Help needed

I  have a problem.  A BIG problem.  

As all of you readers know, I have been battling epilepsy for several years now.  And there have definitely been ups and downs.  In late 2017/early 2018, I was having seizures every couple of weeks.  Then I added a seizure count to my blog - and you could actually see the number.

Well over the last year, my human has learned a lot about Cannabis.  As you may recall, back in the fall of 2017, I started out on a product that contained hemp terpenes.  But unbeknownst to my human, it didn’t actually contain CBD - which contains medicinal properties.   So.  After learning a bit more (and she is no pharmacologist - but has found some really good resources - human and print) she switched me over to a product that is not completely unlike the medical CBD oil that some humans take.  With an important critical fact -it contains no THC.  Now there are people who say that pets CAN have small ratios of THC - but we have not done that - and have had good success with the product we are on. So we don’t really want to change things. I realize I MAY have to change things- but I would like to keep using our current cocktail.

The product I am using is imported to Canada from Colorado and is third party tested - so you know that what they say on the bottle is what you are getting.  

https://petreleaf.com/product/cbd-hemp-oil-1700-500mg-active-cbd

It is a hemp product - and a full spectrum product ( meaning they use all parts of the plant) but it does NOT contain THC.  So this product contains actual CBD - unlike the first product I was on. And as you may recall, last year I had some very long seizure free stretches - 112 days, 72 days.  Yes, I did have some seizures recently - but it is possibly due to two reasons - 1.  We had decided with my vet to reduce one of my regular meds (which was causing side effects) and 2. my human had ALSO reduced my CBD.  Why reduce my CBD? Because in October, Cannabis became legal in Canada. Yup the law changed.   So what’s the problem? Well the CBD hemp derived product that WAS legal before (we were not buying this stuff in the back of somebody’s car in a a dark parking lot - it was fully available on the web) is now no longer legal.  It cannot be imported.  The distributor is no longer able to sell her product.

You have no idea how many hours my human has spent in trying to get this sorted out.  Calls to Health Canada.  Calls and emails to the Veterinary branch of Health Canada. As I understand it, it boils down to government control.  And when they wrote the new legalization law - they thought about pot, but didn’t think much about CBD oil from hemp.   And hemp derived full spectrum products. And how they would be controlled.  They are apparently looking at this - but it literally could take a year or more to get figured out.  Really.  So what are we supposed to do until then?  

Part of the challenge is the lack of controlled scientific evidence with pets- from a veterinary standpoint.  And my human is all about science.  Let’s  face it, our experience is anecdotal. My human is NOT interested in taking me off the prescribed medications I am on, because she understands the need for those drugs.  But we also know that epilepsy can be a very hard thing to control.  Refractory seizures - where you essentially get “used to” the drugs you are on - so the meds are no longer effective - is a real possibility.  When my human talked to my vet about adding the CBD last year, she basically said we have nothing to lose.  We are running out of drug options.   So while I cannot prove that the CBD is essential - I can certainly provide evidence that in combination with my prescription drugs - we have had our longest seizure free periods.  Why did my human start to reduce the CBD?  Because we can’t get it now!!!  Right now I am down to my last bottle which will probably last a few more weeks.

We did make contact with one very nice woman in the government veterinary medicine department who was very empathetic to my problem.  She has a Sheltie.  She’s a dog lover.  She gets it.  So she has offered to help - as much as she can.

Of course the Canadian distributor of the product at Dogs of Pride is also working VERY hard at trying to fix this.  She has reportedly hundreds of dogs/ customers across the country using this product for a variety of conditions.  She is planning a media campaign - and has been tirelessly contacting government agencies since September.  To no avail yet.  Yes, she has received responses - but no answers or solutions. 

 If anyone knows or has contacts with people in the government who could help - or people in the media- PLEASE send me a message.  My human is looking at this little bottle and watching it go down every day...

This story will be continued...

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 30