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CBD Oil-fact or fiction?

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Dirtrider

noah
May 2, 2006
1,633
2,734
Asheville, NC
Was talking with a coworker today about the stuff. He swears by it to help reduce his anxiety and stress. Any monkeys use the it and what’s your take? Snake oil or not?
 

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
41,827
19,155
Riding the baggage carousel.
hippie friends swear by it.....naturally.
Hippie checking in.

I've been dabbling with a mid-strength CBD for about 6 weeks now. I will offer anecdote without making any specific claims.

Was talking with a coworker today about the stuff. He swears by it to help reduce his anxiety and stress. Any monkeys use the it and what’s your take? Snake oil or not?
I'll start by saying that, as someone who takes great credence in scientific study/literature, I've seen zero published material that leads me to believe that the claims made by the sellers and/or manufacturers of CBD oils are anything other than snake oil. That said:

Stress/anxiety:
I think so. I feel mellower, and I've always had a pretty short fuse. Post accident diagnosed TBI and PTSD has only made this worse. Anyone whose been on teh :monkey: any length of time is familiar with some of my more "irrational" behavior, anger, and mental struggle. I've been incredibly angry and caused more than several public "scenes". Frankly, I'm not sure how I haven't wound up spending a night in jail and/or divorced. Perhaps this says more about the people around me than anything. Personally I feel like pretty extensive therapy, combined with the last month and a half of CBD have really taken the edge off.

Pain:
This is where I notice the biggest difference. I've not been pain free since feb 27. 2007. I consume OTC pain meds like chicklets. Access to the work provided first aid kit, plus what we have at home provides me with every flavor of over the counter pain killers available in the United States. I've been taking them all, in some sort of combination at least 3 times a day for the last 11+ years just so I could function. Except for a couple days where I didn't have any, since I started taking a CBD oil I've cut my consumption of pain killers to almost zero. Surprisingly, my alcohol consumption has seen a similar decrease. I had no idea how much beer/whiskey I was consuming as a sedative until I didn't need it any more, and I had already made a real effort to cut back due to the above documented anger issues.

Pain is such an issue for me that I decided to start taking a CBD oil, despite the fact that I'm still not 100% sure if I will keep my job after my next DOT random drug screen. What I've read on the internet, and what my seller claims, is that a clean/pure CBD oil will not make me fail a drug test. It certainly doesn't make me feel "high" or change my head or perception in any way, least as far as I can tell. That wasn't why I started taking it. I just didn't want to feel like shit any more, and in that regard, it seems to have helped. I'm still not "pain free", but it's manageable. At least for now.

Sleep:
The larger part of my interest in CBD came from the claims that it helps with sleep issues. I've not found this to be true. I still sleep like shit, I still am awake WAY before my already super early alarm goes off in the morning, and I still stare at the ceiling for great lengths of time during the night. For me at least, CBD does nothing to help me sleep.

The mental down side:
Since I've started taking a CBD, I have really struggled with depression. I wish to make clear, correlation /= causation, but depression much more so than even some of the cases I've been willing to document here before. Lets just say that I do not regret having the guns destroyed. I'm not sure I'd still be alive had I had easy access to a firearm. (Deeper anecdote included: studies have shown that simply having access to a firearm, contributes greatly to the chances of someone committing suicide and am willing to confirm that I find this to be personally true).

Sorry for the wall of text. This turned into way more of a confessional than I intended, but there you go; my experience with CBD.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
56,008
22,043
Sleazattle
I've tried it out to help with sleep and inflammation from psoriatic arthritis. For me the stuff is a waking nightmare. I feel a certain mild psychoactive affect that I do not like. I find it difficult to focus or think about anything. Not a nice calm blank mind feeling but a state that I consider to be astoundingly boring that then drives high levels of anxiety attempting to feel something. In the end there is no help with sleep and I feel a certain extreme psychological discomfort. I can't say if it helps with pain or inflammation as all I want to do is scratch my eyes out.

I understand this stuff does wonders for other people, funny how it affects people differently.

For what it is worth, I find the normal full spectrum devil's lettuce to be delightful.
 

