CBD Oil for Migraines Australia: Benefits and Best Products

Because of its pain-relieving properties, using CBD oil for headaches and migraine relief can be valuable.

It’s becoming popular as an all-natural option for mitigating these frustrating, uncomfortable conditions.

Some even find CBD products useful for tension headaches because they calm stress and soothe the mind.

But in many cases, migraines are the result of inflammation.

Although it is less well-known, CBD oil is also anti-inflammatory. As such, it has the potential to counteract underlying neuroinflammation sources that can affect the brain itself.

This helps with neuroprotection, working to help block headaches and migraines before they start.

Using CBD oil for headache relief is now widespread as a natural alternative to painkilling NSAIDs (pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories) like ibuprofen.

It is better tolerated, sourced from plants, and has lower side effect risks than these compounds.

Yet it’s still effective for combatting the head pains, throbbing and aches that can happen from migraines.

It should be noted there is currently minimal evidence for CBD oil’s therapeutic capacity to treat headaches. However, anecdotal reports from users are providing insight into its beneficial potential. Plus, its ability to help with other mental problems like anxiety, epilepsy or depression suggests it can similarly help with headache problems.

Let’s delve into how CBD oil provides relief for headaches and migraines. Learn whether it works, why it could be helpful and how to take it appropriately.

CBD Oil for Headaches: Does it Provide Relief?

There’s some controversy over whether CBD oil can help with headache or migraine symptoms.

The clinical evidence for these benefits is indeed limited today.

But what we do know is that many of the properties (such as being pain-relieving) of CBD certainly help with health problems that relate to head pain.

By mapping these properties to headache and migraine symptoms, we can garner some understanding of how beneficial CBD oil could be in providing relief.

Add to this the large number of reports from people who already take CBD oil for their migraine symptoms, and the evidence begins to build.

Let’s first look at CBD oil’s proven properties in mitigating pain, lowering neuroinflammation and providing neuroprotective qualities to gauge its capacity for headache relief.

Head Pain Mitigation

One of the primary ways CBD oil helps with headaches is via pain relief.

It’s well known to help mitigate and block pain signals from running through the nerves.

CBD works through the endocannabinoid system in the body, which has an influencing capacity on the nervous system.

This enables it to prevent some of the signals of pain that occur from nociceptors (pain receptors). Some of these nociceptors are located in the brain. When they’re triggered by headaches or migraines, symptoms of aches or pain will flare up.

Downregulating their sensitivity and reducing the number of signals received means people with migraines or headaches can lower their overall head pain.

Research has even shown that the CBD cannabinoid can interact with the brain’s vanilloid TRPV1 pain receptors. These effects further bolster its ability to offer relief by dampening headache pain sensations.

While CBD triggers some of these analgesic (pain-alleviating) benefits, the majority are due to the potent endocannabinoids the brain produces in response to CBD.

After binding with CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the brain, CBD causes endocannabinoids like 2-AG to be produced, which more directly relieves migraine head pain.

What does the research say about the use of CBD oil for migraine pain?

Research on CBD for Migraine Pain

Despite the limited overall quantity of existing clinical studies into the benefits of CBD oil for migraines, several early trials have displayed promising results.

A study from 2016 in the Journal of Pharmacotherapy explored CBD’s capacity to treat migraines. It targeted the use of cannabinoids in reducing both migraine pain and occurrence frequency.

Subjects in this trial who were dosed with CBD oil saw their migraine frequency cut by half, which was an immensely successful result. On average, this group experienced a reduction in migraines per month from 10 to 5. Plus, these individuals had less severe migraines, which were more manageable.

Note that this study didn’t test CBD alone. It was combined with THC and other cannabinoids as a full-spectrum product in this study. The reason why is that THC and CBD are synergistic together when treating pain symptoms. Combining them amplifies their mutual benefits in blocking pain sensations, including those that occur from migraines. Although this study didn’t isolate CBD alone to identify its standalone effects on migraine pain, it did emphasise that CBD was a crucial part of the strong result seen in mitigating migraines for patients involved.

