Hi and welcome. So here's some info.

These are the effects of CBD Oil, what it does when you take it:

Some of the immediate effects after taking CBD Oil include: Feeling ‘high,’ especially if the product contains some THC traces. Some people are more sensitive to this effect than others. Reduced anxiety, depression, pain, nausea, and vomiting. Depending on what other meds you take with the Remicade these effects can be magnified or unsafe.

These are the possible Side Effects of CBD Oil:

There are a number of possible side effects to using CBD oil, such as fatigue, dry mouth, lightheadedness, hypo-tension and impaired motor functions. However, when used in moderate amounts, most people do not experience these side effects. You can't drive if your on CBD Oil.


These types of Drugs react negatively with CBD Oil:

Steroids
HMG CoA reductase inhibitors
Calcium channel blockers
Antihistamines
Prokinetics
HIV antivirals
Immune modulators
Benzodiazepines
Anti-arrythmics
Antibiotics
Anesthetics
Anti-psychotics
Anti-depressants
Anti-epileptics
Beta blockers
PPIs
NSAIDs
Angiotension II blockers
Oral hypoglycemic agents
Sulfonylureas

People think that CBD Oil doesn't produce a high and has no THC in it, this is not true. Depending on how well the CBD Oil is made and how careful the manufacturer is in the process, depends on how pure the product is.

CBD Oil can and does cause a high for many folks. It also can and does test positive for THC on standard drug tests and police THC field tests. So if your in a State where MJ is not legal you need to be careful with it.

Take care,
Kat

Kat covered the some of the legal and medical issues with using CBD oil. I will try to add some things from a couple temporary users of CBD oil.

First, CBD oil is made from the hemp plant which has been used for god knows how long for everything from rope to soap. It is estimated to be used, or has been used in nearly 25,000 products. The link below shows many of the things that hemp is used for.

My wife first suggested that she want to try CBD oil because of several people on her Facebook CIDP and Sjögren’s Disease support groups writing that many had very good results from using CBD oil. Pain reduction, sleep enhancement and other benefits were written about.

First, CBD oil is legal in all 50 states, but the law is not clear. However, hemp has very little THC, which is what gives marijuana its high (a different, but a related plant BTW), and the best CBD products have zero (or so they claim). Even if the oil did, it would be very little, not enough to make anyone high, again according to the manufacturers, which there are many, If you do an Internet search for CBD oil, be prepared for a flood of hits and many, many manufacturers that will sale/ship you their CBD product.

Since CBD oil is not regulated like other OTC drugs, there are claims made all over, but all that I researched denied making specific medical benefit claims as that would bring down "big brother" on anyone that does.

For us, we picked two "a rabbits out of the hat" (two different manufacturers). There is no way currently to tell which of the many providers has the best product. There is an independent group that is in the process of testing all CBD products that are submitted to them for testing to see which ones have the amount of CBD that is listed on the bottle's label (preliminary results have found not many, one to be exact).

The two products we tried (separately BTW about a month apart), were ordered by me online and shipped directly to use here in Texas. I used them just a couple times and did not notice anything at all. My wife used all the remaining two bottles, but could not tell for sure that they were helpful, but thought that they were.

Those two bottles (most CBD oil come in bottles with an eyedropper for use), ended our test. The main reason that my wife decided not to continue was the low improvement, if any, and the costs of CBD oil.

If you do look at providers, there is one thing that they have in common; they are expensive. So unless a person has some dramatic improvement in their own medical situation, it will be very hard to justify the expense (in the $100 per month or more range).

Based on our tests, I cannot recommend CBD oil, but that does not mean that it does not work. There are many who says it has helped them considerably. For them, the cost made not make a difference.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2013/05/29/industrial-hemp-a-win-win-for-the-economy-and-the-environment/#1adae92b289b

Thank you both for replying! I’ve done some research and it seems to be perfectly legal, at least for my state and I’m going to try it out. Since my pain was greatly reduced due to Remicade, I’m hopeful it will help relieve some of my minor pain. I’ll be sure to update after I’ve tried! Thank you again!!

I just ordered a new brand of CBD oil to give it a second try. :)

If I can get my pain "consolidated" to a couple of joints, I'm also considering trying a CBD topical because I'm tired of taking so many pills/supplements!

I hope yours works well for you. In my research I figured that the most likely side effect is that it's a waste of money-- which, compared to some prescriptions I've had awful reactions to, is not the worst option.

@Becca4824, please check with your Rheumy to make sure the CBD Oil doesn't have cross-interactions with the Remicade.

If the Remicade is working and you take something that throws it off, it's not always possible to make it go back to working the same as it did.

I'm not trying to scare you, I would just hate to see you lose the benefit of a medication that is actually working for you, as we often have to go through many to get the ones that work.

Take care and good luck.

Kat

Sptrout!! Good to see you bud! How's things down Houston way? You've not been around in a while. Hope you and your wife are doing well and the pain hasn't been too off the wall. Hope life is treating you well.

Kat

Thanks Kat! Everything is going OK here in Houston, except for the 1,000's that got flooded last summer by Hurricane Harvey. There is still a lot of rebuilding going on and the lawyers are lined up trying the cashin also.

I do not post much anymore on DS, especially this Board. By the time I see a new post, it is either over my head or experience, or you have already got it covered with one of your usual great posts. So I just past on by.

