How to Talk to Your Doctor About CBD

CBD awareness is on the rise, and with it the many applications both for the Endocannabinoid System as well as other systems in the body. As you explore potential benefits and applications there may come a time when you want to talk to your healthcare practitioner on using CBD and what to consider such as interactions with medications, dosing recommendations and overall safety.

The research, while very thorough, is still in the early stages when it comes to the medical community and without FDA recommendations for medical professionals to rely on, incorporating CBD in your medical treatment could be tricky. As the premier educational brand, we would like to empower you to be your own advocate for the relief you have or could experience.  Here are a few questions we have anticipated you will receive and the answers with sources to empower you to be your doctor’s educator.

Are there any peer-reviewed journals that show the efficacy of CBD?

Yes.  The National Institute of Health is one avenue that compiles a catalog of many of the studies that have been conducted. See resources below for more.

Is it safe?

The World Health Organization has stated that CBD is “generally well tolerated with a good safety profile.”  See links below for more.

Will it Interact with my other medications?

Possibly.  Here at Relyf we recommend the sublingual application (under the tongue) which bypasses the first pass effect which is not processed through the liver but directly into the bloodstream.  Here is the link to a paper published by research chemist Adrian Devitt-Lee that explains in detail possible drug interactions. This can be very helpful for your doctor to know specifically which medications you are taking that could interact with CBD.  See below for more information.

How do you know how much CBD to take?

Dosing recommendations at this time are very specific to the person taking CBD.  Varying levels of endocannabinoid functioning from person to person and a lack of specific dosing studies for different ailments make it difficult to give general dosing guidelines.  Many studies found that a full spectrum CBD extract was able to achieve results at lower doses, called micro-dosing. We recommend starting with 3-5 drops under the tongue (which equates to a little over 1 mg) to start and work your way up until you achieve relief. You can read more about the Bell curve response in this study.

Sources:

We legally cannot hyperlink these resources because of FDA regulations but if you're interested in learning more copy and paste the below links into your browser to view.

• https://search.nih.gov/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&affiliate=nih&query=cbd
• https://www.who.int/medicines/access/controlled-substances/CannabidiolCriticalReview.pdf
• https://www.projectcbd.org/how-to/cbd-drug-interactions