Expert Advice on CBD Oil Dosage: Finding Your Balance

Finding the right CBD oil dosage for your individual needs is important. This comes down to striking a balance between things like body weight and the severity of symptoms.

To figure out the correct CBD oil dosage, you should consider input from other healthcare professionals, especially if you are trying to treat a specific condition. Beyond that, you should also take time to get to know the labeling on your CBD oil products.

CBD oils come in different concentrations, and that concentration refers to how much CBD oil exists in the bottle. Common concentrations are listed as follows:

• CBD oil 50 mg
• 500 mg CBD oil
• CBD oil 750 mg 
• 1000 mg CBD oil
• 1500 mg CBD oil 
• 2000 mg CBD oil 

You might also see the dosage listed as a percentage, like 10% or 5%, which indicates the percentage of the total volume made up by CBD or other cannabinoids.

CBD oil concentration can impact dosage and effectiveness. 

For example:

Something that says 1500 mg CBD oil is going to be 30 times more concentrated than CBD oil 50 mg. 

This means that the amount of oil you need to achieve the same effectiveness will be a fraction of a 50 mg bottle compared to a 1500 mg bottle. 

Several factors can influence the right dosage for you, including the following:

Body weight and size

Your weight is one of the most common ways to calculate the right dose, especially for mild symptoms. In general, it’s recommended that you consume 10 mg per 100 lb.

The more you weigh, the different your metabolism will be, and the more CBD oil you will need to achieve the same results.

Severity of symptoms or conditions

The severity of your symptoms has a direct influence as well. On average, the calculation is three times as much for moderate symptoms compared to mild symptoms and three times as much for severe symptoms compared to moderate symptoms.

For example:

Someone weighing 150 lb with mild symptoms might only need 15 mg per serving, but with moderate symptoms, they would need 45 mg, and with severe symptoms, they would need 90 mg. 

Tolerance to CBD

Anyone using CBD products long enough will develop a tolerance. If you already use CBD products regularly, you are more likely to meet a slightly higher dose to achieve the same results because of that tolerance. Moreover, the longer you use CBD products as treatment, the higher the likelihood that, at some point, you will need to gradually increase your dose to maintain the same results.

Metabolism and digestive health

Your metabolism and digestive health also play a significant role. People with a faster metabolism will burn through the endocannabinoids in CBD oil much faster, and that means they don’t enjoy the results for as long. In these cases, considerations for the frequency of dosing as well as the dosage amount are imperative.

Desired effects and personal goals

The desired effects and personal goals you have will also influence how much you take. If you are seeking minor relief from acute anxiety, how much you take is going to differ wildly from someone looking to treat chronic pain conditions with severe symptoms. 

If you are just starting out with CBD oil dosing, follow these steps:

Step 1:

Know your weight. Weigh yourself regularly just to be on the safe side so that you know what the proper dosage is for your body.

Step 2:

Start with a low dose that is appropriate for you. For this, you need to consider any tolerance you might have if you are a regular CBD user or the exact opposite intolerance if you are brand new.

Step 3:

Remain consistent with a low dose for several weeks. Use a journal to keep track of any potential side effects or reactions you had, as well as the benefits you felt. Again, this should be done for several weeks in a row in a consistent fashion.

Step 4:

Once you have determined no ill side effects, you can start to gradually increase your CBD oil dosage until you get the achieved results. Over time, you may or may not develop a tolerance depending on how frequently and how much you use. By keeping a journal or consistently tracking how much you are using, you’ll know if and when it’s time to slightly increase the dose you are taking to maintain the same results.

With a CBD oil dose, the amount you use will be different for various conditions.

On average, the recommended dose is between 20 mg and 40 mg per serving, but treatment of health conditions might need something much higher. Moreover, it will also differ contingent upon the severity of the symptoms of that condition. The table below provides a quick breakdown of different conditions and different severities. 