I know that you have many medical battles and I hope that you win a few from time to time! The best of luck, Steve

I have a close friend who is in her late 60's and has been taking CBD oil for many years as a result of severe pain caused my multiple surgeries from being in a car accident. She told me once that it gave her, her life back and she also said she doesn't get high from it, but it takes care of her chronic pain extremely well and it is legal in all 50 states. She told me that you also have to be careful where you buy it. The cheapest is not always the best for pain control.

You know, the best person to ask about non traditional medicine is someone who has been taking it for years with success, If you like, I can put you in touch with her and she can give you alot more info about it then I can. Just pm me.

God Bless

@OlderCPer
Thank you for the information! I'll be sure to talk to my doctor about it, but I don't think it's going to mess with any meds, hopefully. I'm very desperate to try something that isn't pain killers to help relieve pain. Surprising enough my pain meds don't help the pain

The kind of CBD Oil you have to have a prescription to get. Is Not the same type of CBD Oil you can order over the internet. Be sure and check your State Laws. Ignorance of the law is Not a defense

@Becca4824: Unfortunately some of these conditions have some pain that just has to be managed. I've several Diseases/Genetic Illnesses that narcotics don't do anything for the pain. I use several different modalities of therapies with the meds like Pool Therapy, BioFeedback, PRPT, Injections, etc. I've been in Pain Management for a long time, like 32 years now, and learned a long time that its exactly what it is. As long as my pain is controlled to a point where I can drive and work and mess around in my garden on the weekends for a bit, I've learned how to live with the rest of it.

Sometimes you just have to be willing to get to a point where you can do most of the things you want and be willing to trade off the rest.

Take care,
Kat

Yeah someone above sort of mis-spoke.

CBD Oil by prescription is legal in Texas, but CBD Oil for recreational use is not legal in Texas. I did't check all the other States but I imagine most are the same.

There is a variety of CBD Oil options that make the legal situation clear as a swamp. There are CBD Oils; 1) with THC (for use in states where it is clearly legal, 2) CBD Oil with 0.03% THC, 3) and lastly CBD Oil with 0.0% THC. Every manufacturer's web site that I visited yesterday (and I looked at a lot) all said that the last one is legal everywhere in the US, and #2 also, but cautioned that it may showup on drug tests but not likely, and that #1 is only for states where marijuana is legal. I also stumbled across at least two articles written by lawyers (published on their firm's website so not connected to any CBD supplier) that were very confusing to the point that I think that the bottom line was that CBD without THC would likely not be of interest to law enforcement. One even went state by state and listed the totally legal states, the maybe legal states, and the watchout states. Again clear as mud..... In any case, I took away from all the legal reading that as long as you are using it at home and not selling it, law enforcement has better things to do than chase this issue, and would probably lose if a case ever made it to court.

IMO, and that is all that it is, if someone with chronic health problems find something that helps them, let them have it and leave them alone. Many people have found great relief, and able to reduce the use of more dangerous prescription drugs, with a few drops of oil.

It is odd to me that the government will worry about CBD Oil when the local drug store is full of deadly OTC drugs, Think, NSAIDs, acetaminophen in its many forms, and PPIs, just to name three, NSAIDs alone kill thousands of people a year, acetaminophen causes liver failure if not taken very carefully (the max amount seems to be a moving target), and PPIs are a total train wreck in your body. Basically, nearly every pain reliever in the OTC isle is "black boxed" and will cause death, usually without most users even knowing that they are in danger. CBD Oil compared to those are nothing. Even narcotic medications are safer if used properly. I have asked several doctors, which of these they would take on a daily basis (never had a reason to mention CBD Oil) just to watch them squirm. Most will not even answer. One said that he would alternate between the three, and one said that he was not "PC" and recommended the narcotic on my pain reliever list.

Bottomline for me, if a person tries CBD Oil and it does not work they won't buy it again, and if it helps, more power to them.

You never know when an emergency might happen. If the police are in your home due to EMS being there or any other reason. And they see CBD Oil you have illegally. There can be legal complications. Assuming what law enforcement will and won't do in any particular situation. Is never a good idea. It is also not a good idea to assume you will always have things put away. If law enforcement has any reason to be in your home.

Here's where I got my info. and it seems to make it pretty clear:

https://www.versustexas.com/criminal/cbd-oil-legal-texas

Varghese & Summersett, Criminal Defense Attorneys at Law

In 2015, Governor Greg Abbott signed into law what’s known as the Texas Compassionate Use Act, which allows the use of CBD oils to treat seizures caused by intractable epilepsy. The Act legalizes oils containing CBD for treatment of epilepsy, as well as other chronic medical conditions for those who have not responded positively to use of federally approved medications.

The Act authorizes the Department of Public Safety to license dispensing organizations, which function similar to compounding pharmacies. Only neurologists and epileptologists are able to offer prescriptions for CBD oil. While the law was implemented in 2015, access to CBD was delayed until 2017 to allow for additional time to create a system to ensure that distribution is confined to genuine medical necessity along with a detailed registry identifying doctors and dispensaries.

You won’t find the word “Cannabidiol” in Texas laws defining illegal substances or banning their possession or distribution. You also won’t find any of the other descriptors of Cannabidol found on the Open Chemistry Database maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information or in any penalty group in Texas. However, if possessed without medical necessity, it is arguable that CDB Oil would be considered a Penalty Group 2, illegal substance. Penalty Group 2 applies to hallucinogens, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers. It does include substances like Dronabinol and Tetrahydrocannabinols.