Whenever you are taking any sort of medication or supplement, it is a good idea to find out whether or not there are interactions with your prescription drugs. There are some supplements that can interact with drugs in various different ways. This means they can increase their potency to a dangerous amount or even nullify their effects altogether. So what does this mean for CBD supplements?
How Your Body Breaks Down Drugs
To understand how CBD interacts with other drugs, first you need to understand how drugs work in your body. Your body relies on enzymes to metabolize everything it takes in — everything from what we eat and drink, to supplements and drugs too. CBD effects enzymes by blocking a group of liver enzymes called cytochrome P450. This is what metabolizes many drugs. This means CBD does interact with the way some medications are metabolized in the body – the same way grapefruit does.
What It Effects
So does CBD increase potency of drugs or diminish it?
It all depends on what you are taking and how your body breaks it down. CBD can affect the potency of certain medications in both directions. Meaning in some cases it will make them stronger, and in some cases it will make them weaker. Unfortunately, researchers haven’t yet determined which doses of CBD may interact with the metabolism of different drugs. A 2013 study found no interactions along the CYP metabolic pathway for doses of up to 40 mg of CBD. But a later study found doses as low as 25 mg of CBD did block the metabolism of an epilepsy drug.
Play It Safe
Because of CBD’s newness and uncertainty, we always suggest consulting with your health care provider about taking CBD if you are on any prescription medications. Especially if you have a health condition and are taking medications, don’t stop taking your prescription medications to try CBD, unless you have the go-ahead from your doctor.
Your doctor may want to monitor your blood levels of medication to make sure you’re getting neither too much nor too little of your prescribed medicine, but just the right amount.
To learn more visit us mindfulmedicinal.com to shop our complete line of high quality CBD products. Don’t forget to subscribe to our email list and follow us on social media. Questions? Call us at 941-388-7289.