Does CBD Help with Arthritis Pain and Anxiety?

The most precarious and debilitating symptoms suffered by arthritis patients include pain, stiffness, and decreased movement within the joints, all of which can be severe and worsen over time. In addition, there are other symptoms that are just as troublesome, such as anxiety and depression.

Some medications and treatment programs can potentially help ease these negative effects, but many people are searching for a more natural pain relief option. This is where CBD oil comes into play.

What is CBD Oil?

CBD is short for cannabidiol, which MedlinePlus explains is one of more than 80 chemical cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant Cannabis sativa. Thus, cannabis oil, or CBD oil as it is more commonly known, is an oil that is developed using this particular compound.

Although CBD oil is just now becoming fairly mainstream, largely because of the debates surrounding medical marijuana, cannabis actually has a long history of providing relief in many different countries around the world.

 Benefits of the CBD Oil

Many studies have been conducted on CBD and found that this compound offers individuals diagnosed with arthritis several potential benefits.

CBD Oil Eases Arthritis Pain

One of the primary CBD oil benefits for arthritis sufferers is its positive effect on pain, and research confirms it.

A study published in the journal Pain in December 2017 analyzed whether CBD could prevent osteoarthritis pain and joint neuropathy. Based on their findings, researchers affirmed that it did both because it decreased joint inflammation and served as a protectant to the nerves.

CBD Oil Relieves Other Chronic Pain Conditions

CBD oil has been found to relieve other chronic pains as well. For instance, research published in Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management indicates that cannabinoids have been helpful with easing pain for individuals diagnosed with conditions such as multiple sclerosis and cancer.

Other studies have reported positive effects for individuals taking CBD to ease their fibromyalgia pain, many of whom only experienced mild side effects from this chemical compound, such as dry mouth, drowsiness, and dizziness.

CBD Oil and Anxiety

CBD oil has also been linked to a variety of mental health benefits, such as a reduction in anxiety. Research suggests that it is so effective in this regard that it has “considerable potential as a treatment for multiple anxiety disorders.” One study published in The Permanente Journal even found that CBD oil can help reduce anxiety in young children.

CBD Oil for Depression

Several studies have also linked CBD to a reduction of symptoms associated with depression. This is extremely important because as the Arthritis Foundation says that the depression rates of those diagnosed with certain types of arthritis “can be between two- and ten-times greater than the rates of the general population.”

Is CBD Oil Legal?

Some CBD oils are derived from hemp, the fiber of the cannabis plant. Though the 2014 Farm Bill declared certain hemp cultivation practices legal. The president signed the new Farm Bill into law in December 2018, effectively legalizing hemp under federal law.

In short, to determine whether a CBD oil or any other CBD product is legal or illegal depends on a multitude of factors. Your geographical location, local laws, and whether there are any other cannabinoids in the extract must all be taken into consideration before arriving at a final answer.

CBD oil isn’t legal everywhere. In the United States, CBD oil is legal in some states, but not all. Certain states that have legalized CBD for medical use may require users to apply for special licensing. It’s also important to know that the FDA hasn’t approved CBD for any medical conditions. Hemp-derived CBD products (with less than 0.3 percent THC) are legal on the federal level, but are still illegal under some state laws.

 Is CBD Oil Safe?

Patients are always concerned with additional potential and side effects (as they should be). According to some top health experts and agencies, the answer is yes. It is safe to use.

For instance, Medscape shares that while cannabinoid medicine is still in its early stages, “unlike marijuana and THC, the risks associated with CBD are extremely low, with not a single case report of CBD overdose in the literature. The National Institute on Drug Abuse agrees and states that “CBD appears to be a safe drug with no addictive effects.”

In the future, it is likely that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will also begin to regulate CBD products, providing an additional safety net, as this agency indicates that “increasing public interest” in this substance increases the importance of establishing regulatory procedures.

 Potential Risks of CBD Oil

Many health experts have deemed CBD safe to use, but like with any substance, there does appear to be a few potential risks when it comes to using this extract.

Medication/Drug Interactions

MedlinePlus indicates that CBD can sometimes interact with certain prescription medications, primarily those that are “changed and broken down by the liver.”

These include, but are not limited to common medications such as:

• ondansetron (Zofran)
• clozapine (Clozaril, FazaClo)
• progesterone (Endometrin, Prometrium)
• testosterone
• disulfiram (Antabuse)
• ketamine (Ketalar)
• phenobarbital (Luminal)
• omeprazole (Prilosec)
• lansoprazole (Prevacid)
• diazepam (Valium)
• carisoprodol (Soma)
• ibuprofen (Motrin)
• celecoxib (Celebrex)
• amitriptyline (Elavil)
• warfarin (Coumadin)
• codeine
• paroxetine (Paxil)
• tramadol (Ultram)
• venlafaxine (Effexor)
• alprazolam (Xanax)
• fexofenadine (Allegra)
• benzodiazepines
• morphine

CBD and Drowsiness

Another potential risk of CBD is that it can cause drowsiness. Therefore, if you’re taking supplements or medications to help you sleep, CBD could enhance these effects even more. It’s important to keep this in mind if you’re performing activities that require maximum alertness, such as driving or operating heavy machinery.

 CBD Dosing Considerations

If you’d like to use CBD oil to help ease your arthritis pain, you may be wondering how much to administer or apply. However, when talking about proper CBD dosing, it’s important to first understand bioavailability.

CBD Bioavailability

Bioavailability is defined as the “amount of a substance that becomes available (reaches the target organ or system circulation) to an organism’s body for bioactivity when introduced through ingestion, inhalation, injection, or skin contact.” In short, it is how much of the substance your body can effectively use based on the type and route taken.

In the case of CBD oil specifically, Medscape shares that while intranasal administration of CBD has a bioavailability of 34 to 46 percent and CBD vaporization has 40 percent bioavailability, “oral CBD is thought to be as low as 6 percent, owing to significant first pass-metabolism.”

First-Pass Metabolism and CBD

An article published in the journal Nurse Prescribing explains that first-pass metabolism occurs in the gut or the liver and is when some of the drug is destroyed before it is able to be circulated around the body. Thus, based on the research above, taking CBD oil in pill form may mean that your body only receives as little as 6 percent of the CBD.

Another option is to take CBD oil topically, either alone or as part of a lotion or cream. Research published in the European Journal of Pain studied the effectiveness of this approach and found that “topical CBD application has therapeutic potential for relief of arthritis pain-related behaviours and inflammation without evident side-effects.”

Proper CBD Dosing

If you’re new to using CBD oil, we recommend you start with 10 milligrams per day to establish a safe, effective amount for you. Most of our RA colleagues end up getting relief when they take 20mg of full spectrum lab grade CBD tincture under the tongue twice per day. It’s important to hold it there for at least 60 seconds. Others with more severe pain go as high as 80mg twice or more per day to get full relief.

Read the original article at https://www.rheumatoidarthritis.org/cbd-oil/

Elderflower Botanicals is a 100% US grown, organics, and bottled company dedicated to producing the highest quality, CBD products from lab tested Hemp isolate and distillate aimed at getting the maximum effect. We sell pure isolate CBD oil and full spectrum CBD oil in a 300mg, extra strength 600mg and max strength 1,000mg for people with the worst pain needs. It is important to note that elderflower botanicals full spectrum CBD oil and salves do contain the legal limit of no more than 0.3% THC which means you do run a risk of possibly testing positive if you take a marijuana drug test. You should probably avoid it if you will be drug tested.

Based on customer feedback, best results came from taking both the CBD oil under the tongue while at the same time applying the CBD potent salve directly to the joints in pain.