MIGRAINE & SERVICE DOGS // How my misconceptions misguided me
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- For Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, I'd like to touch on Migraine Service Dogs! Migraine is highly prevalent, but poorly understood and horribly underresearched. Bringing awareness to migraine and funding migraine research are important, but I wanted to instead post about how misconceptions can be harmful. In this video, I explain how my misconceptions about migraine disease shaped my view of myself and my diagnosis. This overlapped with my misconceptions about service dogs to make me question the validity of my symptoms, diagnosis, and service dog rights and protections.
○ FUNDRAISER for Service Dog Academy: studyhstatione...
100% of profits for the Study H x Jen & Buddy collection will go to the good cause!
Support the work I do: patreon.com/mommingwithmigraine
Follow on IG: mommingwithmigraine
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHER MIGRAINE VIDEOS YOU MAY LIKE:
○ Chronic Migraine Story (diagnosis process): • MY CHRONIC MIGRAINE ST...
○ Symptoms & Stages of a Migraine Attack: • SYMPTOMS & STAGES of a...
○ My Migraine Medications (triptans): • MIGRAINE MEDICATIONS -...
○ Why I’m not on Anti-CGRP’s: • CGRP ANTAGONISTS // Wh...
○ Buddy’s Migraine Service Dog Tasks: • MIGRAINE SERVICE DOG /...
○ Real footage of a complex migraine: • The Reality of Migrain...
○ Migraine Jen’s Cooking Vlog: • MIGRAINE VLOG // Migra...
○ Migraine Jen’s Rules for Life: • Migraine Jen's "Rules ...
○ Brain Fog! (a few good Migraine Jen quotes): • MIGRAINE CONFUSION / B...
MIGRAINE AURA SERIES:
○ Part 1 (visual): • Migraine Aura Types (1...
○ Part 2 (sensory): • Migraine Aura Types (2...
○ Part 3 (language): • Migraine Aura Types (3...
○ Part 4 (motor): • Migraine Aura Types (4...
FAVORITE POTS PRODUCTS (the ones I really use!):
○ Blood Pressure Monitor: amzn.to/3gjXi3t
○ Weighted blanket: amzn.to/2Eq39Hr
○ Compression socks (looser): amzn.to/3j14wv5
○ Compression socks (tighter): amzn.to/3aSZDRV
OTHER POTS/FAINTING VIDEOS YOU MAY LIKE:
○ Buddy’s POTS Tasks: • POTS SERVICE DOG // 4 ...
○ At-home Tilt Table Test: • Doing an at-home TILT ...
○ POTS fainting on camera 1 of 2: • Neurocardiogenic Synco...
○ How I Prepare to Faint (fainting on camera 2 of 2 with Service Dog responding): • PREPARING TO FAINT - W...
○ Declining Health Announcement: • Declining Health - Ann...
OTHER SERVICE DOG VIDEOS YOU MAY LIKE:
○ Buddy’s Migraine Tasks: • MIGRAINE SERVICE DOG /...
○ Buddy’s POTS Tasks: • POTS SERVICE DOG // 4 ...
○ Service Dog GEAR HAUL: • My Service Dog GEAR HA...
○ Buddy Responding to a Faint on Camera (second half): • PREPARING TO FAINT - W...
○ "Mistakes" • Service Dog "Mistakes"...
○ Buddy's BIRTHDAY! • Video
○ Access Issues at the Grand Canyon: • Service Dog Access Iss...
○ Trips for Travel: • Tips for Travelling wi...
○ Service Dog Training Philosophy: • Service Dog Training P...
○ On-Duty vs Off-Duty Walks: • Walking my Service Dog...
○ Dog Training with Structured Play: • Dog Training WITHOUT T...
○ Buddy does the LEAVE IT Challenge!: • Service Dog LEAVE IT C...
○ The Unexpected Benefits of having a SD: • SERVICE DOG UNEXPECTED...
○ The TRUTH about having a Service Dog: • The TRUTH About Having...
○ If you see a Service Dog in Public: • What To Do if You See ...
○ Working my Service Dog during COVID: • Biochemist Explains: W...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting Momming with Migraine so I can continue to provide you with free content each week!
Listening to you for five minutes was emotionally draining. You need to see a mental health professional.
What good do you think this comment is gonna do? Get outta here with that attitude. It's not welcome here 😤
It broke my heart when you said that you're a "former scientist." Don't think that just because you're not actively working in the field at the moment that you're not a valid scientist.
