I promised before the holidays to give some details on the supplements Lilly takes. Since I know that some of you share people health concerns too, I’m including information on what I take as well.
Lilly’s Supplements
In this past post, I chronicled the various steps I’ve taken over the years to try and help Lilly. Many of those included trying “holistic” supplements, without much success, before resorting to antidepressants. Here, for example, are some of the things we tried … including Bach Flower remedies, Chinese herb blends, and “natural” calming pills. We did all this under the supervision of a holistic veterinarian, not on our own.
There were times the Nutracalm seemed to help. I don’t even remember what the Phosphatidylcholine was supposed to do, but I have a bottle and a half of it stuffed in a cupboard. I should probably just toss all this.
Part of this routine were two supplements that I continue to give for general health and well-being. One is a multivitamin. The other is essential fatty acids (basically “fish oil”). There are many brands of such supplements, but these are the ones our holistic veterinarian recommended, so I’ve stuck with them. He told me to give one of each at each meal (so twice a day) originally. Now, I give her one of each at breakfast only. She’s great about just eating the gel pill, but the vitamin capsule, I open up and put the powder on her food since she tends to eat around it.
I buy them online now rather than from the vet because it’s a bit less expensive. I get the Mega Pet Daily from www.purelypets.com/index.html. I get 180 capsules for $38. Amazon, for example, sells 90 capsules for $32.90, so I’d rather get the big bottle (twice as many) for just a bit more. I order the RxOmega (120 count) from www.vitacost.com/ for $17.37, including shipping. But, shop around for yourself and see what you can find.
You should always check with your pet’s general practitioner veterinarian about any supplements, but these are the ones that have worked well for us. I know, for example, that you have to be careful with dosing for the EFAs because too much can cause a Vitamin A toxicity in dogs, which can impact internal organs.
My Supplements
Now, for those interested in people supplements. I take calcium, vitamins, minerals, EFAs, and grape seed (to help with inflammation) twice a day.
It took about 6 weeks, after I started taking them with diligence, before I felt a difference. But, I felt a lot calmer. There was a lot less “noise” in my head. My body didn’t “hum.” You see, when I get stressed, it can feel like every nerve I have is firing at once, which isn’t much fun. Giving my body the things it needs (that are hard to get just from food, I think) seems to have helped.
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