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If you have heard that CBD can help with seizures, you have heard something true. It is the best evidence CBD has anywhere in medicine. It also comes with a great big “but”, and if you or your child lives with epilepsy, that “but” is the most important part of this article.
How CBD became a real medicine
The story starts with families. Around a decade ago, parents of children with rare, severe epilepsies began reporting that a purified CBD extract seemed to reduce the number of seizures their children were having, sometimes dramatically. Doctors were sceptical, as they should be, so the claims were put to the test in large clinical trials with placebo groups, the gold standard of medical evidence.
The trials worked. In children with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, two of the hardest forms of epilepsy to treat, adding CBD to their existing medicines cut seizure frequency significantly compared with placebo. The result was Epidyolex, a prescription CBD medicine that NICE approved for use on the NHS in 2019. It was later approved for seizures linked to tuberous sclerosis complex as well. Scientists still do not fully understand how it works, but the evidence that it does is solid.
The big “but”: medicine and oil are not the same
Epidyolex is pharmaceutical grade CBD, made to exacting standards, and it is given at doses worked out by body weight. For a child that can add up to hundreds of milligrams a day. By contrast, the FSA advises that adults take no more than 10 mg a day from CBD food supplements. That is not a small difference, it is a different world. A wellness oil, ours included, is not a treatment for epilepsy and cannot do what the trials showed a prescription medicine doing. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being straight with you.
Why you must not go it alone
Epilepsy is one condition where experimenting can be genuinely dangerous. CBD affects how the liver processes several anti-seizure medicines, including clobazam and sodium valproate, which can push their levels up or down. Even in the clinical trials, doctors had to adjust other medications and watch liver function closely. And stopping or changing a prescribed anti-seizure medicine without medical supervision can trigger seizures that are worse than before. No supplement is worth that risk.
If you or your child has epilepsy
- Ask your neurologist or epilepsy nurse about Epidyolex. It is only licensed for certain types of epilepsy and only as an add-on to other treatment, but they can tell you whether it is worth considering.
- Do not try over-the-counter CBD as a replacement for, or an addition to, prescribed medicine without telling your medical team first.
- Be wary of any product or website that mentions seizures or epilepsy in its marketing. In the UK that is not allowed, and it is a sign of a seller you should avoid.
- For trustworthy, plain English information, Epilepsy Action and the Epilepsy Society both have excellent guides on cannabis-based medicines.
Where our CBD oil fits in
Honestly? Not in epilepsy treatment, and we would rather say so plainly. Our oils are wellness supplements for adults who want a gentle, plant based part of their daily routine, taken at sensible everyday amounts. We are proud that CBD has earned a place in real medicine, because it shows what this plant compound can do when it is studied properly. That is a reason to trust CBD as an ingredient. It is not a reason to expect a supplement to do a medicine’s job.
The bottom line
CBD has shown genuine potential in reducing seizures, and that potential has already been turned into a licensed NHS medicine for specific forms of epilepsy. That is worth celebrating. The path to it runs through a specialist doctor, not a shopping basket, and the kindest thing we can do is point you towards the right door.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Native Treatments products are food supplements and cosmetics. They are not medicines, are for adults only, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent epilepsy, seizures or any other condition. Always speak to your neurologist, GP or pharmacist before using CBD if you have epilepsy or take any anti-seizure medication.