Cooper’s Journey – Getting Old

A little about Cooper.

Cooper’s journey with CBD began with a call in April of 2021. At that first meeting, Kelley, Cooper’s Mom explained that she had been using a CBD infused treat to help with pain and mobility.  Cooper was 14, approximately 30 pounds and was suffering arthritis that was affecting his mobility, he was also blind and beginning to exhibit signs of anxiety.

Kelley had been giving him one 2.5mg CBD treat daily for quite some time and it seemed to help some with the pain, but Cooper’s anxiety was beginning to worsen, especially at night with constant pacing & panting. That’s when her vet suggested she talk with us.

Sometimes changing brands is a good idea.

As Cooper had been using the same brand for some time with limited success, I suggested switching to a tincture that met specific criteria for dementia type symptoms and for better absorbability into his system. In this case I recommended the Myriam’s Hope Daily 25. Because Cooper wasn’t very cooperative about taking the tincture, she would use a treat to administer it.

Cooper’s night time anxiety was getting worse.

By September, Cooper’s anxiety at night, specifically, was getting worse. He was doing a lot of pacing, getting up 2-3 times nightly. Kelley reported that she was giving Cooper 6 drops of the CBD oil at night, but none during the day and asked for guidance to help promote more night time sleep.

My suggestion was to increase the dose and give 6 drops in the late afternoon and another 6-10 drops about an hour or so before bed. Continue to increase by 2-4 drops at a time until she found the amount that was helping Cooper to be more restful, but not overly sedated. I also reminded her it was ok to give a dose at the first middle-of-the-night waking to see if it would settle him faster so everyone could get back to sleep.

Don’t be afraid to increase the dose or layer in other cannabinoids.

A few days after increasing the dose, we received this message from Kelley, “OMG. He slept through the night.  This is the first time he slept through the night for a very very long time.  Oh, besides that, he is improving with more mobility.  I think it is the combination of food, supplements, and CBD. I cant think you enough for your help.”

In mid October, Kelley wrote to let me know that “Cooper was doing better, but was up to 20 drops”.  She had also added melatonin to the mix.  At this point, we sent a sample of CBG for her to layer in with the CBD and melatonin. The goal with the CBG was to try to reduce the volume of CBD, while increasing the overall positive effects that Cooper needed to be comfortable.

In late October 2021, Kelley reported, “He is better, but he still gets up twice in the night and sleeps all day. At least he is not pacing and panting. When he wakes up he has to go outside, so at least he is letting me know. I am giving the CBD, CBG and 6 mg of melatonin.”

Saying Goodbye.

Sadly, in late January 2022, Cooper passed. While it always breaks our hearts when a beloved pet crosses over, we take gratitude in knowing that we were able to help Cooper have a better quality of life -and- for Kelley to get the rest she needed to give him the best care. In our book, sleep is not overrated, especially when caring for a senior dog.

Cooper is a good example of a pet who needed lots of adjustment to his regime. I always say that cannabinoids are not one size fits all and while Kelley was a bit nervous about increasing the dose at first, her commitment to adjust the dosing to fit Cooper’s changing needs was exactly the right approach. In the end it resulted in lessened anxiety and more comfort for Cooper, which directly translated to better time together.

from Kelley.

“Thank you for all that you did for us.  I am so glad my vet recommended me to you.”

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Faith’s Journey – Cancer

Faith and Love.

Faith was a beautiful and faithful 12 year old German Shepard.  It was so very clear to me, the mutual love these two shared. It was Jill’s primary goal to slow the progression or reduce of size of the tumor which was on the right side of the anal gland, to provide control pain, and promote comfort and quality of life for her as much as possible.

Jill was very thorough and patient in her process and exhausted every measure she could to provide Faith with as much relief as possible, which included cannabinoids.

Jill’s Words.

“I wanted to let you know that Faith made her transition into spirit this past week.  While we did not change the cancer, I know the CBD and all of your assistance was so vital to help Faith be more comfortable in her last months.  I so appreciate the time you took to answer all of my questions, as I certainly learned a lot and felt more empowered to make informed decisions regarding CBD and her care.   Thank you!”

Jill also shared this beautiful quote:

When people have love, they are no longer at the mercy of forces greater than themselves.  For they themselves become the powerful force.
~Leo Buscaglia

I hope their story and Jill’s powerful words of love provide you with hope and courage.

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Sydney’s Journey – Skin Condition

Itchy, stinky and depressed

My Westie —Sydney– has been struggling with chronic skin issues for the last three years. It is fair to say that I have tried EVERYTHING…herbal and chemical shampoos, supplements, traditional medications, essential oils, acupuncture, chiropractic …and have found minimal relief. I was at my wits end.

Since November, he has been in a depressed state, sleeping in dark places and not moving around much. Under the direction of my holistic veterinarian and Robbin’s advice, I finally decided to try CBD oil. I did not have any experience with it and had some reservations in the beginning.

The change was dramatic

After a month on this, my 12 year old “pup” is like his old self again…chasing squirrels, running after the pool vacuum, and begging for food. His skin condition has improved dramatically, he has regained the weight that he lost, and overall he is just feeling so much better.

I attribute this to the CBD oil. I am so excited about it that I am telling everyone I know that has a dog with a condition.

I am beaming with joy and so very grateful for this product that gave my dog his quality of life back. Thank you, Robbin.”

-an email from Heather B.