Clinical Trial Examples

Other studies into the application of CBD oil for migraine pains have arrived at similar conclusions. Because CBD can lower nociception (pain perception), its capacity to reduce head pain is substantial. For example, a 2021 study examined the effectiveness of CBD in combination with THC for migraines and headaches. Both short (acute) and chronic pain symptoms from migraines were reduced among test subjects.

These results were replicated across several separate trials. Like other forms of pain, those being caused by migraines or headaches appeared treatable to some extent using cannabinoids. Again, note that this review used THC and CBD together.

Compared to traditional pharmaceutical painkillers, CBD oil may be a better option in combatting chronic pain from migraines. It can be used for long periods without causing toxicity or side effect risks to increase. The same can’t be said for compounds like NSAIDs. If used long-term, these chemicals can cause liver toxicity. They are practical but better suited for acute or short-term use. This applies to other painkillers, too, because of their addiction potential. For example, opioid-based painkillers can’t be used long-term without causing physical dependency.

Neuroprotective Benefits

While CBD oil has been displayed in some studies to contribute to headache pain reduction, it may be better targeted towards preventing headaches from occurring in the first place.

One of the primary benefits of CBD products is their neuroprotective capacities.

‘Neuroprotective’ compounds help to protect brain cells from damage or degradation.

CBD has demonstrated neuroprotective effects, which is why it’s used to treat neurological conditions like epilepsy. It’s even being studied as a potential medication for Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disease.

The cannabinoid works to prevent seizures caused by excitatory activity in neurons. Doing so helps normalise brain cell activity and prevents these cells from malfunctioning.

These neuroprotective properties could also mean CBD oil helps prevent headaches or migraine aches.

How might it achieve this?

CBD has several neurological effects within the brain that make it ideal for defending brain cells. For example, it can lower neuroinflammation in these cells and protect them from the inflammatory response. In doing so, symptoms of headaches could be avoided. Similarly, CBD oil is antioxidative, making it well-suited for protecting the cells, including those of the brain. Antioxidants help counteract cellular damage that occurs from toxins, pollutants or radiation. This is useful for blocking damage to brain cells, which often causes or contributes to headaches.

GABA Interactions

In addition to these beneficial neuroprotective properties, CBD functions with certain neurotransmitters, enabling its headache-preventing potential.

Of particular note is the interaction between CBD and GABA.

GABA is the neurotransmitter that prevents ‘excitation’ in neurons. It’s known as an ‘inhibitory’ neurotransmitter.

Or, more simply, it stops the brain cells from triggering excessive electrical activity. Preventing this ‘overfiring’ of the neurons may work to block migraines from occurring. Frequently, migraines result from overfiring or neuron dysregulation.

Promoting and normalising GABA levels in the brain is another way CBD oil helps with migraine pain. In fact, studies have linked GABA directly to the occurrence of migraines. Too little or too much of it can raise the risk of migraines happening. Keeping the brain in balance and preventing overfiring in neurons is a way that CBD prevents headaches before their occurrence.

Reducing Neuroinflammation

As mentioned, CBD is anti-neuroinflammatory in the brain cells.

This makes CBD a valuable oil for mitigating headaches and migraines, which are often the result of brain inflammation.

Research has linked neuroinflammation to the risk of migraines occurring.

There is a strong connection between inflamed brain cells and migraine severity, plus frequency. These inflammatory problems are commonly caused by the immune system attacking the brain.

Cytokines typically are the culprit. These are immune cell signalling proteins. They’re vital for directing and controlling immune activity in the body. But if they mistarget or become overactive, the body will attack healthy cells. In the brain, this can mean the neurons experience degradation from too much immune activity.

In turn, brain cells will misfire more regularly or become dysregulated, exacerbating migraine risks. 

Fortunately, CBD products can help to counteract these inflammatory problems. Endocannabinoids like anandamide produced from cannabinoid intake are responsible for these effects. These chemicals help to downregulate cytokine activity and prevent these signalling chemicals from causing neuroinflammation.

Surprisingly, some studies have shown that CBD oil’s ability to lower inflammation is more potent than many pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories like aspirin and tramadol.

It’s no wonder more people are using CBD for their headaches. Combatting neuroinflammation at the source is often the best way to prevent head pains before they begin.

Does CBD Oil Work for Migraines?