You're still a scientist, Jen! You'll always be a scientist. Thanks for using science as a tool to understand your disease and show the process.
Invisible Illnesses are attacked all the time. My grandmother had a hard time breathing and walking even short distances before her passing. I can’t tell you how many times people really picked a fight with my cute lil nana because they assumed that in order to be handicapped, you need to see a wheelchair or a walker. It’s sad that people take it upon themselves to judge and act on what they think they see. As someone who gets horrible migraines myself, sometimes faints, gets auras…I have also felt the sting of people judging. Thinking I’m “overreacting”. Or even faking. I get so angry. And sad. They made me feel like I was crazy!
When I decided to train my puppy to become a service dog, I was only planning on teaching her tasks for my anxiety, like DPT. Then I found your channel and I realized how much more she could really do for me. Chronic migraines are a very handicapping condition to deal with, and I totally understand the guilt of feeling like you don’t really NEED a service dog. I’m not gonna die without her, I’ve functioned 20 years on my own, but I was miserable. I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to live instead of just surviving. It’s hard to overcome the judging of others and accepting yourself and your disability, and I’m super grateful for people like you who make that a little bit easier ✨
(Hope that made sense, I’m having a really bad migraine right now so my thoughts aren’t super coherent haha)
Please do not feel embarased about how you "look" when being Migraine Jen. People should only be ashamed of their choices and actions. But when being Migraine Jen, your choises and actions are not completely your own. Showing your weak self like that takes a lot of courage, and it should make you proud. You are putting out information that are not there normally. I don't offer you pity, cause you are not pitiful, but you have my sympathy because it really must feel terrible not being able to think straight all of a sudden (or not so sudden).
Deepest gratitude for this
I really appreciate going through and watching your videos. I have EDS, severe food allergies, and migraines. I know I could get a service dog, but I have this constant imposter syndrome mentality. I am still trying to convince myself I am "worthy" of a service dog, even though my allergies are super severe and migraines are becoming debilitating. Watching you videos is extremely comforting!
I have to thank you for putting Migraine Jen out there. I don't have migraines, but I can get REALLY confused during a bad POTS episode. My husband watched your Migraine Jen videos with me and, because you are so open and honest with what you feel at that time, he was able to understand and recognize when I was getting confused because of POTS.
You being so open about having a migraine coming on and what you feel has made me more aware of my own warning signs for a bad POTS episode. I didn't know there could be so many small things that happen before a major issue like a POTS episode or a migraine. Now I look for little things that are consistent before a bad episode. The one that you helped me the most with is overheating. I didn't realize getting really hot could be a warning sign until you said it. Now I realize it is the most consistent warning I get before I really start declining.
I'm starting to wonder how much MJ is really migraine because the POTS confusion gets serious & then I lay down and sometimes the "migraine" is gone...?! If I don't, it triggers the REAL migraine? Anyway... either way, so thankful my content is helping you understand yourself and each other better. It's so valuable to open up to each other.
I just was thinking about some of this last night. Had a final due by midnight and got a migraine. Tried to ride it out, tried to work through it, then submitted what I had with a note that I got a migraine. My professor emailed me asking if I had documentation for it. I reminded him about my disability accommodation letter that was sent at the beginning of the quarter and said that it doesn't have specific medical information for privacy reasons. Fortunately, I got an extension to finish the questions I'm missing. But it is interesting how people think they're entitled to detailed personal information or that it's easy to get a doctor to write up a letter, which I've had to do a few times. My doctor was uncomfortable with being too specific.
Then, I was looking over my midterm results for another class and it wasn't good. And it was all stuff I know and used to be very good at, yet I did so badly. It's taken me a year, but in the past few months I've finally started accepting that I can't do things or function like I used to. I decided that after 8 years of trying to get my degree and being SO close, I have to walk away because I can't keep going anymore. It's really hard to handle. It's scary. I worry about how I'm going to live, if I'll be able to work, if I'll be able to take care of my SDiT. It doesn't help that I don't have an actual diagnosis or diagnoses for all my health issues and symptoms, so not only is it frustrating for me, but I also can't say "I have blank" or easily explain/label all my disabilities.
I'm so glad I found this channel when I did back in December. I didn't even realise I had episodic migraines until September when I woke up with crazy vertigo and a headache and I went to the ER because I was scared and didn't know what was going on. I had so many misconceptions about what migraines were, and finding this channel made all my symptoms make more sense. Now the brain fog and difficulty thinking when I have a migraine (like literally right now) make sense and I don't just feel stupid for no reason several days a month.
