Conquering Sjögren Syndrome with Cannabis

Subscribe To The Show

The way that you interact with our listeners, our customers, and everything just makes me feel like you live the same mission and vision as I do. Making people feel good when it comes to using cannabis and letting them know that they are heard and accepted and that we’re just here to support them. So I just want to thank you first for being you and for being here with me. I’m going to stop talking. I’m going to let you talk a little bit about cannabis in your life because you have a great story to share.

Renée (03:31): Well, thank you. You’re so nice. I love the work that I do, for one. I truly do enjoy working with you. We’re very similar. That one time we met was amazing. It was really proved that we are meant to work together.

But anyways, I was just telling my husband the other night; I started smoking pot when I was 14; I think it was the week of my 14th birthday. And I had my little circle of friends. Really it was one friend. We were frowned upon for so many years by our peers. We had friends, it was fine, no big deal, but they wanted no part of what we had to do.

Here we are 25 years later, and it’s a huge part of my life and who I am. Maybe I shouldn’t have started so young, and I’m thankful that my kids haven’t. But it’s been an interesting journey for many years of recreational to using it to heal myself and feel my best self.

Emily (04:40): Let’s talk about that because you use cannabis very medicinally and have made some really amazing improvements in your health. If you’re up for talking about it, can you walk people through your accomplishments with cannabis?

Renée (04:53): Absolutely. It all started I was 31. I had just delivered my third child, my second son. It was 2015. I actually tried to breastfeed for the first time. I was healthy. Up until that point, no issues. I was fine, with some minor complaints, but I was in my early 30s, so no big deal. I was good.

I actually tried to breastfeed, and I had so much milk come in that I was clogged. I couldn’t get it all out. Infection started. I was in the hospital for 11 days. So 11 days in the hospital, four procedures later, and I also developed MRSA. It was a struggle. I had home healthcare. My husband was the most amazing human being I’ve ever experienced. It was a battle.

Emily (05:49): And you had a newborn baby.

Renée (05:53): And a newborn baby, yes. Actually, he was born on December 1st. I started feeling off about two weeks in, but it was Christmastime. I toughed it out. New Year’s Day rolled around, and I couldn’t do it. We went to the emergency room, and they admitted me. Yeah, it was horrible.

Renée (06:19): A lot of therapy, a lot of cannabis, but I’m overcoming it. I’ve come a long way. So after that, I still didn’t feel right. Turns out I had thyroid issues. Go to the endocrinologist; I have an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Great. I read about it. I’m hoping that it’s medically induced because that’s possible with all the antibiotics.

A couple of years went by, and nothing was working. My meds weren’t working. I ended up going to a rheumatologist because my joints hurt. They thought I had carpal tunnel. Went through all that testing, and then it turns out that I have lupus. That was in 2017. I got pregnant with my daughter, and my thyroid issues disappeared. I’ve had no thyroid problem since. And then now I have lupus.

So I go two years thinking I have lupus, I’m up to 14 prescription medicines, and I feel like a zombie. I did not feel good. It was not right. And all I wanted to do was smoke to feel better, smoke to feel better, smoke and smoke and smoke. And I’m like, “This is the only thing that helps. What is happening here?”

So I find a new doctor, and she is the way you feel about me, I feel about her. She is heaven-sent. She recommended my medical card right off the bat. She was like, “You are on way too many meds. This is not okay.” So she recommended the medical card. We worked my way down, blood work and more blood work.

Turns out I don’t have lupus; I have Sjogren’s syndrome, fibromyalgia, Raynaud’s syndrome or disorder, or Raynaud’s something. But ultimately, it’s Sjogren’s syndrome that bothers me. That’s the joints. It can show up as lupus. But ever since I’ve had my medical card, the right diagnosis, and microdosing daily, I feel the best I’ve ever felt.

Renée (08:57): Yeah. I was definitely shocked because… it was my third visit, I think, with her. So it was still kind of get to know, figure everything out, let’s look at your blood work. But she knew with the pain I was in and everything that I’ve tried, and she was like, “If that’s not helping, we need to try a completely different route.”

Emily (09:19): Did she help you wean off all of the prescription medications?

Renée (09:23): Between her and I had, my psychiatrist helped too.