There’s some good evidence for CBD’s ability to provide relief from migraine or headache pain.

Typically, though, studies have used the cannabinoid alongside THC. But the signals from early trials have nonetheless been very positive.

What does the evidence say?

A large-scale meta-analysis of studies that used medical cannabis to treat headaches and migraines explored 12 publications on the topic. These publications comprised individual trials on over 1900 subjects. The analysis found medications containing cannabinoids like CBD reduced the severity and frequency of migraines. Across the publications reviewed, migraine symptoms, on average, were lowered by around 40%. In 12% of subjects, migraine problems were completely cleared when cannabis medicine was used to treat it. This is an astonishing result and bolsters the evidence for CBD as a contributor to migraine mitigation.

In 2017, a separate study was performed on 23 healthy adults suffering from migraines. It compared the efficacy of cannabis medications with NSAIDs as migraine treatments. The effectiveness of the CBD medicines was around 25% higher (vs NSAIDs) for migraines. In addition, the study found these natural remedies provided relief from migraine symptoms for longer.

Additional Evidence

Additional clinical trials in 2019 and 2020 have corroborated these findings. These trials add further weight to the evidence of CBD oil’s effectiveness in preventing migraines.

The 2019 trial from Canada examined the efficacy of inhaled cannabis in treating headaches and migraines. In the tested group, headache severity and frequency were reduced by 47%. Migraine symptoms and occurrence were similarly lowered by around 50% among subjects. Interestingly, this review found that cannabis-based medication was more effective for migraines in males versus females.

Similar outcomes were observed in the 2020 trial performed on 68 adults with migraine symptoms. These subjects were again given medical cannabis as a treatment protocol over several months. This trial aimed to understand how effective medications containing cannabinoids like CBD were versus traditional painkillers for migraines.

Researchers found that subjects given CBD suffered from fewer migraines, had fewer detrimental symptoms, had better sleep quality and relied less on pharmaceutical painkillers. These results were unexpectedly strong. The trial indicated cannabis and CBD could be solid alternatives as migraine pain treatments versus synthetic drugs. Particularly when painkillers had been overused, and tolerance was exhibited.

What Causes These Conditions?

Before we delve into how to use CBD oil for migraine and headache relief, let’s briefly cover the causes of these irritating problems.

Both headaches and migraines are characterised by uncomfortable and often painful sensations in the head. They differ, though, in their severity of symptoms, length of occurrence, causes and risk factors.

• Headaches tend to be less severe. They’re usually far more manageable, transitory and less painful. Typically, they’ll occur for less than a few hours. There are several types of headaches, but the most common is a ‘stress’ headache, which usually results from excessive stress or poor sleep.
• Migraines are more painful, severe and long-lasting. It’s common for people to experience vision or hearing loss during them, as well as sensitivity to sound or light. Most migraines happen due to hormone changes, inherited factors or genes. Women are three times more likely to get them than men.

Physical sensations of headaches and migraines are often experienced as a throbbing ache, dull pain or even a sharp, stabbing sensation. They can occur in one or multiple parts of the head. In bad cases, each can even cause nausea and vomiting.

The discomfort, irritation and mentally distressing impacts of these conditions are why more people are looking to remedies like CBD oil to help with headache pain.

How to Use CBD Oil for Headaches

There are a few factors to consider if you’re looking to use CBD oil for headaches or migraine relief.

Dosage

Every individual will react differently to CBD oil and see different degrees of effectiveness for relief of their migraine symptoms.

Experimentation with dosage amounts, timing of your doses and frequency of use is vital to finding the best approach for you. Pinpointing the optimal CBD dosing method can take some time.

A good principle is to seek the lowest possible dose that still works for your symptoms. Doing so will mean you can minimise CBD tolerance and lower side effect risks.

A few drops a day of CBD oil for headaches is a great starting point for most. Titrate up after a few weeks until you reach an amount that relieves your head pain symptoms. 

Choosing an Approach

The severity of your migraine or headache symptoms is a critical factor when choosing a dosage approach.