Did any of you have a similar experience with migraine, or when you first considered a service dog? PS - Links are in the description!
My god yes! The service dog community is so toxic. Dogs aren't perfect and if they make a tiny mistake, you get torn apart. Buddy is such a great service dog and to anyone reading, YOUR SERVICE DOG IS VALID. YOUR DISABILITY IS VALID. And Jen, you are valid
Your videos help me build confidence, thank you
Not Migraine because my mom has had pretty bad ones my whole life but with tourettes (which I have) and service dogs and service dogs for tourettes.
Yes, love this video. My service dog is for Cluster Headaches and Chronic Migraine. I've gone through the same things, no validating myself, my illnesses and my wonderful and helpful SD :)
Today I had a painful all day migraine. Took my break through meds (which didn't help much ). I was sitting in my recliner with a freezer pack on my head. All of a sudden, my jack russel/chihuahua mutt rescue dog jumped up on me and layed down on my chest and just stared at me for about 20 minutes. He'd never done that before but let me tell you, that when he left me to finally sit on a different chair beside me, I was feeling better. Maybe his weight on me, or his body heat or just the comfort of his presence with me...whatever it was, but he knew I needed him. Dogs know things! I hope YOU are feeling better.
I totally relate to your experiences when you first had Buddy fully trained as your service dog. My service dog is for psychiatric disabilities so I would often struggle of if I actually needed her because I looked normal and just having her helped mitigate the intensity of the normal day to day effects. I would try to go without her because I was embarrassed to have her with me especially when people I knew previously were going to be around. I literally had to have a 30 minute grocery trip turn into an hour and fifteen minute grocery trip because I had a major episode that rendered me immobile. Since then I take her everywhere. I agree that the service dog community is rather unfriendly and I think that's why I struggled so much with believing I was actually disabled. Thank you so much for sharing your story. You've helped me so much in my service dog journey!
The "look" is real. I have a medical alert and response assistance dog. She can also be labelled as a psychiatric or austim assistance dog. But that's not 'good enough' for a lot of people. The confusion with esa's is very widespread. The main reason I have my assistance dog is for seizure alert and response. What I don't open up about is the fact my seizures are non-epileptic. Medical professionals have a huge stigma around non-epileptic seizures, largely in part because they used to be called 'pseudoseizures' which is SOO misleading and demoralising. People generally understand seizures (even if only clonic-tonic types) and epilepsy. So it's easier to just let them think I have epileptic seizures because it's easier for them to accept my assistance dog
Girl, it took me 22 years to go to a Neurologist and tell him I was having nocturnal seizures because I was sure that he would think I was making this shit up! Unlike most people with nocturnal mine don't seem to be clonic tonic, but then again I am asleep so God knows what I am having and not knowing what is happening! I live alone so no one but me and my dog who doesn't alert to anything at all. When I was married my ex told me I was crazy because I woke up in the middle of it and knew I was tremoring!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO AND YOUR CHANNEL!!! I can relate to you so much because I too battle with chronic illnesses and chronic migraines. Never feel embarrassed by the way you "look" to others when you're "Migraine Jen". I've been there and lost many family and friends due to all of my health issues and people not believing me and thinking I'm faking it or it can't be true that I go through what I go through with all 4 stages of migraine. I'm also not able to work because of my conditions and it's been quite an adjustment to battle with and not just physical but emotional and mentally as well. I've been following your channel for almost a year now (in a few weeks) and so glad I found it. It has helped me explain things and even learn why certain things happen (because I didn't know where all these symptoms came from). Sharing these videos has helped friends who are still around and want to try to learn about things to have a better understanding of what I go through on a daily basis. I too get the paralized stated with things and get tremors as well other times. I didn't know that this was all related and after all the gaslighting (medical and otherwise) because of it I questioned my own sanity for a while but still knew that this was all real and that more people needed to know about it without having to go through it because I wouldn't wish this on anyone. You help those of us who go through this to not feel alone and that matters! Keep sharing and helping the world to know what we go through!
I’ve considered a migraine alert dog. I brought it up to my parents, we went to my neurologist about it, the response I received was “I go off of scientific evidence. And there’s no evidence that a dog would help. You need to learn to cope as a individual young woman.” I feel as though I am just another basic case. Medicines, more water, you’re fine. But It’s so emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting with chronic migraine. I’m so young. It’s so hard to cope. I can’t go out to group events with my friends without having to fear I’m going to get a migraine. But I hear of more cases where some people pass out from migraines, or it can trigger a seizure. I feel like all of a sudden Im Not disabled. I don’t struggle as much as others. This video makes me feel a little better.
