How CBD Interacts with Drugs and Medication
By interacting with receptors in the body’s Endocannabinoid System (ECS) and inhibiting cytochrome P450 activity, CBD can minimize or increase the effects of some prescribed medications.
Cytochrome P450 is a group of liver enzymes that break down drugs and toxins which enter the body. By inhibiting this enzyme’s function, CBD can momentarily deactivate its function which can alter the metabolization of other compounds.
Interaction Between CBD and Drugs that Increase Risk of Bleeding
Research has shown that CBD and other plant cannabinoids may improve the effectiveness of blood-thinning drugs (e.g. warfarin) or drugs with a risk of blood-thinning (e.g. ibuprofen). CBD maintains the potency of the medicine by slowing down how the body metabolizes these drugs, which prolongs their presence in the body. Effectively, CBD can increase and prolong the effects of drugs which increase the risk of bleeding, and a medical professional should closely track the use of both at the same time.
Interaction Between CBD and Sedatives.
The cannabinoids such as CBD and THC can cause sedative effects on the consumer by interacting with neurotransmitter receptors throughout the central nervous system. Although THC’s sedative effects are correlated with drowsiness and lethargy, CBD causes relaxing and wake-inducing, sedative effects. When combined with sedatives, cannabinoids create an additive effect which means they can enhance the medication’s effects. Although the relationship between CBD and sedatives does not seem to have a directly harmful effect on the patient, it is not completely understood what possible impact CBD may have on sedatives.
To play it safe, users should avoid combining CBD with sedatives.
How CBD Interacts Anti-Seizure Medication
Although CBD is commonly recognized as an effective cure for epileptic seizures, CBD may pose complications with anti-seizure medication in some conditions, without medical supervision.
A 1992 research by Lester Bornheim found that a low dose of CBD would not offer its famed anti-epileptic benefits; however, it will still suppress the cytochrome p450 enzymes and result in sustained concentrations of clobazam and norclobazam, which can potentially lead to more aggressive seizures. This being said, consultation with a medical practitioner is extremely necessary in order to assess the optimal dose of CBD to effectively relieve epileptic seizures.
Interaction Between CBD and Chemotherapy Drugs
A similar condition occurs in the relationship between CBD and chemotherapy treatment. Accurate and precise dosages of chemotherapy medications are particularly necessary in the treatment of cancer. An insufficient quantity may result in ineffectiveness and an excessive quantity may lead to over toxicity. Many chemotherapy medications are designed with the assumption that before reaching the body, the medication would be metabolized at a given rate. The oxidation cycle is disrupted by adding CBD into the equation which can lead to higher concentrations of the drug entering the bloodstream than expected.
Although CBD has shown to relieve cancer-related pain and delay cancer development, when paired with chemotherapy treatment, the amount and form of cancer medicine given must compensate for CBD’s presence.
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