CBD oil, melatonin may help with insomnia issues
Q: I have had a lot of trouble sleeping, especially since I started menopause. I know someone whose temperament (anxious-tending) and age (50s) are similar to mine. He’s male and I’m female.
Anyway, his go-to sleep remedy is a timerelease melatonin capsule coupled with a dropper of CBD oil. I have never done one remotely illicit drug in my life, and my family thinks it is hilarious that I am considering CBD oil. All the same, my friend claims to be sleeping easily nine hours a night. That sounds like an absolute dream to me, given that at least half the time I wake up in the middle of the night and have terrible trouble getting back to sleep. Could CBD oil help with insomnia? What about melatonin?
A: Fortunately, CBD (cannabidiol) is not illicit. Even though it can be derived from cannabis (marijuana) plants, it does not make people high.
There have been few if any randomized controlled trials of this compound for insomnia. However, in a large case series (72 individuals), CBD was associated with reduced anxiety and improved sleep (Permanente Journal, online, Jan. 7, 2019).
Melatonin can be helpful for restoring sleep disrupted during the night (British Journal of Pharmacology, August 2018).
Q: Does wearing a mask protect you from airborne viruses or protect others from you if you have a virus? Or both?
A: There is still surprising controversy surrounding this incredibly important question. Most public health experts agree that droplets or aerosolized particles are the primary source of transmission of the coronavirus. Speaking, laughing, cheering, coughing or singing can spread the virus to others.
An article in the Annals of Internal Medicine (May 22, 2020) acknowledges that there remain unanswered questions about transmission. Nevertheless, these international experts suggest that many face masks can reduce the amount of virus a carrier puts into the air. Cloth coverings may also reduce the risk that people will breathe in lots of virusladen aerosol particles. We think that the sooner all health workers and the public at large have access to high-quality N95 face masks, the better.
Q: I take bupropion 300 mg XL for depression. I’ve not had any problems with it previously, but the latest bottle smells like rotten eggs.
I called the pharmacy and they told me that some drugs smell and not to worry about it. They said that the drug is safe to take. True?
A: We learned from a scientist who worked at Burroughs Wellcome when the firm was developing the antidepressant Wellbutrin (bupropion) that the terrible smell you describe indicates that the drug is deteriorating. Some people who took Budeprion XL 300, the first generic version of Wellbutrin XL 300, also experienced the unpleasant odor.
We asked readers of this column to send us their Budeprion bottles so we could forward them to the Food and Drug Administration for analysis. The smell was distinctive. We badgered the FDA for five years, and the agency eventually concluded that there were problems with that generic formulation.
Your pharmacy should find another supplier. If need be, you could order brand-name Wellbutrin XL 300 from Canada at substantial savings.