Lunesta and some sleep gel tablets.
They seem to help me get to sleep.
One other thing that I found that helped was a "My Pillow"! This is not a paid commerical! P had been sleeping on two pillows for many years. Started waking up with a back ache. When I switched a couplpe months ago I found I got a much deeper sleep and wake up in the morning with no back ache. Other aches are still there, but the back ache is gone.
Just food for thought!
Hope everyone had a Thankful Holiday!
Sundance(RB)

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@georgette12

I'm just jumping in to say I did recently purchase a CBD oil for sleep to add to lunesta and melatonin. I also purchased CBD gummies for anxiety although I take buspar for that. And prozac.

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Hi, @georgette12 - wondering how the buspirone (Buspar) and the fluoxetine (Prozac) were working for managing your anxiety?

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Hello again. @sundance6 and @lisalucier . I was on ambien for almost 3 years and did find that difficulty with that. So that's when I switched to lunesta 3mg taken with 10 mg melatonin. Depending on how I feel I may take aleve PM due to body pain. Also I did buy one of those "my pillow " pillows a few weeks ago. Walmart. About 35.00. That makes a difference in sleep also. During winter, I often warm the bed with my electric blanket which is soothing. A sound machine works, and aromatherapy and lavender oil. Re buspar and prozac, I take 40 mg of prozac and only 10 mg of buspar, and I do think it works. Since I live in Colorado I have been experimenting with CBD products for anxiety also.

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