Emily (09:28): It’s so nice that they were so helpful because I think a lot of people think that they have to do it alone and don’t talk to their doctors about it. But it probably felt a lot more comfortable having someone there with you hold your hand.

Renée (09:40): It’s finding the right doctor. It’s really finding the right doctor. My psychiatrist, actually, because it was during COVID, yeah, it was 2020, the end of that, I found her on Doctor on Demand. So I see her virtually. The treatment just for us all three to work together; it’s been life-changing.

Renée (10:13): She was like, “That’s great. That is the right direction. We will work with that, and we will get you so good.” Now I’m down to four, and I don’t think I could ever get off those four.

Emily (10:24): Down to four. And I always want to tell people there’s nothing wrong with continuing any prescription medication that makes you feel well. As long as you find what works for you, and I think we both feel the same way, do what works for you. The goal is not to be prescription medication free. The goal is to be free of anything that doesn’t make you feel better. I always want to preface that it’s totally fine to use whatever works, whatever works.

Renée (10:49): Yes, yes. Because there’s just my immune system is off, and it needs that extra support, so unfortunately. Not everything is bad for you. The side effects are minimum. I feel good, and I’m not compromising that. I’m happy where I’m at.

Renée (11:18): My youngest is four. So I’ve been on this motherhood journey for a long time. I’ve been through a lot of changes mentally, physically, emotionally, and it’s all coming together and with the right cannabis and the right treatment. I feel great.

Emily (11:39): I’m so happy for you, and I’m so happy that you shared your experience because I find that so many people like us who have found such relief and joy from cannabis have to go out and share it with the world. That’s what you’re doing now, and work with me and other work as well. So I’d love to talk a little bit more about how you found me and kind of know what your role is within the business.

For anybody who’s listening and might be new to Emily Kyle Nutrition, obviously, we have the website, and we provide articles and resources. Still, I think what makes us special is the real human on the other end of our emails and messages. So please talk a little bit about how you got here and the work that you’re doing today.

Renée (12:24):

I have been a stay-at-home mom on and off for 15 years. I actually have been consistently home since 2017. I’ve done a lot of Facebook groups, mom groups, just silly work at home, dabbling, and just a lot of social media. I was surrounded by babies, and I just indulged online. And then, one day, I just came across your group. It happened to be like a week before you posted that you were looking for a moderator.

Renée (13:06): Yeah. I was not in the group very long, and I was like, “I need this.” I was like, “Is this really happening?” So I submitted the application, and I was stoked. I get goosebumps even now thinking about it, but it’s like all that silliness that I participated in over those years of being a mom with babies; it’s really got me involved.

Emily (13:31): Yes, I remember. I mean, I put out a call. I had a lot of people apply. I don’t remember who exactly, but I remember that your application; I was like, “Okay, this is it. This is the one. I’m going to go with my gut. This is it.” And from day one, you have been so kind and so educated, and compassionate in every interaction that you have with anyone of my readers, commenters, subscribers, and emailers.

I just can’t thank you enough for… I never set out to build a business, and I definitely never set out to be anybody’s boss. I hate even saying the word. I don’t feel like I’m your boss. I feel like we walk hand in hand, and I just thank you for seeing my vision of just really providing support to people who are on their cannabis journey and doing it kindly and in a really natural and organic way.

I think because of both our experiences and our backgrounds, we’re able to come at it with a lot of empathy and compassion. And I just feel like I don’t know where it’d be today without you. So I just can’t thank you enough.

Renée (14:41): I’m kind of blown away at the whole process. Becoming a moderator, paid moderator for a Facebook group, I really didn’t expect it to turn into what it has. I wasn’t expecting the people in the group to be as valuable as they are, their stories. I was expecting to help with recipes and tell them how to do things. I really didn’t think there was going to be much substance behind it.

And then stories are coming. I start looking up; oh, they need an answer for this. What can I find? Just the more I learn, the more I want to help people. Everybody has a different story. And cannabis can help no matter what their story is.

Emily (15:48): We really have done that together. Our relationship started with a Facebook group, which you helped me moderate. And we grew it. It’s like 30,000 members. If anybody’s looking, I’ll leave the link for it. But that, at one point, was our baby. We loved that thing.

