It’s no longer a question whether CBD has medical value. Now it’s about figuring out how to optimize your therapeutic use of cannabinoids to suit your lifestyle and situation.

For people as well as pets, CBD dosage must be individually determined.Several factors come into play, including one’s overall health and endocannabinoid tone, which are influenced by diet, exercise, sleep patterns, day-to-day stress, and genetics.

Everyone has an individual sweet spot. That’s why we recommend people to start slow, go slow, and listen to your body. Everyone’s journey on CBD is unique, but a good place to start is on a low dose and work your way up, increasing the dose week by week until you get the results you’re after.

For most medications, a higher dose will pack a stronger therapeutic punch. With cannabis, however, it’s not so simple. CBD and other cannabis components have biphasic properties, meaning that low and high doses generate opposite effects. Small doses of CBD tend to stimulate; large doses sedate.

While CBD has no known adverse effects at any dose, an excessive amount of CBD may be less effective therapeutically than a moderate dose. Experts recommend what they call ‘titrating to effect’ – the process of slowly increasing dosage until the desired effects are achieved.  New users are recommended to take 5 to 25 mg daily at first, as this is the typical small serving size for an adult. Depending on your metabolism, body weight, and desired effects, you might want to start with no more than 15 mg per day. You can always up the serving size after your body gets accustomed to it. Using 50mg to 100mg or more per day is not uncommon. For adequate symptom relief, some patients may need to ingest a CBD preparation two or three times during daylight hours in addition to their night-time regimen.

CBD is a safe and forgiving medicine. Figuring out how to make the most of its health-enhancing properties may involve some trial and error.
No worries! At least CBD isn’t harmful like so many FDA-approved pharmaceuticals.

If you’re new to cannabis medicine or if you’re seeking to improve your therapeutic routine, remember this advice from Dr. Sulak: “Start low, go slow, and don’t be afraid to go all the way!”

Desired Effects

For many, the optimal dose comes down to the level of pain or discomfort they are experiencing. Someone with chronic pain or severe anxiety may need a higher dose to alleviate their symptoms, whereas a person with a milder condition may prefer a lower dose with less pronounced effects.  Some CBD oil users have found that taking a serving of CBD oil 2-3 times a day is even more ideal. The full effects of CBD may only remain for 4-12 hours, depending method of use, dosage and body size.

If you do not feel immediate relief

When people start taking CBD oil they typically expect results instantly. However that is more the exception than the norm. Not getting results immediately can make some give up too quickly and believe that CBD oil just doesn’t work. Typically, results from using CBD oil can take several weeks. So persistence is key along with a better understanding of the many variables that can result in effectiveness for both short term and long term use. You may find it helpful to use a journal to log your results. Keep track of how much you’ve taken, how you feel before dosing and at several time intervals afterward, and any changes in symptoms that you notice.

Once absorbed by the body, CBD interacts with the cannabinoid receptors of the endocannabinoid system, a signaling network responsible for regulating and maintaining balance among an array of body processes.  CBD will start interacting with the cannabinoid receptors within minutes of being absorbed. With that said, many benefits of a highly functioning endocannabinoid system are not fully experienced right away.  CBD actually promotes enhanced receptor activity and can even stimulate an increase in cannabinoid receptors. With more cannabinoid receptors, the endocannabinoid system becomes more active and more sensitive to stimulation by cannabinoids, resulting in you needing less CBD to achieve the same result; hence, the phrase reverse tolerance. This is why many people report needing less CBD after a few months of using it. Consistently taking a ‘daily dose’ of CBD oil helps maintain a sustained level of CBD in your body and promotes an effective endocannabinoid system.

If you’ve been trying one delivery system with no luck, it’s possible that a different form would work better for you. One factor to consider is bioavailability, which essentially refers to how much of the CBD actually gets into your bloodstream. For example, if you eat CBD gummies, they have to go through your digestive tract before you can absorb them, and the amount that ends up in your system is relatively low. On the other hand, if you take a tincture sublingually — which means under the tongue — you’re absorbing it directly into your bloodstream. So you could get quicker, with more noticeable results than you would from waiting for your digestive system to process it.

If you have any questions please email us at support@luvitol.com or use this contact form and one of our cannabinoid experts will assist you.