Dosage recommendations for specific conditions

Several studies offer basic recommendations for the amount that is more appropriate to treat specific conditions, but these treatments also require that you take into account how much you weigh and how severe your symptoms are.

Anxiety

Anxiety disorders have some of the higher dosage recommendations. Those who are treating an anxiety disorder might be recommended to take CBD oil 750 mg for severe symptoms. Though mild symptoms have a recommendation between 300 to 600 mg CBD. 

Sleep

Sleep disorders typically have a lower recommendation, below CBD oil 50 mg marks, starting at 25 mg per day. 

Epilepsy

For those who struggle with epilepsy and seizures, recommendations might be upwards of 1500 mg CBD oil for higher weights, though the starting point for mild symptoms is 75 to 300 mg CBD. 

Chronic Pain

CBD can increase anandamide levels in the body, which regulates pain. It can decrease inflammation. It can also treat chronic pain like neuropathic pain. 

Chronic pain recommendations (such as cancer-related pain) might be CBD oil 50mg at a time, up to 500mg CBD oil, or even 600 mg. 

Note: With all of these, the starting recommendation may hover around 25-50 mg, but how to dose CBD oil for legitimate health concerns, not just a couple of weeks’ worth of stress/insomnia, means working with a healthcare provider. If you are, for example, treating an anxiety disorder or chronic pain, work with your doctor to see if you need a higher dose like 1000 mg CBD oil, 1500 mg CBD oil, or even 2000 mg CBD oil based on your symptoms. 

Equally important when figuring out how to dose CBD oil for specific conditions is understanding the difference between therapeutic doses and maintenance doses.

As the name suggests, maintenance dosages in medicine are designed to maintain. This might be maintaining equilibrium in certain enzymes or reactions in your body where you might have a deficiency.

This differs from therapeutic dosages, which are designed to treat a condition by changing or modifying things within your body.

For example:

Someone struggling with chronic pain might want to maintain normal levels of inflammatory response, whereas someone struggling with an anxiety disorder might need a therapeutic dosage that helps alter the way in which certain parts of the brain are functioning.

If you are interested in optimal results, you want to avoid these frequent errors.

Error #1: Going at it alone

One of the most common errors when it comes to dosing CBD oil is trying to do it alone without any other input from healthcare professionals. 

How to avoid it:

You can avoid this mistake by seeking guidance from your doctor or mental health professional, especially if you have a pre-existing condition or you are taking other medication.

Error #2: Taking too much

The next most common error is assuming that more is always better and taking too much on accident. You don’t want to take 2,000 mg CBD oil when you were advised to take 1,000 mg CBD oil just because you think twice as much will be twice as effective.

How to avoid it:

Avoid doing this by sticking to the right guidance for several weeks in a row. maintain the same low dose as you start, and keep a journal to monitor your results. Only increase gradually once you have done so. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you took CBD oil 750 mg and after 2 days you didn’t feel results, you should jump to 1500 mg CBD oil the next day.

Error #3: Thinking it works the same

A lot of people think that a CBD oil dose is the same for everyone, no matter how much they weigh or what condition they are treating. It’s not uncommon to know someone who is using CBD treatment for something, ask how much they are taking, and then assume that’s the right amount for you or to do the same thing after reading a blog post or comment thread online.

How to avoid it:

You can avoid this by recognizing that CBD oil dosage works differently for everyone based on factors like age, metabolism, tolerance, weight, and health conditions. when you look at the CBD oil you have, it will provide a recommendation range, but you can always start with a lower dosage or go off the recommendation from a healthcare professional.

Finding the right CBD oil dose for your individual wellness goals is important. You need to know what factors like body weight, severity of symptoms, tolerance, and metabolism will influence CBD oil dose recommendations for your situation. You also need to know how to dose CBD oil based on your needs and not to make common mistakes like taking 1,000 mg CBD oil two days after taking 500 mg CBD oil because you didn’t see results immediately. Approach CBD oil use with informed caution and professional advice.