• For those with mild headaches, lower doses or strengths of CBD oil are typically enough to mitigate symptoms. Low daily doses are considered to be under 150mg per day. Depending on the individual, even less than 50mg could be efficacious.
• Severe headaches or migraines generally need higher quantities or strength of CBD products to get relief. Even then, the results can vary, and many don’t see a lot of value for their migraine issues. Higher dosages also raise side effect risks, which is a downside. Still, they’re often necessary when migraines are aggressive or persistent.

Whatever your symptoms, it’s a good idea to speak with your doctor before trying CBD oil for your headaches. They’ll be able to help you diagnose the causes of your problem and look for a suitable medical solution. In many cases, this isn’t actually a CBD product. It could be something like dietary, lifestyle or stress management changes. Check-in with them first to gauge whether using CBD oil for your migraines is a good option.

Dose Timing

Timing of CBD doses can often have an outsized impact on success in mitigating headaches and migraines.

The reason for this is that headaches and migraines aren’t constant. They tend to ‘come on’ and have a specific period they occur.

As such, timing your CBD oil intake before or during a headache incidence can be more potent than simply taking it during the day. In many cases, it takes the edge off head pain and lowers the length of a headache if used in this manner.

To best leverage a ‘timed’ approach to CBD oil for migraines or headaches, you should ideally dose around 2-3 hours before the migraine occurs. This is when the product will achieve peak strength and efficacy. Using it as your headache begins means you can optimise your CBD absorption to counteract symptoms. Think of this similarly to taking ibuprofen when you start to feel a headache.

For others, simply taking CBD oil every day helps to lower the incidence of migraines and prevents them from occurring. Daily usage enables effective activation of the endocannabinoid system. In turn, you’ll get more endocannabinoids that help to reduce headache pain and frequency. Using CBD in this way as a preventative measure is often better than trying to time doses ‘as needed’. The reason for this is that it’s often too late to take CBD oil if you’re already beginning to feel migraine symptoms. Furthermore, CBD takes time to be absorbed. It could be too late to see tangible benefits for migraine pain if you take it after a migraine has already begun.

CBD Product Selection

Many CBD product types, including CBD gummies, vapes or capsules, can each be effective in helping with headaches or migraines.

Product choice here comes down to your personal preference. The choice of product (providing it really contains CBD) will have little difference in its ability to help with your migraines. Each will provide you with the active CBD ingredient.

Choose what you enjoy the taste of and can stay consistent with. For instance, if you don’t like the earthy taste of CBD oil, you might choose CBD gummies to help with your headaches. These tasty treats mask the hemp flavour and provide a sweet delight to reward your efforts. CBD capsules can be used to bypass the taste buds and benefit from CBD without any taste at all. Many people opt for these. Try a few different products and see what suits you.

A key consideration in products when it comes to taking CBD products for migraines is their rate of absorption. This is particularly true if you’re in a ‘just in time’ approach, as you will want to absorb them as quickly as possible. CBD vapes or sublinguals are the ‘fastest’ methods of absorption.

Vaping isn’t advisable, though, because of its potential to harm your lungs. CBD Sublinguals will be the best option here. You can take CBD oil sublingually by putting drops under your tongue to absorb them through the mouth lining. Other options like CBD gummies or capsules orally are slower to absorb due to digestion. They might not be as suitable if you need rapid headache relief. Keep absorption speed in mind when you shop.

Full-Spectrum Formulations

For mitigating headache symptoms, most people see the best results using full-spectrum CBD oil.

There are a few reasons why.

These products contain terpenes, potent scent molecules naturally created by cannabis. Many of these compounds have effects similar to CBD. They’re anti-inflammatory for the brain and help lower pain from migraines. Cannabis produces over 150 terpenes. Many, like beta-caryophyllene, are now being studied for their antinociceptive or pain-relieving effects.

In addition, terpenes amplify the potency of cannabinoids like CBD. This means they will be more effective in blocking headache pains. Terpenes like myrcene help shuttle cannabinoids to receptor sites, aiding with receptor permeability. In turn, the effects and benefits of cannabinoids become amplified. This process is known as the ‘entourage effect’.

Studies have displayed these powerful synergistic dynamics between terpenes and cannabinoids, which you can only obtain through full-spectrum CBD products. You can typically use less CBD oil on average for your headaches and still achieve great results from the entourage effect. Your product will be more potent even at lower dosages.

