Case Report: Effectiveness of CBD for Child Insomnia & PTSD
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Overview

Cannabis Capsules

CBD oil has become a popular alternative to pharmaecuticals for the treatment of anxiety and sleep issues. Research suggests it is an effective alternative to pharmaceutical medications.

Researchers provide clinical data in this case report that support the administration of CBD oil as a safe and effective treatment for alleviating anxiety and improving sleep.

Case Presentation

CBD Molecular Structure

Patient: A ten-year-old girl who was sexually abused and had minimal parental supervision as a young child under the age of five. Patient suffered from PTSD, anxiety and sleep disturbances.

According to the Case Report:

"The patient presented in January 2012 as displaying aggressive, disobedient, impulsive, and sexually inappropriate behaviors. She also demonstrated low self-esteem and anxiety and had poor sleep (restless, interrupted, and unable to sleep alone)."

Pharmaceutical medications provided partial relief, but positive outcomes did not persist (and were accompanied by major side effects).

Patient was administered cannabidiol oil (CBD) which steadily attenuated anxiety and improved patient's quality and quantity of sleep. She was ultimately able to sleep through the night most nights in her own room, was less anxious at school and home, and displayed appropriate behaviors. The patient’s grandmother (her caregiver) reported:

“My granddaughter’s behaviors are definitely better being on the CBD. Her anxiety is not gone, but it is not as intense and she is much easier to be around. She now sleeps in her own room most of the time, which has never happened before.”

The strength of this particular case is that our patient was receiving no pharmaceutical medications (other than nonprescription diphenhydramine) but only nutritional supplements and the CBD oil to control her symptoms. Her scores on the sleep scale and the anxiety scale consistently and steadily decreased during a period of 5 months.

Conclusions

  • CBD oil can be an effective compound to reduce anxiety and insomnia secondary to PTSD.
  • A review of the literature suggests some benefits from the use of CBD because of its anxiolytic and sleep-inducing effects.
  • Animal studies support use of this treatment and report that “CBD may block anxiety-induced [rapid eye movement] sleep alteration via its anxiolytic effect on the brain.”

The researchers note:

  • Further study will need to be conducted to determine the permanency of our patient’s positive behaviors and how long she will need to continue taking the CBD oil.
  • We do not have a reasonable foundation to recommend dosing from the scientific literature. However, in our experience, this supplement given 12 mg to 25 mg once daily appears to provide relief of key symptoms with minimal side effects.
  • Our patient did not voice any complaints or discomfort from the use of CBD. We routinely asked about headache, fatigue, and change in appetite or agitation in addition to conducting a routine psychiatric evaluation.
  • Although CBD is considered generally safe, the long-term effects are yet to be studied.

Download the study.

Zana Medical

Zana Medical