OCD and CBD/Medicinal Cannabis

[maz063]

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with OCD and anxiety back in college. It all started with severe health anxiety and then I was having intrusive thoughts, scrupulocity, etc. I also struggle with a lot of physical manifestations of anxiety and stress.

Soooo. I was on lexapro and it worked well, but the weight gain was ridiculous so I weaned off of that and got put on Viibryd which is supposed to be weight neutral. Well the Viibryd made my anxiety worse, my intrustive thoughts we terrible, and I had increased irritability and aggression.

My psych told me to stop the Viibryd so I’m in the process of doing that. I’ve been crying nonstop and things have been difficult so I decided to try CBD oil( with a little THC in it) and it seems to really calm my body down and slow me down enough to breathe.

Has anyone else tried supplementing or replacing their meds with CBD or medical cannabis or anything? I still think Ill need meds but I’m hoping to maybe return to the lexapro on a lower dose while supplementing it with CBD for the bad days. Any thoughts? Experiences? Success stories?

[KK77]

I have come to the conclusion that much of the CBD oil sold in UK is crap. It's far too weak and appears to have little benefit. The "medicinal" grade, I can't comment on, as I've not tried it.

I suppose it's why so many people unfortunately smoke skunk, which can seriously derange the mind.

If you've found a brand that helps, stick with it alongside other treatment/therapy.

[maz063]

Oh idk the legal status of it in the UK. I’m in the US and my state has it legal across the board. What you guys have is probably CBD derived from hemp instead of the cannabis plant that’s actually the one people smoke.

I mean it’s been helping...I’m weaning off my meds because the side effects were horrible and the Viibryd was just ineffective so it’s really helping me cope with withdrawal. I have some symptoms and discomfort but not as bad when I was switching from the lexapro. I don’t think this will be a cure all but definitely something to use on especially rough days.

[MyNameIsTerry]

We've had CBD for a while now but not hemp as that was always legal as a cooking oil, although it's often called hemp.

Medicinal cannabis has only recently become legal in the UK and patients are struggling to access it through specialists (e-petitions ongoing to the government to sort it out) after a test case brought to the Prime Minister who granted the treatment. Legislation was introduced to allow for specialists to prescribe it in certain cases as opposed to an across the board basis and it's a case of once other things have been ruled out.

It's an interesting thing and if it works then great. It's so new and it has been held back so much due to the conflation of those who want to legalise it for recreational activity with the need for medical prescribing which has just made politicians wary they will open the door to both. But I've seen some on here say the CBD oil has helped their anxiety.

[MJunderway]

Hi!

Just wanted to share my experience with CBD oil. I got my medical card a few months ago for PTSD. I have OCD mostly in the form of HA, but also intrusive thoughts and ritualized behavior around checking things for safety. I was 'prescribed" a tincture of high CBD with very low THC. It was not a good fit for me. It helped me with inflammation issues but I found it to be too stimulating for me and it set off a week long panic attack around health fears. I did a fair amount of reading and while there's a ton of pro-CBD info out there, there's some contradicting research that shows that for some people high grade CBD oil in smaller doses can be stimulating. If you are sensitive to that kind of thing you might want to go in with an awareness.

That said, I've found that most of the CBD you can buy in a regular store to not have a great impact on anything. The stuff I got from the MMJ pharmacy was waay stronger than anything I bought in a health food store.

[Phar]

I agree with absol. and I use full spectrum of thc and cbd also wanting to try the cbd oils but prefer the natural type.

[Ethansmom]

I am currently trying different brands of CBD. I find it to be somewhat calming, but definitely need my meds still..