Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, most commonly seen in war veterans nowadays. It includes uncontrolled and unbearable flashback of previous traumatic experiences which ultimately results in a scary level of anxiety and pain. Today many recent researches and studies conducted by scientific community shows that Cannabidiols or CBD found on the cannabis plant are highly effective in PTSD treatment. CBD are effective at lessening the emotional impact of traumatic events and can help patients experience less anxiety and fear which gives them relief from pain and improves their sleep.
Understanding PTSD
Before talking about PTSD treatment,
let’s try to understand the causes and symptoms of PTSD. According to American Psychiatric Association Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric
disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic
event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act,
war/combat, rape or other violent personal assaults.
Though PTSD is a common threat to war
veterans, it can effect common people of any ethnicity, nationality, culture,
or age. In PTSD diagnosis direct or indirect exposure to an upsetting traumatic
event is observed in the first hand. Numerous methods have been used to treat
the symptoms of PTSD throughout the past years. psychotherapy and
pharmaceutical medication are traditional methods for PTSD treatment. Today CBD
as a treatment of PTSD is emerging successfully.
Symptoms
and Diagnosis of PTSD
The inherent characteristics of any
psychiatric disorders makes them hard to diagnose; according to professionals a
patient diagnosed with PTSD if he/she has experienced all of the following
symptoms for at least a month.
Re-experiencing past traumatic
symptoms: Flashbacks, bad dreams, frightening
thoughts or anything that may cause problems in a person’s everyday routine.
Words, objects, or situations can trigger re-experiencing symptoms.
Avoidance symptom: Avoiding
thoughts, feelings, places, events or objects that reminds a person of a
traumatic event can trigger an avoidance symptom. These symptoms cause a person
to change his or her personal routine, such as avoiding cars after a car
accident.Over excitement and
reactivity symptoms: Reactivity simply
refers to reactions such as “lashing out” in relation to irritability and being
triggered by seemingly nothing. Arousal symptoms, on the other hand, are
constant. This would be referring to symptoms such as difficulties
concentrating or insomnia. These symptoms cause stress and anger, and may cause
difficulty eating, sleeping or concentrating. These symptoms are usually
related to the anxiety, insomnia and outbursts connected to PTSD.Cognition and mood
symptoms: These symptoms begin or worsen after a
traumatic experience, but are not due to any injury sustained in the event. The
symptoms include loss of enjoyment, distorted feelings, negative and
pessimistic thoughts, and trouble recalling significant features of the event.
Side
effects and problems of traditional medication:
Side-effects:
United
States Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has approved sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil), both
antidepressants, for use as post-traumatic stress disorder medication. The side
effects of these drugs include:
HeadacheNauseaSleeplessness
or drowsinessAgitation
or a jittery feelingProblems
having or enjoying sex
Physicians also prescribes medications
like Zoloft and Paxil genre medications. According the US National Institute of Health (NIH), benzodiazepines are also used to give relaxation and sleep to
patients. The side effects of these 3 types of drugs include, problems with
memory and the risk of drug dependency. Antipsychotics may be prescribed. They
are typically given to patients with coexisting conditions, such as
schizophrenia. Some side effects of antipsychotics are weight gain and a higher
risk of heart disease and diabetes. Additionally, other antidepressants may be
used as PTSD drugs. Possible options are fluoxetine (Prozac) and citalopram
(Celexa).
In addition to the side effects already
listed, the following side effects may occur:
Dry
mouthIncreased
appetiteBlurred
visionDizziness
PTSD Drug Addiction, Dependence and Withdrawal
illness:
The
Journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians
warns about the abuse risk of benzodiazepines. When taken chronically, they can
be addictive but they are relatively safe when taken in moderation. If you have
a history of substance abuse, benzodiazepines should not be used. It is
important that you not cease taking your medication as this can cause
withdrawal effects and lead to recurrence of the symptoms of your illness.
Medication Overdose:
The
New York Times of February 14,2011 carries the
disturbing news of an alarming increase in deaths from accidental overdose
among our active duty military personnel and our war veterans. The usual
scenario is a diagnosis of PTSD unsuccessfully treated with a wide array of
psychotropic drugs, which in their aggregate, wind up killing the patient-- often
at a very young age. Autopsy reveals significant blood levels of prescribed
medication reflecting the heavy drug cocktail and no other apparent cause of
death.