Finally, make sure you purchase high-quality CBD products. Robust products that are high purity don’t require as much dosage to mitigate migraine symptoms. They’re also safer with fewer side effect risks (due to their purity). Low-quality products are more likely to contain contaminants like solvents, which can compromise your health. Many of these contaminants even increase the risks of headaches occurring. Additionally, substandard CBD oil often has little actual CBD in it. Effectiveness in relieving migraine pain can correspondingly be inferior.

Avoid these products with care. Thoroughly research the shop you’re purchasing from before buying anything from them. Not doing so could mean you worsen your migraine or headache condition because of contaminated CBD oil.

Is CBD Oil an Alternative for Migraine Medications?

A range of pharmaceutical medicines are already widely used for both migraines and headaches.

This includes both over-the-counter (non-prescription) and prescription drugs.

Most of these are designed to block inflammation or pain. In doing so, they can help to treat migraines.

Some examples of anti-migraine medications include:

• NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) help to lower inflammation and counteract head pain symptoms for migraines and headaches. They block enzymes that cause neuroinflammation to counteract migraine pain. Examples of these medications include ibuprofen and aspirin. 
• Prescription Migraine Medications, such as triptans, help block migraine symptoms while combatting more severe forms of pain. These tend to be more potent and have higher side effect risks than NSAIDs. They’re only prescribed for severe headaches or migraines due to this.
• Opioid Painkillers, such as oxycontin or codeine, are sometimes used to help with chronic or acute pain symptoms from migraines. Doctors tend to avoid using them, however, because of their high potential for addiction. Additionally, they’re very side effect-prone if misused or taken for too long.
• Anti-Nausea Medicines: Medications like metoclopramide and prochlorperazine can help relieve nausea caused by migraines. This is very valuable for individuals who are susceptible to vomiting or head spins from their migraines.

Although anti-migraine medications are effective, they’re also quite risky to use in large doses or for long periods because of their toxicity potential.

NSAIDs, for instance, can’t be taken for more than a few days. Consuming them for weeks exposes you to liver damage or stomach ulcer risks.

Other types of pharmaceutical migraine treatments can have even worse side effects.

Triptans, for example, are powerful but have more severe health risks. They can elevate blood pressure, exposing the user to heart attacks and strokes. Similarly, opiates can cause nausea, vomiting and gastrointestinal problems like severe constipation if overused.

CBD vs Migraine Meds

In contrast to these compounds, CBD oil is much better tolerated. It is substantially safer for long-term use. Plus, CBD products are completely non-addictive. This is entirely distinct from painkillers like opioids which have a dangerous potential to cause addiction.

A drawback is that it’s more mild in potency. This can still be perfectly fine for milder headaches or migraines. But it can’t help as much with severe or painful ones.

CBD works similarly to NSAIDs as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the COx enzyme. Unlike NSAIDs, it’s a selective inhibitor of these enzymes, which means it’s not as potent. However, it’s still an excellent natural alternative for ibuprofen or other anti-steroidal drugs for many.

Prescription migraine medications won’t be replaceable with CBD oil. You’ll need to get a doctor’s assistance if you have cluster migraines or those that need higher potency anti-migraine drugs to treat.

Risks and Side Effects

CBD oil has a high degree of safety due to being non-psychoactive and entirely sourced from plants. Throughout clinical trials, it has demonstrated robust tolerance in users. It’s infrequent that people using CBD oil for migraines see any real adverse effects from doing so. However, some minor side effects can occur. Higher dosages increase these risks.

Side effects can include dry mouth, drowsiness, diarrhoea or an upset stomach.

Let’s look at risk factors for side effects so you can avoid them when using CBD oil for headaches.

Mixing with Migraine Medications

Taking CBD oil with migraine or headache medications is risky.

It’s often unknown how these compounds will cross-react due to CBD’s load on the liver.

Many pharmaceutical medicines used for headaches and migraines are similarly liver-processed.

For example, triptans and NSAIDs can each affect the liver’s Cytochrome P450 enzymes. These enzymes are used for detoxification and metabolic processing of chemicals.

