Narrowing Down Your Ideal CBD Dose

CBD has evolved from an alternative health option to something developing true mainstream traction.

The result is many new people trying to use it as a complement to their conventional medication and needing guidance on how to do so safely and correctly.

This is compounded by the fact that there’s plenty of resources out there singing the praises of CBD, but it’s more difficult to find ways to actually integrate it into your lifestyle.

Part of this is due to the fact that your traditional resource for medication, doctors, may not be able to provide a clear dosage amount for you. There are two main reasons for this:

● There is no RDA (recommended daily allowance) for CBD, meaning doctors don’t have a baseline to work from

● Not all medical programs cover CBD

The end result is that a medical professional who is open to the idea of you taking CBD may still not be able to give you an ideal dosage to start with. So, how do you figure this out on your own?

Finding The Dosage For You

As a preceding note, even if they aren’t able to give you a recommended dosage, it’s extremely important that you consult with a doctor before taking CBD for the first time.

There may be interactions with other medications or another condition that you have that need to be accounted for.

Part of the issue with finding the right CBD dosage for you is the fact that there are several different variables that will impact exactly what the proper dosage is. These range from:

● Weight
● Metabolism
● Diet
● Gender
● Genetics
● The condition you are trying to treat

How you’re taking your CBD also matters. There are a variety of different delivery systems to match anyone’s preferences, from oils to tinctures to capsules to gummies to even CBD-infused foods and beverages. All of these are going to have different amounts of CBD.

CBD newcomers may opt to take a mix of these early on. The reasoning is that they want to find the “best fit” for them. This is a major mistake.

When taking any sort of medication for the first time, you want to employ a measured approach, so you can chart the impact it has on your body.

If you try several different options, whether you have a positive or negative reaction, it’s difficult to determine what the root cause was.

As a start, while doctors can’t prescribe cannabinoids, they can offer a recommendation for dosage. Always default to that if you’re not sure. If you don’t have a recommendation, there are two main paths that you can take:

Path 1: Work your way up slowly. As mentioned before, two people, even using CBD for the same condition, may have different results at different dosages. This makes it important that you work at your own pace.

Start at the absolute dosage possible for the product you are taking, and make a note of the results.

People who haven’t taken CBD may have a low tolerance, and might be able to get by with a low dosage to get the relief they need.

If, after a period of time, you find the dosage isn’t doing what you need, then you can work your way up in small increments.

Path 2: Estimate based on body weight. For people who have a little more experience with CBD, but may be using a new product for the first time, this can be an effective option.

There are online tools out there to help you determine your ideal dose based on weight, but here’s a basic rule of thumb to follow:

For pain relief, take 1-6 mg of CBD for every 10 pounds of body weight, based on your pain.

For other conditions, it may be harder to find the ideal dose, so you’re better off with Path 1.

Measuring Out CBD Dosage

If you talk to some people with CBD experience, they may mention that they feel pain relief or less anxiety by taking “1 drop from their dropper” or something similar to that. This is little use to the novice still trying to figure out their proper dose for the first time.

This makes it extremely important that you read the labels to know the exact CBD concentration of any product that you decide to use, so you can properly measure out a lower dose and work your way up, or find an appropriate match for your body weight.

One thing that complicates this is that different delivery systems make their impact in different ways.

For example, if you opt for a tincture, it’s not going to have an effect as quickly as some delivery systems, sometimes not kicking in for a few hours. Don’t assume the dosage is too weak if that’s the case.

In addition, calculating your “serving size” is harder for some products than others. For example, for edibles, one edible represents one serving size, so all you generally have to do is see what the concentration is.

For topicals, it’s a lot more difficult to narrow that down. Be sure to research your system of choice so you know how to start applying the two paths from before.

Is Too Much CBD Dangerous?

Finally, let’s say that you tried a measured approach, but made a mistake and took more CBD than you really needed.

Are you putting yourself in danger?

As of right now, it’s not entirely certain, because there aren’t many long-term studies showing the impact of heavy CBD use. In the short term, there are some potential side-effects like:

● Fatigue
● Diarrhea
● Appetite changes
● Weight changes

However, these are more reactions to CBD in general rather than taking too much. Remember, everyone’s body chemistry is different, and some people may just be naturally sensitive to it.

Doses of up to 1,500 mg, up to 30 times your typical dose, have been tolerated by humans in some studies.

However, as mentioned before, you always want to keep your doctor in the loop about how you are feeling and the dosages you are using, especially if you’re on other medications.

Laura Reid – author

Laura Reid is a freelance writer/journalist with a focus on cannabis and CBD.

laurareid.writer@gmail.com or check her out on Twitter