I suffer from chronic headaches/ migraines,(doing my 48hr leak test tonight!) and a plethora of other medical issues. This is how i am feeling about training my dog as a medical alert dog. Trying to get past the social anxiety of it all is a real struggle. 💓 love your videos! They are super helpful and validating 🤗
Preach. I am crying right now. Thank you so much for this.
I have had a headache for 15 years with migraines sprinkled in. (Auras, clusters, ocular, stomach etc.)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I'm so glad (and also sorry) that it resonated so much with you 💜
Don’t ever feel bad about showing everything.. Education is key! You are teaching so many people so many things!
This speaks volumes. I feel like I can't argue for my rights because I look normal. Let's decline together during this video.. I'm not too sure if I have headaches or migraine it's excruciating. I can't see and the light hurts.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. It’s only by being educated by those who are members of a particular community that people outside the community can have a good understanding of what the experience of being a member that Community is like and I for one am very glad that you choose to share your journey and put your experiences out there since you add a refreshingly genuine and uplifting voice to be as you mentioned often harsh online Service dog Community
It's so important to advocate for ourselves, because nobody else necessarily will. All we can really do is repeat as often as possible, "You deserve what you need. Don't be afraid to ask for it." People need to hear it, and believe it, and act as their own advocates without shame or hesitation.
I love you and your channel. I have fibromyalgia, hashimotos, pots, lupus, MCAS, PCOS, endometriosis and severe social anxiety. It took me 5 years of "do I deserve a service dog" "some days I'm ok, I don't need it" "if I'm having a bad day ill just stay home" it got to the point where I was afraid to leave my house. Until my husband bought me a puppy to train. I've had him for 2 years and he absolutely saved my life!
I have chronic cluster headaches, chronic migraine & trigeminal neuralgia... these disable me enough to me on pension. I also have Ehlers-Danlos and POTS, Narcolepsy with cataplexy, CFS... I also have a service dog, he alerts pain, migraine and POTS... And even I had misconceptions of what migraine can be before I found your channel!
My husband has two types of cluster disorders plus chronic pain. They are debilitating. We are now down to 1-3 attacks per day. Before treatment he hand 10+ per day. 😔 as strange as it sounds his ADD helps him, I don’t know how neurotoxicity people deal with this.
@@tiff2106 I have ADHD and that hyper focus helps a lot even though it does make life harder in other ways... I have 3-12 cluster attacks a day.. with a few days a week with 0-2..
@@Maruzella_ I agree when he gets an attack while driving he can still drive for example. But it’s still a very debilitating illness. With a good physician specialized on cluster and chronic pain we got some improvement. I hope you also find things that work.
PTSD people feel the same way about service dogs. We need them some time but don’t know when or where.
I have had such a similar experience with my narcolepsy service dog. I was paired with her through an organization with a thorough application process discussing your disability and I was amazed they accepted me. Most of their recipients are veterans with ptsd and I was just ending my senior year of high school.
My nighttime medication makes me incredibly hungry while clouding my brain and motor skills that in the past led me to waking up in the middle of the night in my chair with food spilled all over me. Now, my service dog makes sure I wake up in bed, even when I have no recollection of how I got from my last memory standing up somewhere far from my bed. In this state I also have a tendency to fall or trip due to the lack of balance I have. I don’t have thoughts in these moments and in the following morning will recognize that I (for example) tried to open a storage closet thinking it was the door to go downstairs, despite my bed being a few feet behind me. I rarely share this information, as so few have experienced it besides my parents, but it is a huge part of how my service dog Dash keeps me safe. During the day, she helps keep me in a schedule which is especially important for narcoleptics who can easily struggle without one. Instead of remaining tucked away in my room hyper focused on tasks all day, she gives me stern reminders to take breaks and alerts if I get a sleep attack. Despite all of this, I still struggled with the same thought process of am I really disabled enough to merit getting a service dog. Thankfully, the support groups I am apart of are incredibly supportive and have helped with my own transition of accepting that I am disabled. I appear normal and healthy, but anyone who knew me in high school also saw someone who was exhausted, burnt out, and incredibly sensitive to sounds and motion. Back then, on the days I hadn’t realized were bad narcolepsy days led to sensory overload that I just sat in for hours. This comment is long enough but I truly wanted to commend and thank you for making this video. Despite our differing illnesses, they can still create shared experience that make the inner turmoil easier to handle.
