Lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia) for alcohol withdrawals

[Alchemica]

Lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia) for alcohol withdrawals

Recently I got back into the 95% ethanol after a bit of stress and got back past the 30+ standard drinks a day stage for nearly two weeks. Serious risk of withdrawal symptoms. I had to do a rapid detox. I resorted to doing it myself, with lavender oil based on a hypothetical... and it worked really well. Smoother than a diazepam-assisted withdrawal. I'm not suggesting you should attempt an alcohol withdrawal yourself via this route, this is deadly serious medical stuff, but I want to put my method out there for further research. Ideally, I think linalool + diazepam may be the best detox aid around, for safety and efficacy but that needs to be verified
 

Firstly, how does ethanol work?
 

 NMDA currents 11.4–45.7% inhibition at 10 mM
α4β2δ GABA receptors 45% potentiation at 1 mM
BK channels (50% potentiation at 10 mM) and L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (33.6% inhibition at 5 mM) are particularly sensitive to alcohol
 

How does lavender oil work

The anticonvulsant mode of action of linalool includes a direct interaction with the NMDA receptor complex (this is one of the main concerns in alcohol withdrawals, glutamate excitotoxicity). Data does not, however, support a direct interaction of linalool with GABAA receptors. This coupled with potent VDCC blockade really does the works for mild-moderate alcohol withdrawals

Targeting AUDs/WDs with GABAergic only approaches is simply poorly effective.

First few days: Been on 4mL a day lavender oil + high dose L-theanine (also helps restore antioxidant glutathione) and chelated magnesium and that really makes a smooth transition off alcohol possible without resorting to benzodiazepines. I wouldn't suggest you use it if you are seriously risking DTs, or at a high risk of seizures (even though it is anti-seizure) - definitely go diazepam then. Then I dropped back to 2mL for a few days, now I'm down to 1mL/day.

As I'm tapering off the lavender oil, I added a 6 drops of limonene rich lemon oil and 0.5mL β-Caryophyllene rich copaiba oil. Makes a smooth blend and takes any desire to even want to drink away. Essentially makes the mix much like bergamot EO with therapeutic CB2 agonism.

Previous results indicated that systemic doses of BEO increase alpha EEG frequency, correlate to relaxation, and beta brainwave activity, associated with being alert and awake - behavioural and EEG data seem to support the hypothesis that other neurotransmitter systems, in addition to the GABAergic, could be likely involved in the anxiolytic/relaxant effect of bergamot oil.

Komiya and colleagues (2006) observed that lemon oil vapor inhalation causes an anti-stress effect by modulating serotonergic and dopaminergic in addition to GABAergic systems in mice. Limonene enhances neurotransmitter release and could inhibit HPA activity under physical stress, It may act via regulating dopamine levels and 5-HT receptor function, along with GABAA activity.

More recently, Chioca and colleagues (2013) and Takahashi and colleagues (2014) also showed that serotonergic neurotransmission is involved in the pharmacological mechanism by which lavender essential oil exerts its anxiolytic-like effect. Interestingly, linalool, one of the major components of lavender oil (but also of BEO), has been the compound most linked to the anxiolytic effect of lavender. Furthermore, Takahashi and colleagues suggested that linalyl acetate works synergistically with linalool and that the presence of both is essential for the whole oil to work . Results by Siok and colleagues (2012) also support the role of mGlu2/3 receptors

β-Caryophyllene suppresses neuroinflammation, reduces voluntary alcohol intake and attenuated ethanol-induced place preference and sensitivity, is antidepressive, anxiolytic and mimics NGF through TrkA agonism.

Now to keep off the alcohol.

 

 

[Cimi]

So you just vaporised it?

[Alchemica]

This is ingested EO. Highly experimental...