This Is What Happened When I Took CBD Oil For Anxiety

CBD oil, otherwise known as cannabis oil (cannabidiol) is really huge now as more and more people are finding out about it. I read in awe at how many people were getting benefits (many of my friends included), but a part of me was very sceptical too. I used to a be a marijuana user in my college days, not a lot, but the occasional smoke, but I was often too sensitive and didn’t like to smoke it as I am non-smoker. So, for this reason I was a bit hesitant to try CBD oil, even though I had read that it was nothing like smoking marijuana.

However, during a particularly bad depressive episode and experiencing a lot of back pain too I finally got up the courage to do some research and started taking it. I contacted Elixir Botanics in the UK after seeing that not all CBD oils are great and asked for a review sample. I am glad I did my research after talking to a friend on Facebook as some CBD oils contain ingredients that are not great, so cheap doesn’t mean better.

The best way to see if you are getting a good CBD oil is to find out how it is manufactured. The cheaper oils tend to be manufactured in a way that use toxic solvents in their extraction method, these may include propane, hexane, pentane and butane. The better versions of CBD oil tend to use organic, pharmaceutical-grade ethanol to process CBD to remove unneeded toxins and residues from the base of hemp plant. This method is said to give the highest number of cannabinoids and one of the safest methods of human consumption. Elixir Botanics use the best method, namely extraction using CO2 (Carbon dioxide) and in addition only use European hemp.

Although it may seem expensive, each bottle contains between 200 and 250 drops, so depending on your dosage level, a bottle may last up to four months

Why CBD OIL?

Well CBD oil, unlike marijuana, is legal to buy in many countries now (I am aware some are not, after talking to a friend who lives in southern Ireland, but hopefully that will all change) AND contrary to what many people may think CBD oil does not get you high. It’s nothing like marijuana, but it does use some of the best parts of the cannabis plant.

I’m not going to go into the highly scientific side of CBD oil because this can be found all over the internet, so I will keep it simple, but if you want to read more, Elixir Botanics have a free short eBook on CBD oil that you can get when you sign up to their newsletter, very easy to read, not too much jargon, which is always helpful.

To make it easy to understand just think about the cannabis plant and take something called cannabinoids from the plant, mix it with a carrier oil, like hemp oil and what you get is CBD oil. (This is not the stuff that gets you high which is called THC (or tetrahydrocannabinol)). Now due to more research (see here for extensive research) and many people experiencing the benefits, CBD oil is becoming very popular.

Why Did I Choose to Try CBD Oil?

While suffering from a deep depressive episode and increasing stress exacerbating a long-term anxiety experience, I wanted to see if it was all it was cracked up to be. I had also heard it was great for pain relief which I was experiencing more of, and had been helping people with acne. My skin had been flaring up a lot as I went into perimenopausal years so I wanted to see if it would help my skin.

I also wanted to see if it could help with my hormones, menstrual migraines and painful period cramps, but anxiety was the main reason I wanted to try CBD oil. I also have a lot of people who follow my blog because of the number of anxiety articles I have written, and I know so many of you suffer from this painful experience.

How Do You Use CBD Oil?

It’s so simple to use and I didn’t expect results so quickly. There are number of different ways which include vaping (otherwise known as vape oil) this is apparently one of the fastest ways to absorb CBD oil but doesn’t have the negative side-effects that normal smoking does, topically in balms or creams, and finally hemp oil tinctures like the one I am using.

With the CBD oil tincture, it’s as simple as taking the pipette and dropping the number of required drops under your tongue. This is called sublingual and goes directly into the blood, through tissues under the tongue.

I may try vaping at another time, but I preferred sublingual for this trial.

How Much CBD Oil Should I Take?

I questioned this too, it seems to vary across the internet, as some are using it as preventative treatment against cancer, some use it for epilepsy and others for general pain relief or anxiety, it really is a personal thing. And it depends on how strong your CBD oil is. The one I am using is 10% CBD oil, so I can use less.

I initially tried two drops twice a day and then reduced down that amount and experimented. On very stressful days I took 3 drops in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, but I would say try it out in your first week, see what your body needs because we will all respond differently.

What Were The Benefits of CBD Oil When I Used It?

As I said earlier I was feeling very depressed at the time of using CBD oil and I feel that without the CBD oil I could have felt a lot worse, however, I don’t feel the oil had a major effect for me with regards to depression, but it did with regards to anxiety.

ANXIETY

I didn’t realise how wound up I really was until I took it on the day my period came. I added two drops under my tongue and left them there for around 3 minutes (most recommend leaving the drops there for at least a minute), and I took a seat in my garden. Almost immediately, the best description of how I felt, was a mellowing out of how I was feeling.

I went from feeling highly strung to very mellow. It was like everything in me slowed down, not to the point of falling asleep, but my mind seemed to slow down and my breathing and my body. I probably wouldn’t recommend taking CBD oil before operating machinery or driving a car, depending on how high a dose you take because I spoke to a friend recently during my trial who said she knows someone who made the mistake of giving her partner a full dropper of the oil when he was really angry and stressed, within a short time he was asleep on the couch for 3 hours. So, you can see how relaxed it can make you feel, so it’s best to test the dosage.

With regards to panic attacks. I never had a panic attack during the time I took CBD oil to test it out, but the very fact that almost instantly everything slowed down, I can imagine it would be amazing for panic attacks, so if you suffer from them, carrying a bottle of CBD oil in your bag when out and about may be a great comfort.

One thing to remember about CBD oil is that it is not a miracle cure to life’s challenges. It won’t take away your history, your life conditioning or remove stress from your life, but it may help you cope better with life’s stressors.