If their levels are dysregulated from an existing migraine medication, adding CBD products can be a recipe for disaster. Adverse reactions can include liver toxicity or damage, poisoning, or other long-term side effects.

Ensure you confirm with your doctor that it’s safe to start using CBD oil if you are currently on migraine or headache medications. They’ll help you prevent any adverse health outcomes and keep you safe.

Inappropriate Dosages

A key side effect risk factor when using CBD oil for headaches is consuming the wrong amounts.

Using too much, in particular, can acutely increase the risks of side effects. It can worsen headaches or migraines, too, instead of reducing their symptoms.

If you have a low tolerance to CBD oil or are sensitive to it, high doses are especially inappropriate. For instance, beginners are more at risk here due to not having any CBD tolerance built up. Although the side effect risk of CBD oil is very low, it is substantially exacerbated at high dosage levels.

If you are a first-time CBD oil user, you must start with small doses of around 50 mg daily (several drops). With time, you can gradually adjust the dosage as your body adapts. Doing so enables you to gauge any intolerances and pick up on side effects early before they become an issue. Continuously monitor for signs your body may be reacting adversely and cease using the product if this occurs.

Lack of Laboratory Testing

Obtaining a certificate of analysis from an independent laboratory for your CBD product is vital to prevent side effects. These analyses are done objectively by third-party laboratories unrelated to the seller.

They help you ensure your CBD oil is authentic, safe, free from contaminants and 0% THC. Additionally, they’ll give you a high-accuracy insight into the product’s strength and CBD content, which can be very useful. The certificate will have an itemised list of cannabinoids and their concentrations.

Ensure you get one before you purchase. It should be readily available on the seller’s website.

Substandard CBD Products

A significant risk in using poor-quality CBD oil is that it can contain substances or contaminants that increase the risk of side effects. Some will even use synthetic or fake ingredients and fillers to cut costs. These can exacerbate allergies and cause headaches or other health risks if consumed.

Because of this, these subpar CBD products frequently make migraines or headaches much worse. They might not even contain any cannabinoids if they’re fake.

Additionally, they’ve often used shortcuts in their production methods to lower costs. As such, they won’t have taken the right degree of precaution and quality control to prevent contaminants from affecting a product. For instance, solvents or heavy metals are frequently found in CBD oil produced using subpar extraction methods.

These products may also be sourced from contaminated cannabis plants grown in soil containing toxins. Plants such as cannabis are highly absorbent. They’ll quickly draw in toxins like heavy metals, which will then be found in CBD oil extracted from them.

Avoiding contaminated CBD products is vital for safety. Seeking organically sourced products can help with this. These will be produced from hemp, which hasn’t been treated with pesticides or herbicides, reducing contamination risk.

But more important is doing enough research on a provider, their safety and customer views. Getting a certificate of analysis can aid you in understanding a product’s actual quality and risks, too.

Conclusion

There’s little question today as to whether CBD oil helps with headache or migraine relief.

The clinical research backs the benefits and uses of cannabinoids like CBD in mitigating head pain symptoms.

Cannabinoids deliver this relief through multiple pathways in the body’s endocannabinoid system.

In particular, they excel at blocking headache pain, mitigating neuroinflammation in the brain, and offering preventative neuroprotective effects.

CBD oil helps with headaches or migraines both actively and preventatively. Studies have shown it lowers both the incidence and severity of these conditions.

Importantly, this natural product has far greater safety than traditional migraine medications. Compared to compounds like NSAIDs or Tryptans, it is milder and has less risk in long-term usage.

Using CBD products for headaches is easy and can be done in many ways. Most people take CBD oil each day to help prevent them. But you might also consider CBD gummies, capsules, sprays or other product types. Look for full-spectrum formulated offerings that have complementary, beneficial terpenes in them.

It’s critical to be cautious when you shop for CBD oil to help with migraines. Fake, contaminated or poorly made products will do more harm than good. Steer clear of these to prevent higher side effect risks or worsening of head pain symptoms.

Before you try out CBD products for headaches, it’s also essential to discuss doing so with your medical practitioner first. They can help assess whether it’s right for you, plus help you avoid potential adverse interactions with existing migraine medications.

FAQs

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