And then Facebook started giving us the censorship-type nasty grams of, “you post this again, we’re going to take you down,” which really upset me because we moderated that group. It was the cleanest. We did everything. There was not one inappropriate, vulgar, or any type of badness there. And that’s why I got so-

Renée (16:30): No. There were not really any bad terms. There wasn’t-

Emily (16:34): I mean, it was clean, holistic, medicinal wellness. It really bothered me. That was at the point where I was like, “I think I’m going to shift this, and we are going to create a private membership community.” Like all things I do, I do it very quickly, and I kind of just pull plow forward, and it just happens somehow. And somehow, we got, I think, maybe 500 people to move over from that Facebook group into this new platform.

If anybody works online, it is very difficult to get people to move platforms, especially from something that’s so easy and accessible, like Facebook. And we’re moving this onto a private platform where people need to log in.

Renée (17:16): Starting from the bottom.

Emily (17:17): Starting literally from ground zero. I built this site. I’m not a coder by any means, but I did build it myself. I’ve built all my sites myself, but I had to figure out: how do I make a membership? How can people pay or not pay? The reason we decided to move to a paid model, I should say this too, is because the Facebook group is free, and you can still access the Facebook group for free.

The Well With Cannabis Community is not free. And I don’t think we will ever make it free. And I’m so glad that we decided to do that. Now, the price is very cheap. It ranges. Sometimes I put it on sale. The highest price it’s ever been, $25. The lowest price it’s ever been, $5. I want it to be accessible to people. I don’t want cost to be a barrier. But when we put that paywall up, we stopped every instance of spam, bullying, and bad sales. I mean, we haven’t had one single problem in that community, have we?

Emily (18:20): It’s all the best parts of Facebook without the worst parts of Facebook. And so, in this community, Renée is the moderator; she is the mother of the community. She’s there every day. She answers every question. She facilitates discussions. She’s the cheerleader, the hand holder, the all of this community. And I want to give credit where credit is due because you are there every day, and there are thousands of members there now, which is amazing.

Thank gosh, it’s so much easier to moderate because we don’t have any of the bad stuff anymore. Hindsight 20/20, I think that one of the best decisions we have made is to say, “Goodbye, Facebook. Hello.” We can say anything we want there. There’s no censorship. People can talk about medical issues without feeling like Facebook is going to come after them.

By no censorship, I don’t mean that it’s ever vulgar or inappropriate, but it is free. You can discuss what you want to discuss. And the best part is for people; you can remain anonymous. If you want to do a pseudonym or a different one, you can be as unknown as you want, which I think makes people feel comfortable because it’s not like Facebook, where you’re out in the open where people can see.

Emily (20:10): Yes, yes. Now, as the moderator of this beautiful group, will you just give an overview for anybody who is listening who might be like, “What exactly is this, and what are you talking about?” Give an overview of what it looks like for new members coming in.

Renée (20:25): Ultimately, it’s a wide-open forum. We ask everybody to introduce themselves. We have open conversations with members from all over the world.

Emily (20:39): We do have members from all over the world, actually, the UK, New Zealand, Australia. It’s crazy, actually. So anybody in any place in the world can join this.

Renée (20:50): And that’s nice. A lot of times, we talk about the laws, so learning the different boundaries and the limits that everybody has. So we all come together to help and support each other on our journeys. We ask questions; we provide helpful tips. There are links to medical sites that are helpful for disorders and conditions that people have that are actually helpful and resourceful and not spam. And genuinely get help from members that know what you’re going through, can give you empathy, and feel like they can help you. And they will genuinely help.

Emily (21:33): It truly does feel like one of the most genuine places on the internet. I don’t know if that’s because we do keep it behind a paywall, but everybody inside is like the nicest person. So kind, so sweet. And when we see members interact with each other, it warms our hearts. You’re like, “You’re being so helpful. You’re being so kind.”

It really is that special place where if you have nobody in your life that you can talk to about this or share this with, you still have what feels like a family supporting you and really holding your hand on this journey. I think that’s what makes it so special. I don’t know of any other place on the internet that really does what we do in the way that we do it.

Renée (22:12): I also want to say we have family and friends, professionals, health professionals as well that join so they can help other people. They might not necessarily need the help themselves, but they’re turning to the community so they can help their family and their friends and their community, which is nice.

Emily (22:32): It’s a beautiful thing. Hopefully, we just ripple out and continue to build and grow this beautiful community. I love it so much. And so, for anybody listening, if you feel like you want to be a part of this community, it does come free with any purchase from my website. I do sell products, but a part of my company mission is to provide more than just products to offer that support and that handholding.

