Considering taking CBD oil and metformin together? Here’s what you need to know first, the pros and cons, as well as the cautionary aspects of taking both CBD oil and metformin.
Let’s start with a quick summary and then head into more details.
CBD and Metformin: CBD Oil and metformin are used for specific medical purposes. But CBD oil has properties that may help control and manage diabetic conditions for which metformin is used. However, no studies can confirm safety with regards to combining both or using CBD oil as a stand-alone treatment for diabetes.
CBD comes in several forms, from oils to tinctures to beverages. This article focuses on CBD oil and metformin as independent treatments but does cover CDB oil and metformin together.
What CBD Oil and Metformin are Used for
First, on this topic, it’s important to get a quick overview of what health conditions both CBD and metformin are prescribed for.
The main use of CBD
CBD oil is used for easing symptoms of many common health issues. A few of them include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Acne
- Heart disease
- Insomnia
- Epilepsy
So, for the most part, CBD oil can and is used to treat various illnesses and chronic pain types.
The main use of metformin
Metformin is prescribed for type 2 diabetes and helps in controlling blood sugar levels. It can also be used for preventing diabetes in those in a high-risk category.
Sometimes this medication is prescribed in combination with other drugs and/or along with lifestyle changes. This is done to treat complications related to type 2 diabetes.
Can CBD oil help with diabetes like metformin?
Recently scientists found that CBD can indeed be helpful for people with diabetes. This means that both CBD oil and metformin could possibly provide benefits to those with type 2 diabetes.
In other words, CBD can work as part of diabetes management in certain ways like metformin. Below I’ve outlined some of those main ways.
Regulation of energy metabolism
Firstly, CBD works by influencing our endocannabinoid system.
This system plays an important role in the regulation of energy metabolism. The regulation of energy metabolism is done by affecting how our muscle and fat cells respond to insulin. As such, this can be beneficial in supporting diabetes management.
Prevents high-calorie food cravings
CBD can help diabetes patients avoid cravings for high-calorie food. This, in turn, helps diabetes patients to manage compulsive eating, making it easier to stick to healthier diet plans.
Although this doesn’t directly control diabetes, it certainly helps with overall diabetes management.
Promotes fat-browning
CBD also helps in promoting fat-browning. For those who are unaware, brown fat is a good kind of fat. This fat burns energy, keeping you warm, and requires less space.
So, high levels of brown fats are related to improved metabolic rates. This, in turn, helps with diabetes management.
Lowers risk of diabetes
According to another study on mice, a dose of 5 mg/kg of CBD for ten weeks lowered the chances of developing diabetes.
When examining CBD’s influence on diabetes, it was found that CBD could help treat insulin resistance.
Improves inflammation and oxidative stress
CBD has been shown to improve inflammation levels and oxidative stress. Increased inflammation can often worsen one’s diabetes condition, as it contributes to insulin resistance.
So, when CBD works on nerve endings to reduce pain and inflammation, it helps in controlling blood sugar levels.
Improves pancreatic health and insulin resistance
CBD helps in improving pancreatic health and insulin resistance. This was demonstrated in an animal study with non-insulin treated type 2 diabetes.
It was found to be evident in animal subjects who received CBD at 100 mg twice daily along with other treatments. This finding resulted in a significant drop in fasting plasma glucose and improved pancreatic health.
Protects the pancreas from overactive immune cells
This means that a diabetic patient may be able to keep producing insulin for longer.
However, this can be achieved only by changing your diet and other lifestyle changes. Failing to do this in parallel with CBD might result in a pancreas that cannot produce insulin.
Can I take CBD oil and Metformin together? Is it safe?
CBD oil and metformin both have beneficial effects on diabetes. But, taking them together comes with its limitations.
This is because both CBD and metformin are inhibitors of a liver enzyme called CYP3A4. So, this may interfere with how each of these medications is metabolized for diabetes.
Aside from this, no study has been conducted showing the effect of taking them both together.
Clinical findings
In fact, there are no clinical findings to confirm if it’s safe to take them together. But taking them together can cause either one of two outcomes.
One is that they can increase side effects because of combined effects. Or the combined effects can reduce the efficacy of compounds.
Some people who took CBD and metformin together experienced hypoglycemia.
So, you may consider spacing out the doses of these medications, to reduce these side effects. However, be aware that you should only attempt to use both under the guidance and advice from a doctor.
Limitations of using CBD for diabetes management
The main limitation with CBD for diabetes is the individual differences in our endocannabinoid systems.
Because we all respond differently to the effects of CBD, you can experience one of two things.
First is that you can expect a drastic drop in blood sugar levels – which could be dangerous. Or you may not notice any effect at all. So, make sure to monitor your blood sugar levels when using CBD for diabetes to assess results.
The second and most prominent limitation to CBD use for diabetes is that not all are equal in quality. A low-quality product may offer zero effect or may even bring unwanted interactions with diabetes medications.
Be sure to check for companies that provide third-party testing for their products. These products are generally more reliable and tend to be of a higher quality.
Can I replace metformin with CBD for diabetes?
While it’s true that CBD oil goes a long way towards helping with diabetes management and control, it may not work well alone. When comparing CBD oil and metformin, there is limited data on CBD oil for the treatment of diabetes.
There are reports of people who have controlled their diabetes by making this switch from metformin to CBD. Also, many CBD experts state that CBD alone can be used to target the treatment of symptoms related to type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
However, be sure to discuss CBD oil and metformin with your doctor.
As such, switching from metformin to CBD or using CBD as a stand-alone treatment for diabetes remains unclear at this point.
Final Thoughts
So, just as we always recommend and advise, you should consider all the options and known potential outcomes in conjunction with advice from a medical professional.
Lastly, we may be able to help if you are currently taking metformin or another diabetes treatment and struggle with the costs. Prescription Hope provides assistance in accessing medications for $60.00 per medication, per month. Our patient advocates communicate with doctors, pharmacies, and even pharmaceutical manufacturers to help our enrollees access over 1,500 medications.
If you need access to affordable medications and wish to enroll, then please visit Prescription Hope today!
For more questions regarding your specific condition, always consult your healthcare provider.
If you’re having trouble affording any of the medications you’ve been prescribed, visit our home page to learn more about Prescription Hope’s medication access service, compare the costs of your current prescriptions, and see how we can help obtain your medications at a cheaper price. Fill out an application today and start receiving Brand-Name prescription medications at your doorstep. Call us at 1-877-296-HOPE (4673) to speak to one of our representatives, we’re always happy to see how we can help.
