420 Warrior
Well-Known Member
Antidepressants are a family of medications most commonly prescribed to people suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and chronic pain.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is rising in popularity due to its many health benefits reported by people worldwide. Some of the benefits reported include a reduction in pain and inflammation, management of anxiety and insomnia, and an increase in cognitive function.
Still, the research on it is very limited, so you should be careful when deciding to start your CBD journey. Despite all the CBD hype and benefits, it’s a fact that it can interact with other medications – in this article we’ll discuss if you can take CBD and antidepressants at the same time.
What Is CBD?
Cannabidiol, most commonly just called CBD, is a compound found in Cannabis Sativa plants. Unlike the well-known tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it does not have psychoactive properties. CBD is also non-addictive and non-intoxicating.
When consumed, CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system by binding to its many receptors – such as the CB1, essential for an efficient and healthy brain, and the CB2 found mostly in the immune system.
Aside from these, the endocannabinoid system has many other receptors and neurotransmitters spread throughout the body, despite having a greater concentration in the central nervous system and the immune system. The endocannabinoid system’s function is to keep homeostasis – or body balance.
By influencing so many organs, tissues, cells, and body functions, CBD has profound effects on your health. Its benefits include modulating the immune system, improving cognitive function, managing anxiety and insomnia, among others.
Still, it might have some negative side-effects – sadly, it’s not mean for everybody. Side-effects are rarely reported and often only when taken in very high doses. However, you might feel nauseous, drowsy, dizzy, agitated, headaches, and low blood pressure.
CBD can also interact with other medications being concurrently taken. This is why it’s important to discuss if it is safe to take CBD and antidepressants.
What Are Antidepressants Used For?
Antidepressants are mainly used to treat depression. But they can also be useful in managing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic pain.
What Are Antidepressants?
Antidepressants normally come in tablet form. They need to be prescribed and it is recommended to start at the lowest possible dose and increase it progressively to figure out which dose produces the best results.
Exactly how antidepressants work is still a mystery to science. But they are thought to increase some neurotransmitters in the brain linked to moods, emotions, and pain signalling, like serotonin and noradrenaline.
The problem is that while antidepressants help manage some symptoms of depression they don’t target its causes. This creates the need for additional complementary therapies.
They are recommended for people with moderate to severe depression. For mild depression, usually, therapy is enough.
Antidepressants need to be taken consistently and according to what was prescribed to produce the desired results. Still, these medications are only helpful for 50 to 65% of people suffering from depression.
People who recurrently have depression may be advised to take them indefinitely, while in most cases, six months will suffice.
There are different types of antidepressants and each comes with its own side-effects. The most common ones include:
- Fatigue and drowsiness
- Dizziness
- Irritability
- Agitation
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Increased appetite and consequent weight gain
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Dry mouth
- Blurred vision
- Sexual problems, like loss of sexual desire, erectile dysfunction, and decreased orgasm
- Withdrawal symptoms
Is It Safe to Combine CBD and Antidepressants?
Despite all of CBD’s benefits, it can interact with other medications being taken.
In an interview to Bustle, Peter Grinspoon, M.D., who is an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, stated “Generally speaking, you can safely use CBD supplements when you’re taking antidepressants. However, there are a couple of concerns.”
He pointed out the fact that CBD is not tightly regulated by authorities like actual medications are and added “You have to be careful that the CBD you’re getting is from a reliable supplier. For example, Consumer Reports recently put out an article on how to go shopping for CBD because they’ve done tests, and found some [supplement] formulations had no CBD. Some were inaccurately labelled, and other formulations even had some THC in them.”
CBD use just keeps on increasing due to anecdotal evidence, but regulations and proper scientific research are lacking and don’t seem to able to keep up with consumer’s demand.
Despite the lack of research, doctors believe that CBD does interact with antidepressants in the same way that grapefruit juice does, but not in a very significant way. Peter Grinspoon also stated that “In terms of actual clinical practice, I haven’t heard any stories of people having clinical decompensation because of adding CBD to their regime”.
So, what really happens when taking CBD oil and antidepressants? CBD inhibits two enzyme systems – these speed chemical reactions in the body, like metabolizing antidepressants.
One of these systems is the CYP34A, the same that grapefruit inhibits. CBD can increase the levels of benzodiazepines, which are anti-anxiety medications, or the levels of antipsychotic drugs.
The other system that CBD inhibits is meant to metabolize serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants, and antipsychotics. Since not enough research has been carried out, it is only hypothesized that CBD interacts with how the body processes these medications.
Conclusion
There is suspicion that CBD oil and antidepressants do interact through two different mechanisms. However, these are only hypotheses based on the information we have so far.
According to anecdotal evidence, this is not the case, taking CBD and antidepressants doesn’t negatively affect patients.
Still, you should always talk with your health provider before starting to use CBD if you’re taking antidepressants. You should also let him or her know about other supplements and over-the-counter medications you are simultaneously taking.
CBD NEWS TODAY
30 September 2020