So when you purchase something, you get automatic access to the community. I want that to be free for all of my customers. And that way, you get the support you need when you’re using our products. You don’t have to shop with me to get in. You can visit my website; I’ll put the link below, shop.emily kylenutrition.com.

Click on membership, and you can buy just simply the membership. It’s a one-time fee. I don’t charge monthly; I don’t charge yearly. Once you’re in, you’re in. Again, I keep it super low so that cost is not a prohibitive issue, but it keeps out the spammers; it keeps all the good stuff in and all the bad stuff out. And it really is a very special place.

Renée, this is so special because of you the work that you put in and how dedicated you are to it every single day. So I wanted to give you a shout-out there in the Well With Cannabis Community because it wouldn’t be what it is without you.

Emily (24:10): Absolutely. Oh, I’m so glad. I think that it’s one of our more special things. It’s nice to feel like you’re actually genuinely helping people and touching people’s lives in that way. As we move forward, if you continue listening to this podcast, almost all of our podcast guests are actually in the community as well.

So if you are in the community, you will get the opportunity to interact with our guests. Just like Renée, once you’re in, it’s kind of like you have your own profile, like Facebook. You can talk to people, chat with people, and so you can connect with all of our amazing guests that we’re going to have here on the show.

I want to be respectful of your time, Renée. I’m going to let you go because it’s Friday. We’re going to have a nice long weekend. I want to ask you the same four questions I ask all of my guests. Are you ready?

Renée (24:58): Let’s do it.

Emily (24:59): First up, what are you most proud of?

Renée (25:03): I’m so proud of how far I’ve come personally. It’s been a long journey to get where I am today. Meeting you has been life-changing, and I love that I have purpose and goals. I can see a future it involves helping people, and it feels good.

Emily (25:28): I love you. I’m so glad that the world, and the plant, brought us together. Now, everybody’s least favorite question is, what does life look like if you never found cannabis?

Renée (26:01): I can’t. Every day I want to be my best self for them, and there’s no turning back, and I know it’s the plant that’s helped.

Emily (26:09): If you could go back 10, 20, or 30 years ago, give yourself a piece of cannabis advice, what would it be?

Renée (26:16): Take it more seriously. I wish I would’ve known all the years. I’ve learned more since working with you in the past two years than I’ve ever known. I mean, you hear bits and pieces of how it helps and what it does. Especially when you’re young, and you’re in your 20s, you don’t really pay attention to that. But I think it could have helped me years before I realized how much it could really help me.

Emily (26:45): If anyone gets the pleasure of having you respond to an email if you guys email the support line, there’s a chance that Renée will respond to you, she is so smart, and she gives the best answers. You really have so much knowledge and education, and so I just wanted to shout out on that. You know your stuff, and I’m so proud of you for that.

Emily (27:31): You know how proud I am of you. I am your biggest cheerleader, and my goal is to send people your way. There’s no one who would be a better cannabis coach than you. You have the knowledge, the empathy, the kindness, the compassion. As soon as you are ready to take on new clients, I’m going to put the link here so people can meet you.

You’re amazing. You have done so much for me, my family, and my business. I truly don’t know what I would do without you. And just for anyone listening, I don’t have a big team. It’s literally just me, my husband, who’s a forced volunteer, and you. We are a small but mighty little team together, but you really keep things chugging along and moving. I just thank you so much because I love you, I trust you, and it’s just such a good feeling that we can do this together.

Renée (28:21): The feeling is definitely mutual. There’s nothing I can say that you didn’t just say. I feel the same way. We have a good thing going, and I really can’t wait to see the lives that we change and what the future brings for us.

Emily (28:33):

Oh, I’m so excited. I will put information for Renée so you can get a hold of her if you are listening and are ready to work on cannabis coaching. Otherwise, hopefully, you get the pleasure of meeting Renée inside the Well With Cannabis Community. If you introduce yourself, she is the first one there saying hello and welcome. She is our best cheerleader. Thank you so much again for your time. Anybody, if you need anything, Renée is just a message away. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you so much.

Renée (29:04): Thank you so much for having me, and I can’t wait to meet all the new people that we’re going to get out of this podcast.