PTSD are often prescribed a combination
of psychotropics that may include--one antidepressant, one antipsychotic, one
antianxiety, one sleep, and one pain medicine. Sometimes, the enormous
medication burden is worsened even further--either by the simultaneous
prescription of more than one drug from a given class or the additional
self-medication effected by the sharing of pills among patients. With this wide
range of medication comes with their own side effects and often cause overdose
eventually resulting in death.
Using
CBD for PTSD
There is no ideal drug treatment for PTSD sufferers, clinical or preclinical. However, studies suggest that the endocannabinoid system, which plays an essential role in maintaining emotional homeostasis and in regulating memory retrieval, consolidation and most importantly extinction, is a possible and ideal target to treat both the emotional and cognitive characterizations of PTSD. Martin Lee, a researcher of the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Research, found people with PTSD had uniformly lower levels of an endocannabinoid called anandamide compared to controls.
The experience of PTSD appeared to reset their baseline endocannabinoids at a lower level permanently. Endocannabinoids are involved in regulating dozens of biological and psychological functions, so addressing this deficiency through the highly refined chemistry of cannabis, people experiencing the diverse effects of PTSD can find relief. The endocannabinoid system, first discovered in 1992 by Israeli researcher Dr. Ralph Mechoulam, is made up of two main receptors. These receptors, cannabinoid 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid 2 (CB2), were found to be an integral part of all human and animal physiologies, and are only configured to accept cannabinoids, especially tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
These receptors have been found to modulate the release of neurotransmitters and produce a wide range of effects on the central nervous system, including pleasure and the alteration of the memory process. Research suggests that the cannabinoids found in CBD have the ability to work in conjunction with the cannabinoid receptors to block the continuous retrieval of traumatic events and reduce the anxieties associated with it.
Why CBD is so Helpful for PTSD
The cannabis plant contains more than
100 different chemical compounds known as cannabinoids, which interact with the
body's endocannabinoid system. Cannabidiol or CBD is the most famous among them
for having hundreds of medical benefits.
So, Cannabidiol—CBD—is a cannabis
compound that has remarkable medical and recreational benefits, but does not
make people feel “High”. It can actually prevent the psychoactivity of THC.
Cannabidiol is one of at least 100 active cannabinoids identified in cannabis.
It is a major phytocannabinoid, accounting for up to 40% of the plants extract.
The fact is that CBD-infused cannabis strains are non-psychoactive or less
psychoactive than THC-dominant strains. It’s made CBD products a good option
for patients looking for relief from inflammation, pain, anxiety, psychosis,
seizures, spasms, and other conditions without disconcerting feelings of
lethargy or dysphoria.
In particular, CBD has been shown to be
effective for PTSD. CBD and PTSD aren’t always associated together but CBD has
shown to help. CBD does not directly stimulate the endocannabinoid system.
Instead, it acts by inhibiting the enzymes that break down the
endocannabinoids, much like an MAOI works by blocking serotonin destruction.
This raises the levels of anandamide and symptoms are relieved.
Furthermore, because CBD does not
directly stimulate the CB1 receptor in the brain, it is not intoxicating. It
doesn’t get you high; it just brings relief. No impairment. No sleepiness. No
effects that may prevent you from working or participating in society.
Recent Studies on CBD’s Effect on Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder:
These studies showed evidence of how
effective CBD is in PSTD treatment. These are all available in govt sites.
PTSD
patients saw a 75% reduction in PTSD symptoms, as measured by the Clinical
Administered Post Traumatic Scale, when they were using cannabis compared to
when they were not.
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24830188)
Evidence
from human studies indicates that CBD found in cannabis has considerable
potential as a treatment for anxiety disorders.
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26341731)
A
review of published evidence finds that cannabinoids help PTSD patients manage
the condition’s three major symptoms (re-experiencing, avoidance and numbing,
hyperarousal) and helps improve sleep in those PTSD patients suffering from
insomnia and nightmares.
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26195653)
Repeated
CBD administration prevents the long-lasting anxiogenic effects observed after
predator exposure probably by facilitating 5HT1A receptors neurotransmission.
