Finding the perfect cannabidiol (CBD) dose isn’t easy. The resources available online are very confusing. I personally can attest to the difficulty I faced when trying to find out what CBD oil dosage I should take to treat my anxiety disorder. It took a lot of digging and experimentation for me to find an accurate and effective daily dose.
My struggle to dose appropriately turns out to be quite common among people starting their CBD journey. Every brand seems to offer different recommendations, plus everyone has their own opinion on Facebook groups and online forums.
Depending on who you consult, you’ll get different answers. But it just boils down to a set of five basic principles to guide you on your personal exploration. It also comes down to intimately knowing your health issue and listening to what your body tells you. Only you can confirm if the CBD dose is working and if you feel you need to increase it.
What are the Risks of Experimenting with Dosage?
If you use the following five guidelines to help you on your path to perfect dosage, the risks are extremely low. I myself never have felt any side effects, and the science backs up my personal experience. According to a 2017 review of the current literature on the subject, “the most commonly reported side effects were tiredness, diarrhea, and changes of [sic] appetite/weight. In comparison with other drugs used for the treatment of these medical conditions, CBD has a better side effect profile.”
In my experience with dosing CBD, it only ever has fostered a sense of relaxation. It's this gentle calmness that I enjoy, because it does not come on quickly nor noticeably. However, everyone is different, which is why it’s important to check in with your own response to see how your body is reacting.
Therapeutic Benefits of CBD
Doses vary wildly depending on what you are treating. Naturally, cancer patients usually target their illness with extremely high doses, while someone with chronic inflammation typically relies on a significantly lower daily dose. Research is ongoing and nothing has been proven, but cannabidiol is the subject of preliminary studies for a number of treatments, including:
- Improving depression and other mood disorders
- Taking the edge off of social anxiety and panic attack disorders
- Reducing overactive inflammation
- Preventing cancerous cell growth and migration
- Alleviating nicotine cravings
- Treating people with substance abuse problems
- Protecting against common neurodegeneration during the aging process
RELATED: How CBD Helped Me Win Against Panic Attacks
The Ultimate Guide to Determining the Perfect CBD Dose
To make the process easier for newcomers, I’ve put together the ultimate guide to determining your perfect dose. It takes into account industry norms, personal experience, and available research to provide a good starting point for your own journey with CBD.
1. Consult a Medical Professional
First and foremost, consult with a medical professional before taking CBD. Although CBD has been found to have only a low risk of side effects, it is still important to check with your doctor before starting a CBD oil regime. Cannabidiol may complicate the efficacy of other hepatic drug (those involved with the liver) absorption. So, it is especially important to talk with your doctor if you already are taking other prescription medications.
2. Start Small
Once you have found a quality source of CBD, start with the lowest recommended dose. For less serious health issues, a good suggested starting point often is 0.25 mg taken twice daily, or 0.50 mg taken at night. The research suggests CBD therapy often has a cumulative effect. So, it slowly begins building up toward its potent therapeutic benefits.
If you are looking for a high quality, clean, CBD oil product to use for higher doses, the 3600 High CBD tincture may be a helpful choice.
3. Increase Slowly
Monitor your results daily. Do you feel better? Have you noticed any side effects? Do you feel nothing? Slowly start increasing your dose every three or four days, constantly checking in with yourself to see if you feel any changes. Again, changes tend to take time to develop, so patience is required.
4. Consider Your Body Type
Depending on what other medications you are taking, your body type, and particular metabolism, CBD will work differently for each of us. Larger individuals likely will need higher doses, and those with a faster metabolism also will require more CBD for a noticeable effect.
Importantly, because CBD inhibits hepatic drug absorption, a doctor might need to adjust the dosages of your other prescription medications. This is because the CBD oil temporarily will block certain receptors in your liver from processing any other medicines. Usually, this results in higher levels of those other drugs in your bloodstream. It essentially makes prescription drugs more effective, but theoretically can increase blood levels to a toxic point. A doctor may wish to monitor blood levels of certain medications, and reduce them as needed.
5. Variation Between Health Issues
The difference between using CBD oil to supplement for daily health or using it to treat acute illness can change the dosage dramatically. For example, the maximum amount I have used daily for anxiety is 10 mg (broken into smaller doses throughout the day). However, someone using it for severe epilepsy may take more than 1,000mg daily.
RELATED: CBD Oil Cancer Dosage
Dosage very much depends on what you want to treat and how long you expect to manage it. Anxiety, like mine, is a daily occurrence, and I likely will take CBD oil for extended periods. Someone who is treating cancer theoretically will reduce or cease taking CBD if their disease goes into remission.
CBD dosing can seem incredibly complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. Until standardized guidelines are used across the CBD industry, it's important to be patient during the self-experimentation process. Follow the five steps outlined above, starting with low doses and increasing slowly. As long as you are patient with the process and listen to what your body has to tell you, you easily will find the appropriate dosage to suit your health needs.
Sources/Examples:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5569602/
https://www.projectcbd.org/guidance/cbd-users-manual
https://cbdoilreview.org/cbd-cannabidiol/cbd-dosage/
https://herb.co/2016/12/05/correct-cbd-dosage/
