CBD for migraines

Something new you can try.

Cannabidiol or CBD is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid component of marijuana. It supposedly moderates the effects of THC, making it less psychoactive. It also has antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory effects and some scientific studies and a lot of anecdotal reviews says it helps a lot with pain and migraines.

I became interested in CBD when patients in California and Colorado started using new strains of marijuana that were very high in CBD and had almost no THC. They said they were getting pain and/or migraine relief with absolutely no high - their pain would just go away with no other effects.

I was interested because I use Marinol (pure prescription THC) to help control my spasticity and migraines.

Lately, my spasticity has gotten worst but I did not want to increase the amount of THC I use as I find the effects very unpleasant past a certain point. I also have trouble using baclofen, zanaflex and valium (perscription antispasmodics my doctor prescribes for my spasticity) due to side effects.

So this interested me a lot. Unfortunately, while I live in a medical marijuana state, they allow the dispensing of only three different strains of marijuana, none of which are high in CBD. Plus it is a huge hassle to use the program and very expensive.

So I was excited when I discovered a company in Colorado was selling nationally a CBD tincture. Apparently, they went through the legal process and got advice that this is OK as long as it is not derived from marijuana. They extract it from "hemp", which is very low THC marijuana and has a different classification by the Feds.

It's called Dixie Dew Drops Hemp Oil Supplement. I'll post a link if it is OK with our moderator. I got the "weak" version which has 100 mg of CBD in 1 ounce of tincture. They claim no detectable THC is in the tincture.

I was hoping to use it with my THC to moderate the "high" so I could increase the dose.

I had bad luck at first, actually got headaches when I used it. But I get headaches if I look at something funny, so that doesn't mean much. I continued to try it by itself and now I'm OK - no headaches at all.

The effect is subtle. It seems to help my spasticity a good bit. Not yet sure about migraines. It'll take a while before I know that. When I take it I don't notice much except some muscle relaxation at first and then my nerve pain seems to go down and the spasticity seems to lighten up.

First drug for spasticity I've used that didn't make me feel like a zombie or drunk or high.

So something new to try. I really don't know yet if this is great for migraines or not.

-Peter

Thanks for the info. I will definitely look into it. I was able to find their website after Googling the product (sold by Dixie Botanicals). I am curious if this would be ok for folks who may be tested for marijuana...I have the potential to be tested at work and at my pain clinic.

Seems like it would be safe (ie. not show up on a standard test), but I'd definitely want to do more research as to what the tests actually test for vs. the active ingredients in this product. Their website says it won't show up in a drug test. My potential to be tested is the only reason stopping me from trying medical marijuana products.

I like that this should allow the user to both control and repeat the dose, as its a dropper bottle. I'm curious that the drops show 1.25mg or 3.25mg of CBD per 15 drops (depending on the strength), yet the capsules have 25mg in one capsule? Of course the capsules cost much more. It just seems like a large dose disparity. Glad it has helped you! Best wishes.

Let me know what you find out. AFAIK, my employer only tests for THC. But even if they did test for CBD, we have never been told we can't use it. If I tested positive for CBD I would simply bring in the bottle and show them what I am using, I can't believe there would be any repercussions for using something they haven't warned us about.

I take prescription THC, so if I test positive I simple bring in my prescription bottle and I'm OK. However, even though we are a medical marijuana state we absolutely cannot use marijuana even if we have a prescription ( recommendation) for it. It's a firing offense. Isn't that weird?

I too think its ridiculous that someone could be fired for testing positive for marijuana even if they had a prescription for it. I'm in Washington. What state are you in?

Most employers would allow opiates with a prescription (except for driving/flying type professions). I've been drug tested for work and they didn't even pick up opiates in my system, even though I take them daily. This is because they didn't test for methadone and I hadn't taken my short acting pain med that day. I found it funny how few things they actually tested for. I agree most tests are for THC.

I'd be slightly more concerned about the testing at my pain clinic, as they use gas chromatography mass spectrometry, which may pick up that small amount of THC in the CBD product. However, I was reading that the amount of THC picked up would be similar to the amount of opiates picked up in a person who ate something with poppy seeds.

I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger and buying this stuff to try it out. I'd like to at least discuss it with my primary doctor though. As he isn't prescribing my pain meds and this isn't illegal, anyone have thoughts on that? He is pretty open minded and I believe he believes the amount of pain I'm in. I guess worst case he'd put something in my records.

How many drops are you taking now, and how often? I look forward to reading about any results you have with your migraines. Are you waiting to make a conclusion as a month or whatever needs to go by so you can compare if you had less migraines? Or, does it take time to have an effect? I have a constant headache so if its an immediate effect, I imagine I'd know right away. Best wishes.

I'm in NJ, but all the court cases I've seen in Washington and all other medical marijuana states say an employer can forbid the use of medical marijuana by employees even if they completely follow the regulations and only use at home. Somehow, adding sesame oil to the THC (prescription Marinol) makes it OK!

I have to discuss all symptom treatment medications I take with my pain doctor as part of our agreement. So I did discuss the CBD drops with him. He likes alternative medications so is quite interested in how it works out and noted I am taking them in my chart. I think this would also help protect you if an employer found tiny amounts of THC or tested for CBD.

I stick to the half-dropper full or less ( 15 drops) of the lower strength version, which as you's said is only a couple of milligrams of CBD. But I am extremely sensitive to cannabinoids, I think. I mostly use it once a day at bedtime. The spasticity often makes sleeping difficult and I try to reduce it as much as possible at bedtime.

Medical studies I've read where they treat spasticity with CBD-only often use 100+ mg per dose!

I have only occasional migraines since I started using small amounts of Marinol daily. So it takes a while to see if the CBD is impacting the frequency or strength. Getting a migraine or not getting one could just be chance so it is hard to tell. I imagine you would be able to tell within a day or two, although if it is like THC, I had to use small doses for several days before I noticed my migraines decreasing. They then continued to decrease as I countinued with the THC until they became relatively infrequent. Knock wood.

My neurologist thinks THC may work on me because he thinks the migraines are caused by my spasticity and he agrees the THC works for spasticity. So your mileage may vary.


Back to headaches from CBD - this afternoon I took probably 3/4 of a dropperful. The glycerin tincture is goopy and it is hard to dose and this is more than I intended to take. And I think it triggered a mild migraine in me. Nothing an ibuprofen tablet couldn't fix, but still, be aware. The migraine was painless, more vertigo and light-headedness, etc., so maybe the CBD knocked out the pain part.

However, as I said, the pain and stiffness of my spasticity has gotten bad enough that this sort of thing is worth it and it is still a LOT less side-effect than I get from my other anti-spasmotics.

Hello all.  I'm new here.  I've had migraines for forty some years and a few years ago began experimenting with Cannabis.  The pure CBD has done nothing for me, alas, yet the Sativa edibles and hash lozenges have often been a godsend.  Smoking the stuff doesn't work for me and in fact makes things worse.  More specifically, the edible chocolate (Bhang) hasn't worked while the Auntie Delores pretzels and Cannalicious hash lozenges have.  I tried just taking the pure CBD capsules and unfortunately the migraine charged right through that "defense."  Tried them three times.  Another migraineur I know has not had any success with the CBD either.  

Of course everybody's different, it seems, and what works for one doesn't always (or even at all) work for another.  Nonetheless I just thought I'd cue you in on what has been working for me at times.