Heart rate alert vs anxiety alert makes a difference too, my new dog is being trained mobility to help with migraine though
I don’t have any visible disabilities but I have invisible ones. One is a learning disability and another is bipolar disorder. I totally related to your wish that people would just understand what you’re dealing with without judgment. It’s a lack of knowledge and experience. Some people hear bipolar snd they think, “Oh, crazy!” We can’t know what it’s like to be a person with the myriad of disabilities but keeping a kind and open heart is where we can start. We can be curious without being nosy. Sometimes it’s important to just recognize when you don’t know about or understand something. I had a friend who doesn’t experience depression try to tell me last week about depression while I was telling her that I was in a depressive episode. I just told her to please acknowledge that I know more about this than her. She has always struggled to want to comment and make judgment about anything and everything. I asked her to just do me the favor of letting me be the expert on this topic when we talk about it. I think she got the point. I also thought about how, if I were someone with a service dog, I might hand out a pamphlet (that you could probably make yourself) with websites about your disabilities and service dogs and just look them straight in the eye and say, “Thank you for your interest...here is a pamphlet that will point you to places you can learn more about this.” And then walk away 😏.
Thanks for sharing your story. My abuser would yell at me, “stop ACTING SICK”, before I knew I had POTS, actually had just had surgery. Narcs are everywhere and they can’t tolerate weakness, sorry you have been verbally abused, I relate to doctors being apathetic as well.
I never knew you were able to get a service dog for migraines. I needed one 12 years ago. I hate explaining how bad my complex migraine actually gets and lie to people half the time and just say I have epilepsy (even though I don’t). It is so much easier for people to judge less because of it. Thank you for your education, really. You have been a wonderful advocate and the knowledge you share is helping me prepare for my SSDI case hearing in a couple of weeks.
I get occasional migraines and they often start as headaches that I only know are turning into a migraine when the pain becomes photoreceptive. It was actually when I had my first painless migraine that I found your channel and I realised that so much more was going on when I had a migraine. I now know to take each migraine seriously and accept it is as debilitating as it feels, that I'm not just weak with a low pain tolerance 🙄
My daughter has severe chronic migraine. She got a service dog about 6 years ago and he has been so helpful for her! His alerting her when he could tell she had one coming on allowed her to take early action since she didn’t have an aura.
Ohhh so thrilled you were able to get her such a great companion! Wow!
That questioning of self and those questioning looks are pure and simple ableism outside or internalised. Even those of us with migraines have been taught since day one that they are "just" really bad headaches. We are told the different stages, different types, that you can have silent migraines (symptomatic but no or little pain). We were never told you could have these pretty much daily and never get a break, we were never told just how disabling migraines can be, and we were never told that we had protections under the ADA for migraines. Last we were never told that we could benefit from some out of the box thinking therapies, or that having a SD could help. Unfortunately the normies don't get told this either. With all of the chronic illnesses and comorbidities I have even I have to question things like am I disabled enough? Is there anything out there that may help? Am I disabled enough for a service animal? This ableism goes beyond our migraine community to include numerous rare and misunderstood diseases like dysautonomia and POTS. The fact that we have to even say medical alert dogs rather than migraine dogs or Cardiac dogs shows just how damaging the stigma around these diseases can be. The single biggest thing we need to change isn't funding, research, or another awareness month. We need to change the stigma of chronic illnesses (like migraines, dysautonomia, POTS) to a realm of accpetance and normalisation. We need to normalise that people with chronic illness are still people. We can live a full life, we can work (albeit with accommodations), we can go out and help others or be what society considers "productive". Side note on that people I want all of you disabled or not to realise your worth does not depend on your traditional productivity. You still have worth just for being a human being. Even worse off is dynamic disability. People can't understand how we can do something one day (or even in the morning), but not be able to do it the next day (or even that night). We need to normalise these illnesses, that we do deserve SDs, that we are disabled, that we are still members of society, and that having accommodations is okay and normal. Last thing I want to thank you for calling it Migraine Disease. It is a disease not just a headache, or just a Migraine Attack. Just a headache has been rehashed so many times I don't need to talk about it, but Migraine Attack is very damaging as well. It only points out the attack phase which is just one of four stages of migraine. Not everyone gets all four stages, but most get at least two different stages. When you do get all four stages almost every freakin day it is very debilitating, and attack doesn't do it justice. Attack makes it sound like a short (and attack phase is relatively short) time down. Migraine isn't like that. The cognitive and physical impairments can last through all phases, and when you have chronic migraines the phases start to overlap so you basically spend months on end with a continuous migraine. Migraine is a disease, and quite debilitating at that. Migraine effects the entire body whether it's pain, fatigue, restlessness, aura, paralysis, vertigo, nausea and vomiting, triggering other commonly comorbid conditions (which really does make it systemic), and generally makes life extremely difficult and sometimes dangerous for us. So yes Migraine is a disease and should be labeled so. Thank you for telling your story, and thoughts on how damaging this ableism is, and touching on just how dangerous it can be.
