Epilepsy is a severe chronic disorder that is responsible for making the patients suffer from frequent unprovoked seizures. Seizures are defined as a series of uncontrolled body and limb movements or actions that are caused due to reasons unknown. They adversely affect the patients by gripping them unexplained and unaware at any time during their day to day routine. Some of the most recognizable symptoms of this disorder include:
- Unexplained tremors
- Uncontrollable arm and leg movements often identified as a seizure
- Staring into blank space without reason
- Confused mind
- Dizzy spells
- Psychological fear, anxiety etc.
These symptoms become a real barrier in the daily life functioning of people. They live in constant fear of one or the other Epileptic symptom gripping them. This disorder has many physical implications but the mental stress is also ever present. A toxic situation gets created and there is no relief that the people are able to find. Well revered for giving the users anxiety and pain relief benefits, it isn’t outrageous that cannabis was proposed as a solution. Let us then find out whether cannabis is in fact a reliable form of medication for epilepsy or not.
Cannabis for epilepsy: Does it work?
Is cannabis a valid solution for the troubles that arise from epilepsy, a debilitating medical condition? Well, since time immemorial, cannabis has been revered as a therapeutic herb that extends some of the most wonderful medicinal benefits to suffering patients. The best part of using this plant are the zero side effects that it gives to the users. Unlike other chemical infused medicines, cannabis is a naturally occurring plant that does not give any life threatening effects alongside the helpful benefits.
So using this plant or cannabinoids that are derived from it, expand the medical universe just a little bit more. Out of all the identified cannabinoids derived from the cannabis plants, CBD and THC have created unique identities of their own. To then test their efficacy for the treatment of epilepsy is something that will only improve the medical culture of weed.
Is CBD effective in the treatment of epilepsy?
The first cannabinoid that has the margin to extend enhanced medical benefits to suffering patients of Epilepsy is CBD. CBD or cannabidiol is a major cannabinoid that is extracted from the cannabis plants containing less than 0.3% THC naturally. The most recognizable benefit of using this cannabinoid is the non psychoactive effect that it gives to the users. Since the cannabis high is absent, it opens up the possibility for using CBD for many medical formulations.
Which is why it was quite thoroughly tested with regards to resolving the symptoms of a severe disorder like epilepsy. This is also why, back in June 2018, CBD infused medication to treat two rare, severe forms of Epilepsy got the positive nod of agreement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The medication referred to as Epidolex is a CBD oral solution that the FDA approved for patients suffering from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.
This approval was a result of intense experimenting and screening of this drug of choice to extend the best effects to the suffering patients. The difficult-to-control seizures that patients with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome experience have a profound impact on these patients’ quality of life, this first-ever approval of a drug specifically for Dravet patients provides a significant and needed improvement in the therapeutic approach to caring for people with this condition.
This clearly reflects what a positive outlook and proper attention paid to the right aspects of a medical compound can produce. So, it is safe to say that the efficacy of CBD for epilepsy is something that is undeniable and irrefutable. This conclusion then creates the opening for more discourse which would be about the beneficial aspects of THC, the counterpart of CBD.
Can THC treat epilepsy on its own?
THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol is the counterpart of CBD. It is a major cannabinoid that gives the most potent effects. The high that everyone associates with cannabis? Well it is due to the presence of THC that they can be felt by the users. If we then talk about the benefits of consuming THC with respect to treating epileptic symptoms, we would need relevant studies.
At this point there are no helpful studies that successfully point out the benefits of using standalone THC infused medications for epilepsy. This suggests that at present, a patient suffering from this disorder should avoid making use of any THC high products. Only when reliable studies regarding the benefits of THC for epileptic symptoms find approval, should there be any further discussions regarding it.
Final thoughts
If you are an epileptic patient, it would be much advisable for you to first consult with a valid health professional and only then begin with a proper dosage schedule. Since Epidiolex is the only cannabinoid infused medication that is available in the market and is FDA approved, it is best to stick with its use. There is a possibility for under 0.3% THC alongside CBD infused products to be developed for the treatment of Epilepsy. However, it is a remote one. To then consume it safely and securely you must stick to what you already know well, which is Epidiolex.
