Can my mother take hemp oil tablets with Melatonin to help her sleep whilst taking Ibrutinib?

[MICHAELC74]

My Mum struggles sleeping, she is also on I Ibrutinib. I recently bought her some hemp oil tablets with melatonin to see they helped her sleep. Is this ok with the chemo?

Many thanks

Michael C

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

It's hard to say. I'm not sure what is in the hemp oil that purportedly helps with sleep, because the 'active' ingredients in CBD oil and hemp oil are different and there are good reasons to avoid CBD oil with Ibrutinib. That's because cannabinoids in CBD oil can both inhibit the enzyme in the liver that processes Ibrutinib, potentially worsening side effects, plus cannabinoids can directly counter the effect of Ibrutinib, causing CLL cells to relocate from the blood stream, back into the nodes. See:healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

healthline.com/health/hemp-...

and

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

It may be that there is no adverse interaction, particularly if your mother takes her Ibrutinib in the morning, but why not just take Melatonin?

Neil

[MICHAELC74 in reply to AussieNeil]

Thanks for your reply Neil. It’s interesting to know that there is an interaction with CBD and ibrutinib. Makes me wonder if that could be the case with hemp oil tablets even though they are different to CBD

[Provence in reply to AussieNeil]

Hello Neil, would you mind clarifying your last sentence because I don't understand it, in particular 'but not just Melatonin'. I myself take 5 mg of Melatonin every night because of a life time of sleeping problems. I take this 2 hours after I have taken the Ibrutinib tablet. So obviously I am interested in what you are saying here.

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator in reply to Provence]

I think I meant "but why not just take Melatonin?"

[Provence in reply to AussieNeil]

Thanks for clarifying.

[wmay13241]

To calm down the horrible leg cramps caused by Ibrutinib, my wife takes doctor-prescribed oxycodone 5 mg tables - sometimes she takes 2 tablets for the cramps.

[SofiaDeo in reply to wmay13241]

Has she ever tried a far infrared heating pad? Mine has a temperature control that I can turn down so low there isn't really any heat, just far infrared (for summer). It helps me much more than drugs. And it's not just me-- I gave mine to try to a neighbor with CLL who hates taking pharmaceuticals & he loves it. Feet sore after a walk? Strained a muscle doing something? Having muscle spasms or cramps? It can help for lots of these issues.

Here's a very small study that indicates infrared heating pads may have helped people with chronic lower back pain. I say "indicates" because the study is too small to be statistically significant.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

And since the placebo effect comes into play, maybe it's just all in my head. But if it works for me, it works!

nccih.nih.gov/health/placeb...

health.harvard.edu/mental-h...

[wmay13241 in reply to SofiaDeo]

Thanks. I will ask her about it.

[AnneHill in reply to wmay13241]

My leg cramps were caused by low sodium. We dont use much salt these days but my levels were low. I put a bit on some foods but dont avoid it. Its stopped the cramp. I actually bought salted peanuts. Anne uk

[Doremefasol in reply to wmay13241]

What kind of doctor it is? You could get addicted to opiates after 2 days use!

[Eucalyptus22]

Instead of hemp I take a magnesium tablet at bedtime. It helps with both sleep and leg cramps. Apparently as we get older this is a supplement we should be taking as we don't process it well in the body as we age.