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Caley’s Journey – Anxiety

Caley’s CBD product wasn’t helping.

In early 2019, I met Caley and her human, Laurie. The primary reason Caley was receiving CBD at the time was to calm her anxiety/fear especially for vet visits, training sessions or when new people visited her home. Caley would be become very withdrawn and slink away to hide. Laurie had purchased a CBD product online and after 6 months of use, saw no noticeable improvement.

Why a full spectrum CBD matters.

We looked at the COA of the product and found it had negligible concentrations of other cannabinoids such as THC, CBG, CBC and naturally occurring terpenes. I explained how when we use products that contain a full spectrum of compounds, we get better results. After discussing Caley’s specific situation and understanding Laurie’s comfort level, I helped her select a product that we always had good success with for anxiety, in this case –Myriam’s Hope.

She started with 0.1mL 2x a day and followed our three prong dosing guidance ensuring Caley received it consistently for 14 days and then began to determine the best maintenance dose.  Within a month they found that 0.1mL 2x a day turned out to be ideal for Caley. When they anticipated high anxiety situations that might cause her anxiety to increase, such as a vet visit, they increased the dose to 0.2mL to help Caley stay more calm.

Adjusting the dose over time.

Over time Caley did build a tolerance and Laurie found she had to increase daily dosing to 0.25mL and then to 0.3mL. Even with the increased dose, they noticed Caley’s anxious behavior began to creep back.

At that point, it had been almost two years since Caley started with Myriam’s Hope for anxiety and her family reconnected with us, asking for guidance and also informed us that they were hopeful it would help ease her arthritis symptoms.

Sometimes, trying a new formula is a good approach.

We recommended a two-layer approach that has worked with other dogs (and cats). We sent her  a sample of a new formula –Healer CBD to try for a few days and also added a small amount of CBG to the routine.

Her family reported that with the new regime, not only were they able to decrease the amount of CBD to 0.25mL, combined with 4 drops of CBG,  just once daily, her anxiety is much improved, as well as her mobility.

Caley’s Maintenance Dose.

“She is doing well with 0.1ml of the CBG and .25ml of the CBD once a day in the mornings. If she has been more active than usual or seems sore, I just increase the amounts for a day or two and she is back to feeling comfortable. I am pleased and relieved at how she is handling stressful situations with less anxiety and more enjoyment in being out in the world!”

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Rory’s Journey – Seizures

I wanted to share Rory’s journey with CBD for two reasons, one it has a great ending and two I hope it will help someone else going through the same thing.

Little bit about Rory: We adopted him April 2010, sight unseen, from a friend’s friend, he came to us at just 5 1/2 weeks and 8 lbs, not the best beginning in life. He’s one of the sweetest souls I have ever known and so, so sensitive.

As luck would have it Rory seems to have all the conditions Golden Retrievers are predisposed for, mainly allergies and seizures. In 2011, Rory had his first and only Grand Mal seizure but following that continued to have stage 1 and 2 seizures, it was determined Rory had epilepsy and of course was recommended he start on all the pharmaceuticals that go with it.

At this point I was doing research like crazy and the more I read the more I knew this was not the path for Rory. My Vet had told me the seizures would not cause lasting damage and so for the next 4 years I attempted to control them by keeping logs of triggers and managing diet.

During this time I would talk to people about his epilepsy, a lot of people shared with me they managed that condition with cannabis. So I started to research and with the help of a new Vet was directed to CBD. For the next 4 years I tried to navigate the maze of CBD. How to dose, when to dose, am I buying “snake-oil” or is it legit. Some of it gave him diarrhea so I would stop, some seemed to upset his stomach further, so I would stop with that one. I thought he would build a tolerance so I would only give it to him during his actual seizures. Our success rate with this was minimal but it did reduce the severity and length of the seizures, so we continued. I went to a dispensary and bought a THC ratio CBD and that seemed to work a bit better but made him really sleepy.

It was right after trying the THC ratio that a friend told me about a seminar being given by an actual certified cannabis specialist (I never even knew there were certified cannabist specialists!). So I attended Robbin Lynn’s Seminar and for the first time instead of feeling confused, I felt hopeful about actually being able to stop the seizures with CBD and not just manage the severity or length.

She answered so many of my questions, I actually felt like crying with relief when I left that day.

I signed up for a consult and met with Robbin on 4/5/19. Rory has been taking a CBD she recommended daily since then and he has had 5 seizures total in the last 3 1/2 months, which have lasted about 5 minutes; a huge improvement.

When I first started CBD and diet control Rory was having 5-8 seizures a week and sometimes 3 in a day, and they would last up to 30 minutes at a time.

The seizures since meeting with Robbin can attributed a trigger, namely lack of diet control (sometimes its hard to say “no” to that sweet face)

I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing it has been to have met Robbin, she is so knowledgeable and I found it impossible,to gather this information on my own. Her dosing recommendations were right on, she was able to explain why certain CBD’s upset his stomach and whether we even needed a THC ratio. I can’t say enough about how good she is.

So for the first time in the last 8 years Rory is virtually seizure free, in addition it calms his head ”ticks” and helps with his appetite.

Thank you, thank you Robbin for doing what you do and sharing the knowledge you have by doing so you have given my sweet boy a quality of life he has never known until now.

Forever grateful, Katie and Rory
——–

This post is from a letter written by Rory’s family and posted with their permission in the hopes that it helps others <3

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