Our results suggest that CBD has beneficial potential for PTSD treatment and
that 5HT1A receptors could be a therapeutic target in this disorder.
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22979992)
case
report of a 19-year-old male patient with a spectrum of severe PTSD symptoms,
such as intense flashbacks, panic attacks, and self-mutilation, who discovered
that some of his major symptoms were dramatically reduced by smoking cannabis
resin…This review shows that recent studies provided supporting evidence that
PTSD patients may be able to cope with their symptoms by using cannabis
products. Cannabis may dampen the strength or emotional impact of traumatic
memories through synergistic mechanisms that might make it easier for people
with PTSD to rest or sleep and to feel less anxious and less involved with flashback
memories. The presence of endocannabinoid signalling systems within
stress-sensitive nuclei of the hypothalamus, as well as upstream limbic
structures (amygdala), point to the significance of this system for the
regulation of neuroendocrine and behavioural responses to stress. Evidence is
increasingly accumulating that cannabinoids might play a role in fear
extinction and antidepressive effects.
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22736575)
CBD
both acutely inhibited fear expression and enhanced extinction to produce
longer lasting reductions in fear. These observations provide further support
for the potential translational use of CBD in conditions such as post-traumatic
stress disorder and specific phobias.
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5101100/)
The main finding from this case study is that CBD oil can be an effective compound to reduce anxiety and insomnia secondary to PTSD. This case study provides clinical data that support the use of cannabidiol oil as a safe treatment for reducing anxiety and improving sleep in a young girl with post-traumatic stress disorder.
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5101100/)
CBD, PTSD & YOU:
Unlike THC, CBD
provides the same medical benefits of hemp plants without experiencing a high.
The positive effects of CBD can help PTSD patients manage the core symptoms of
the condition which include re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal.
CBD has become
an alternative to traditional drug and psychotherapy treatments in recent years
and at least 24 states have approved CBD and cannabinoids for treatment of
post-traumatic stress disorder. Frequently used for coping purposes by combat
veterans, CBD has proven to be a suitable replacement for traditional drugs in
treating emotional regulation, stress tolerance, irregular sleeping patterns,
nightmares, social anxieties and lessening the effects of triggers.
While there is
no cure for PTSD, CBD is a suitable replacement, backed by medical research,
for both drug and psychotherapeutic means of controlling and treating symptoms.
Traditionally, PTSD is very difficult to treat due to the plethora of symptoms.
While most treatment options only focus on treating a few symptoms, CBD has the
ability to treat a wide range of symptoms associated with the disorder. It has
the ability to reduce anxiety, help with depression, fight insomnia, and reduce
or eliminate flashbacks without the risk of possible substance abuse.
Final Words:
So, now we have
it, a current look at how CBD and PTSD is becoming mutually beneficial terms
instead of unknown ones. It is
encouraging that more and more PTSD patients are choosing CBD as a way to at
least take the edge off their pain, depression and anxiety while steadily
reducing the amount of prescription meds that they have been prescribed. It’s obvious to all of us who use cannabidiol
that CBD improves our quality of life as well as helping to heal our nervous
system naturally instead of dealing with unwanted side effects of the
aforementioned SSRI’s and SNRI’s.
In fact, all 113+ cannabinoids found in Cannabis are proven safe and non-addictive. CBD has no psycho-active properties (no high or euphoria) and is often recommended by health professionals for children for countless ailments and diseases ranging from PTSD, ADD/ADHD to asthma and epilepsy. CBD products are found with increasing frequency to be preferred by patients of all ages over prescription medication and the countless negative side effects that comes with all of them. If the list of side effects from prescription medications seems antithetical to the discoveries from post-modern medical science,
Any way you look
at it, the Veterans Administration is and has been for too long complicit in
not only obfuscation of the truth about Cannabis, but withholding of proper
medical care and general medical malpractice – the extent of which is only now
being exposed. The question persists…
How far down the rabbit hole do we have to go to determine the true extent of
medical malpractice, insurance fraud, and Big Pharma/U.S. Government collusion
that has permeated our medical system?
PSTD, CBD,
Side-effects, Experience
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