cannabis for cushings!!??

[lowgear]

Our 12 yr old jack russell was diagnosed with cushings disease last yr. We have been treating her with vetoral. She is still with us but shows signs of thinning skull & seems to keep yeast inf. & ear infs.
Recently I heard of a vet that was utilizing cannabis in the treatment of cushings in k9s!! I have read amazing stories of people & animals having wonderful results using "RSO" Rick Simpson Oil.
Our Pearl weighs 34 lbs.
My question is does anyone have any knowledge about dosage? Or can someone suggest a place where I might read of cannabis dosage per kl. Of body weight?
Thank You!!

[labblab]

Welcome, but no, in my twelve years on Cushing's forums, I have never heard of cannabis being used in treatment anywhere in the world! Please do not give your dog any cannabis without telling us much, much more about what is going on with your Pearl. I have also never heard of Rick Simpson Oil. We can talk all this over in further detail, but please hold off on either of these treatments for the time being.

Can you also tell us more about Pearl's treatment with Vetoryl? How was she originally diagnosed, what dose of Vetoryl is she taking, and has her cortisol level been monitored recently by blood testing? Any specific details and test results will help us a great deal.

Once again, welcome to you and your girl,
Marianne

[lowgear]

Thank You for the welcome!!
I think its wonderful that people have this great forum to come together & share experiences & ideas about our best friends!!
We are quite rural and our pearl was diagnosed with cushings disease a little over a yr. Ago. She is taking 30 mg. Vetoral 1ce a day. She is still with us but obviously not getting better. I have been doing a lot of research on the web. I've read many encouraging story's about people & pets being treated with cannabis oil aka RSO! I read about 1 veteranerian using RSO & getting very good results with it! As we already have lost 1 beloved pet to cushings we have decided to try the RSO along with the vetoral. If it doesn't cure her (as we pray it will) I am confident that she will be more comfortable while she is here! I suggest anyone interested in this treatment go to phoenixtears.CA & do some reading! While it might not be what everyone chooses we have faith in God above & the natural remedies he has given us! We Love Pearl & would never do anything we feel would harm her!! But we pray for guidance & understanding. This and the results we have read of is why we are trying this new approach!!
Thank You for your interest!!
God Bless All.
1 Love!
PS we will provide updates on pearls progress.

[SasAndYunah]

Hi mom/dad of Pearl, welcome to our forum :)

First of all, I would like to comment on your statement that Pearl seems to keep having yeast and ear ingections. Was she ever examined for allergies? Because both yeast and ear infections are strongly associated with allergies in dogs. And I know because I have a very allergic dog myself who used to have constant skin and ear infections :) It is quite possible to deal with 2 seperate conditions like Cushings and allergies and in that case both conditions should be treated. So, I'm curious if she was examined for allergies and if they are ruled out (or in) :)

As far as the Cushings goes, the treatment can be difficult especially when the diagnosis wasn't 100% sure, the dosing of the medication isn't quite the right dosis or when the monitoring of the dosing isn't done correctly. That is why the good people on this forum would like to know all there is to know about Pearl, the diagnosing and the dosing (and follow up protocol) They have helped many people whose (perfectly nice and caring) vets weren't knowledgeable enough about Cushing's and the treatmentprotocol and therefore their dogs were doing poorly.

About Rick Simpson's Oil. Being from The Netherlands, I had never ever heard about it and so I researched it :) Also, being from The Netherlands, I am quite familiar with the use of cannabis oil in people and recently also pets. Being disabled myself, and as is quite often the case, many of my friens are disabled too so I have quite a lot of friends who use, or have used, cannabis oil. (or cannabis in other forms like cake, tea or smoking it)

About cannabis (oil) in general...there is profounded research that it can help with musclepain and muscle cramps with MS, nausea, lack of appetite and general weakness in patients with cancer and aids, naussea and vommiting caused by medications and/or radiation in patients with cancer, hepatitus c, hiv and aids, chronic nerve pain caused by damage to a nerve, phantome pain or facial nerve pain, and it can help for those with therapy resistent glaucoma. These are proven area's were it might help some patients.

Some of my friends with MS are using cannabis oil succesfully for reducing their musclepain and spasms...other friends of mine with MS have stopped using cannacis oil because it didn't do anything for them. So, it's not a certainty that it will help, it may help. Also, it doesn't do anything in curing the disease, it helps/can help reducing symptoms. The cannabis oil here in The Netherlands, is prescribed and monitered by physicians or specialists, is made by official pharmacies so you can be sure the amount of THC and CBD are consistent. The THC is the part that is responsible for the "getting high" and can cause some side effects.

About the RSO oil. One has to make it themselves wich can not guarantee a constant amount of the same ingredients every time. The amount of 90% THC it is claiming, is to me, frightingly high. Certainly if I were to give it to an animal and it could cause anxiety attacks, great sense of fear, hallucinations and other psycho-farmaceutical reactions.
Another thing that bothers me greatly is the fact the RSO oil claims it can cure cancer. If it truly could cure cancer, than after all these years that RSO oil is available, it would have been scientifically researched by now and no one would be undergoing the horrible chemo and radiation treatments anymore but use the RSO oil instead. They give no research to back up their claim that it does cure cancer. The "regular"cannabis oil as we know it in The Netherlands, was researched on possible side effects with other drugs...the RSO oil is not.

So all in all, I am not at all oppsosed to use cannabis oil, I have seen good results is some people I personally know :) I do oppose to using medications/supplements/etc that have no sound proof and make claims that are not true. Especially in the situation where there are good working, well documented and scientifically proven medications that do work. But in order for them to work, they must be used correctly and the diagnosis must be correct. And that is why people here would love to learn everything there is to learn about Pearl :) But also, people here will stand by you and Pearl the entire road, which road that may be. We don't judge choises but we....well me rather, feel it's my duty as well to share everything I know about this. And then whatever your choice will be, is your choice and will be respected :)

Saskia and Quincy,
The Netherlands,

[labblab]

Saskia, thank you so much, as always, for your kind and informative posts! And before going onward, I want to backtrack a bit and apologize for the brevity of my first reply here, especially if I came across as judgemental. Also, I did not intend to imply that there are no valid medical uses for cannabis because I know that there are. But since the medical use of cannabis is still in its infancy here in the U.S., I was/am feeling quite cautious about using it here for a dog with the intention of treating Cushing's. I have never heard of it being used for that purpose.

A major underlying issue is quality of product, since the availability and legal use of medical marijuana, even for humans, remains severely restricted in most states. But secondly, I'm questioning exactly which Cushing's symptoms the cannabis would be addressing given the fact that the most common Cushing's symptoms are excessive hunger, thirst, and urination. If anything, I would think that cannabis would stimulate an already overactive appetite, for instance, since a prime use is as an appetite stimulant in cancer patients.

So before starting the treatment, I am hoping Pearl's parent will tell us more about her continuing symptoms. I would also want to know whether her cortisol level while taking the Vetoryl has been recently and accurately monitored by ACTH blood testing. If not, and if she is suffering from recurrent symptoms, it may simply be the case that her dose of Vetoryl is not at a therapeutic level.

So it is for all these reasons that I caution about starting the cannabis without talking things through more fully. And as I say, if Pearl lives here in the U.S., I would really worry about the quality and purity of the product for medicinal purposes -- a human can tell you whether or not the psychotropic component has been effectively removed, but a dog cannot. :o

Marianne