CBD oil is not addictive, so you won’t be grabbing for the bottle or craving it, but it’s definitely a medicine cabinet staple for me now.

The other benefits apart from mellowing me out and relaxing the anxiety symptoms were very surprising to me.

SLEEP and INSOMNIA

I had read that some people find taking the CBD oil before sleep really helps them sleep, I think everyone differs and so I tried doing this too. Generally, I am very sensitive to substances, food, drink, anything I take into my body, so taking CBD oil before bed, for me, woke me up – oddly!

BUT and it’s a big ‘but’, the overall use of CBD oil during the day, over a period of a few weeks, had such a huge effect on my sleep patterns. I think it’s amazing for people who have trouble sleeping. I went from 5-6 hours interrupted (tossing and turning) sleep to 8-9 hours deep well-rested sleep where I hardly moved and this was a massive change for me.

You will know if you are suffering from any type of ill health that sleep is a great healer, so I really needed this sleep and so glad I found CBD oil for this purpose.

SKIN BENEFITS

As someone who has acne rosacea and is in my perimenopause years, my skin has been particularly troublesome over the past year or more. With increasingly greater acne and whiteheads and more so a much drier skin, I was having to use a heavier moisturiser for some time until I started on CBD oil

This was a complete surprise to me, I didn’t expect this benefit. So, after a month of taking CBD oil my skin is no long really dry. In fact it is moist and more glowing. I turned 42 this year so I am very pleased with the result.

The acne hasn’t decreased considerably but I will keep going with it. I have polycystic ovary syndrome so I may have to combine CBD oil with natural progesterone as I move into my elder years.

PAIN RELIEF

On the first week of taking Elixir Botanic’s CBD oil I had menstrual cramps, so I took 3 drops under my tongue as I felt the cramps start. The cramping was a lot less severe and I managed to go to sleep without taking extra pain relief (normally I would take 2 paracetamol and 2 ibuprofen, it was that bad!).

However, in the second period, the CBD didn’t affect the pain as much with regards to cramping and also didn’t help menstrual migraines, but it did help back pain which I was getting a lot while sitting at my computer and normal headaches.

From talking to friends online, many are experiencing wonderful benefits for pain relief and epileptic fits.

BOWEL MOVEMENTS AND CONSTIPATION

I am a fairly regular toilet goer but on CBD oil my stools were looser, not to the diarrhoea level but softer and easier. So if you suffer from difficult bowel movements you may get the added benefit of easier times at the toilet.

APPETITE

While smoking marijuana can give you what is called the ‘munchies’, I found CBD oil only gave me a greater appetite around my menstruation time. At other times of the month my appetite didn’t increase too much, but at menstruation time especially on day 1 of my cycle it really made me hungry, but it could be because at this time I am overall extra sensitive anyway.

Are there any negative side effects from using CBD oil?

Overall, I felt the benefits outweighed any negatives, but as CBD is fairly new to human use, the long term studies are not available to see what the long term effects are.

Some of the side effects can be listed as:

Dry mouth 

I never experienced this, but some may. It may happen due to the endocannabinoids systems inhibition of salivary secretion but drinking plenty of fluids will help this if it happens to you.

Small drop in blood pressure

As someone who has low blood pressure I think on my first time using it, as I was on my period, my blood pressure was quite low anyway so I did feel that. So, if you do suffer from low blood pressure just be wise and consult your GP or test out small doses to begin with.

Drowsiness

I did experience some drowsiness at the time of my period, but generally it wasn’t a big deal to me, as I said further up higher doses may make you fall asleep, so just be smart and take it in moderation.

For some they experience a more upbeat feeling, I just had a mellowing out, but as I have had anxiety for 30+ years mellowing out was just what I needed.

Light-headedness

Again, this can be linked to a drop in blood pressure, so often a caffeinated beverage may help. I have actually tried taking CBD with coffee and it gave me the enjoyable experience of coffee without the anxiety inducing result it sometimes gives me, probably not something to do often, a bit of a waste of CBD oil in my opinion, but a good test.

OVERALL

The CBD oil I tried from Elixir Botanics was really easy to use, the taste was earthy but not unpleasant and it felt a good quality CBD oil (albeit I have nothing else to compare to). From researching online another mainstream retailer that sells it didn’t have as good reviews as this brand and being UK based also made up my mind on what to use.

I will keep using and it’s good to have a bottle in my medicine cabinet. My best friend who suffers from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) is going to try it next and see if it helps his condition.

If you are thinking about trying it, Elixir Botanics have been kind enough to offer readers of my blog a 10% discount on a bottle of the CBD oil. Click the image to go direct to the shop on their site and input the code (on the image below).

From Elixir website re. ELIXIR BOTANICS 10% CBD OIL:

Our CBD Oil is a supplement which is meant to be applied sublingually and has the following attributes:

• Non-psychoactive
• Regulates the human endocannabinoid system
• Co2 extracted from European hemp. Co2 extraction allows maximum strength CBD to be extracted at low temperatures without using alcohol or solvents.
• Gluten and lactose free
• Vegan
• Comes in a 10ml bottle

We have made sure that the apparatus used to take the oil is good enough for our customers. Therefore it is our promise that there will be:

• NO leaky bottles
• NO inoperative pipettes

There is at least 10% CBD within this oil, therefore there is 1000mg of CBD per 10ml of oil. Also contains hemp oil.

My YouTube CBD oil video log

If you would like to watch me talk about my journey below is a series of videos I did on my CBD experience over a 4 week period. In this series I talk about anxiety, depression, insomnia and more.

So over to you, what has your experience of CBD oil been? Please post in the comments, I look forward to hearing from you.