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

I am doing a slow taper off Valium. Is CBD oil
safe and effective to help with the breakthrough anxiety and withdrawal symptoms?

I am doing a slow taper off Valium. Is CBD oil
safe and effective to help with the breakthrough anxiety and withdrawal symptoms?

@mcberry - Good morning. - Good morning and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am a former Valium abuser, or addict, which is more precise. Valium, as you probably know, is highly addictive and will soon have your body demanding more and more as you become more and more tolerant. When you stop using it suddenly withdrawal will be a result of psychological shock and physical dependency, producing a complex of symptoms that and sometimes can be dangerous. I found that every time I tried to withdraw my body would begin giving me signals that it wasn't a great idea to do it cold turkey. And you might not feel anything for a day three or four days, and then the symptoms of withdrawal will become very intense.

Muscle pain.
Mood swings, especially depression and anxiety.
Gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting and abdominal cramps.
Tremors.
Confusion and restlessness.
Irritability.
Headache.
Difficulty sleeping.

"General withdrawal: After a period of 3-4 days of acute symptoms, the person will tend to experience a more lengthy withdrawal phase that will continue for 10-14 days in most cases. During this period, the person will experience increased cravings for Valium, lightheadedness, mild headache, mild fever, periods of nausea, potential chills, depression, and continuing bouts of anxiety. These symptoms will be significantly less intense than the acute symptoms. In general, the person will experience flu-like symptoms, general feelings of dissatisfaction, and an overall sense of melancholy. In some individuals, there may be an additional period of rebound anxiety between 10 and 14 days."
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/valium-treatment/withdrawal-duration
Valium, in some ways, duplicates an alcohol effect on the body such as central nervous system depression, slow down the heart rate, slowed or difficulty breathing, impaired motor control, unusual behavior, and memory problems.

I know that this sounds pretty gloomy but Valium withdrawal can be pretty awful and with help and good guidance, you can avoid potential dangers.

Other medications that might be used include the following:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are antidepressant medications that have been shown to be useful in some instances in the withdrawal process from benzodiazepines and may be useful in addressing rebound anxiety.

Melatonin is a hormone that can ease symptoms of anxiety and induce sleep in some cases and may also address tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.
Anticonvulsant medications would be used in the event that an individual develops seizures. Some anticonvulsants also appear to be useful in addressing the overall symptoms experienced during withdrawal from Valium.
Other specific medications for nausea, headache, and so forth can be added at a physician’s discretion.

CBD oil is safe but it's mostly for calming anxiety and won't do anything to help other physical withdrawal symptoms. In order to safely withdraw from Valium, you need a detox program so that you can receive proper care during withdrawals. Physicians can initiate a tapering strategy for Valium.

How long have you taken valium and when did you decide to get off of it? It took a while for my body and brain to balance themselves out and for me to learn to live life without it. But I did it and I was on way, way too much so if I can do it, so can you.

There are many detox centers around the country. If you need help in beginning this process you can call:

https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Merry

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.

what about tapering off SSRIs? does CBD help with this?

hi there.i've been in contact with my psychiatrist and been following a strict tapering schedule. i've been on variations of ssris for over 2 decades. it's going OK. i wasn't aware withdrawal happened until later in the tapering so i was glad to find the harvard article on that. He's pretty accepting of alternative therapies. will try CBD oil. main side effects have been dizziness, brain zap (which feels pretty wild), and serious irritation. How long does the irritation last? -asks my parter...

How long does the irritation last? That is a good question that I'm confident both you and your partner would like to know the answer to. Knowing that it will end helps get you through. I suspect this is another thing where people answer, "Everyone is different." No two tapers experiences are the same. None-the-less, it would be helpful to hear from others like @stephanieann @gettingbetter75 @sundance6 @georgette12 @sears @swimjay as they tapered off SSRIs, did they experience irritation and how long did it last?

Jmacy, when do you notice that you are most irritable? Is there a pattern?

I have used CBD tincture 20:1 for the past 4 months that has a very small amount of THC in it to assist in weaning my son with autism off his poly pharmacy that he has been on for many years. 1 dropperful contains 9.5mg CBD to.5mg THC I so far have successfully weaned my son off 2 prescriptions which dealt with his extreme anxiety- Clonazapam and Guanficine. His extreme anxiety often triggered serious behaviors in the past . Initially I weaned him off Guanficine while substituting the CBD oil. I then weaned him very slowly off clonazepam while giving him the cbd tincture generally 2-3 times/day. This is a trial and error method and there is no hard and fast methodology to guide a person in dosing. I am having his staff take behavioral data since we began the CBD and started taking him off the other prescription drugs. We are now very slowly weaning him off an atypical anti psychotic. His behaviors have decreased significantly. He is not as anxious or perseverative or irritable and I, his staff and him are so far very encouraged. The CBD oil seems to last about 4-6 hours. The medical marijuana dispensary people were very helpful but it is all anecdotal data at this point. You need to make sure you find a reputable company and dispensary There is some scientific evidence to show that CBD may be impacting GABA receptors or others but we need a lot of research. We need the FDA to change its policy of having medicinal marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug since this is preventing the research. I am not too worried about any potential side effects from the CBD but I am very careful about the amount of THC given, as that has been known to sometimes cause psychotic episodes if too much THC. . If anyone has information on weaning off atypical antipsychotic medication I would be most appreciative . Hopefully the CBD oil will make these other medications unnecessary since they seem to have many more long term side effects than the CBD.