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
41,827
19,155
Riding the baggage carousel.
I've tried it out to help with sleep and inflammation from psoriatic arthritis. For me the stuff is a waking nightmare. I feel a certain mild psychoactive affect that I do not like. I find it difficult to focus or think about anything. Not a nice calm blank mind feeling but a state that I consider to be astoundingly boring that then drives high levels of anxiety attempting to feel something. In the end there is no help with sleep and I feel a certain extreme psychological discomfort. I can't say if it helps with pain or inflammation as all I want to do is scratch my eyes out.
This is how I felt when I was put on a prescription anti-depressant while in hospital. I understand there are many types of anti-depressants and that everyone reacts differently to the various types, but I was put on the lowest strength of lexapro and HOLY SHIT did I hate it. It was like locking every single emotion, good and bad, into a glass case and all you could do was look at them, and know they were there, all the while behaving like a soulless robot. NEVER, again.

I understand this stuff does wonders for other people, funny how it affects people differently.

For what it is worth, I find the normal full spectrum devil's lettuce to be delightful.
Entourage effect. (Link may be NSFW due to drug references)

Again, determine for yourself scientific veracity.
 

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
22,057
12,786
I have no idea where I am
As your metalsmith, for treatment for anxiety and depression, I recommend a stout course of shed visits (mobile preferred) and epic rides in Pisgah.

And should you encounter a bear, just run straight towards it. The adrenaline shot is unreal...
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
24,913
16,498
where the trails are
I tried it for my insomnia. didn't solve the problem and left me feeling a bit off. I got a brief, slight calming sensation though.
- not a pot user anyway
 

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
2,919
1,669
Brooklyn
I am not a marijuananaut because it makes me paranoid as fuck. Curious if CBD would have the same effect. I'm as broken and pain-ridden as the next old man mountain biker, and stressed the fuck out and sleep as shittily as the next middle-management, middle-aged dad.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
8,419
6,956
Yakistan
I like flowers that have high cbd content. They arent as psychoactive but they produce a calming relaxation. More like background noise. The effects are different than bad weed though - which wears off quickly. The cbd weed produces a long lasting sense of satisfaction (In my experience) I never have really explored the oils so can't comment on that.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
17,237
14,715
I am not a marijuananaut because it makes me paranoid as fuck. Curious if CBD would have the same effect. I'm as broken and pain-ridden as the next old man mountain biker, and stressed the fuck out and sleep as shittily as the next middle-management, middle-aged dad.
Riding bikes in CO or UT would fix that, I prescribe a flight out to Denver at the end of the month and hitch a ride with JB across to moab.
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
needs THC to be fully effective. google entourage effect cbd thc.
also dont buy shady chinese produced stuff the corner store.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,822
27,042
media blackout
HOLY SHIT did I hate it. It was like locking every single emotion, good and bad, into a glass case and all you could do was look at them, and know they were there, all the while behaving like a soulless robot. NEVER, again.
this might come in handy when the robot overlords take over
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
I am not a marijuananaut because it makes me paranoid as fuck. Curious if CBD would have the same effect. I'm as broken and pain-ridden as the next old man mountain biker, and stressed the fuck out and sleep as shittily as the next middle-management, middle-aged dad.
cbd is a thc antagonist (thc causes the anxiety/paranoia). In fact, it is recommended to give someone who has had too much thc, cbd to calm them down.
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
This is how I felt when I was put on a prescription anti-depressant while in hospital. I understand there are many types of anti-depressants and that everyone reacts differently to the various types, but I was put on the lowest strength of lexapro and HOLY SHIT did I hate it. It was like locking every single emotion, good and bad, into a glass case and all you could do was look at them, and know they were there, all the while behaving like a soulless robot. NEVER, again.
Lexapro fucked me up big time. Super suicidal getting off. Wicked drug.
 

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
41,827
19,155
Riding the baggage carousel.
Lexapro fucked me up big time. Super suicidal getting off. Wicked drug.
That was frightening too. I was taking the lowest dose a person could be prescribed, and I still had to cut them into sequentially smaller pieces over a pretty long length of time to get off of it. Pretty big commitment for a drug I'd never asked to be on in the first place.
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
20,050
8,770
Nowhere Man!
I like flowers that have high cbd content. They arent as psychoactive but they produce a calming relaxation. More like background noise. The effects are different than bad weed though - which wears off quickly. The cbd weed produces a long lasting sense of satisfaction (In my experience) I never have really explored the oils so can't comment on that.
I have found this to be the case also.