I love this channel.
More than just a headache is absolutely correct.
I started researching migraines when they became out of control for me. Those visual auras, nausea, lightheadedness, fainting confusion, vertigo, aphasia, sensitivity to sound and light can be so terrible. When I learned about silent migraines I was like whoa!
Migraine hangover and migraines are exhausting.
I tried celery juice and it helps me at times . I can really relate to this video so much. I don't have a service dog, but I do have things that I do to get through the difficult and exhausting migraine with aura days.
Mix transitional complex migraines and MS together and that’s me.
My husband sometimes thinks I clam my disables to get attention. I wish he understood how hard it is to function sometimes.
I completely understand! My problem isn’t migraine but spinal arthritis (trying to put this an easier way to comprehend). He left me.... He left me while in lockdown.
I’m trying everything in my control to “fix” my existence. Doesn’t matter. People will assume what they will. They’ll think we’re faking to get attention, while we’re just trying to live in a world that doesn’t let us.
That judgment is why I gave up on getting disability benefits… thank you for this! I have cerebral palsy. Not sure if I’ve shared that before so if I’m repeating myself I apologize.
This video really hit home. My sister suffers from chronic migraines, and it was hard for her to verbalize what she was going through. I remember when I was younger telling her we all get headaches so I get it. That memory makes me cringe.
Omg "just migraine" is how i feel all the time "just cluster headaches" is how i feel constantly. I really really struggle conveying to others the extent that migraine debilitates me. I forget how to say things, stutter, forget tasks, and get stabbing random pains. No one understands. My own family says hypochondriac, all in your head, etc
Thank you so much for sharing this
Girrrrl I could see it in your eyes right before your migraine hit! I get that same TIRED look when I get my symptoms. :( Thanks for sharing. 💕
I have felt the same things that you described. I have chronic vestibular migraine. No one really u defendants it and sometimes I feel as if I am faking how disabled I really am. I look completely normal. I also have a service dog for my psychiatric illnesses. Louie started alerting my vestibular migraine so, my husband suggested that we train him for night and alert too. To this day I still feel like I don't deserve a service dog. I am a pretty new handler. I guess I feel lime I am 27 who looks normal on the outside but nobody knows or understands what is going on in the inside. We definitely need to end the stigma about migraine and migraine alert dogs.
Sorry autocorrect happened or my VM brain :)
My husband and I refer to my confusion/exhaustion and trouble speaking with migraine as my ‘Cloud Brain.’
I've been severely struggling with juggling chronic migraine, POTS, suspected EDS, work, and being a mom of 3. I'm at about 3-4 migraines a week. I've only been able to work 1-2 days a week the last few months and the other days I'm laid out in bed, forgetting words, and just trying to get by. I'm missing so much time with my kids, it's breaking my heart. I broke down last night at the tail end of a migraine and cried apologizing to my kids for being so useless on migraine days. They all hugged me and told me that I do so so much for them when I can and they appreciate it. Obviously that made me cry more. I just haven't been able to come to grips with all of this, it being so new to me (3 months since POTS diagnosis, 1 month since migraine disorder diagnosis, specialist appt in Sept for EDS). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The judgement I get from other is taking its toll too. I can't be as sick as I am because I look healthy. I'm just ditching out of work. I'm just dropping responsibilities. I'm just lazy. I've heard it all. I'm so overwhelmed...
I have suffered with migraines since I was 24. I am now 53.
I have been on so many medications.
I have to say, once a month Emgality injections have cut my migraines in half! Along with Nurtec as needed.
I was surprised when I got my 15 lb. service dog. A local dog rescue helped me look for a dog with the right temperament. They were wonderful. As I looked for You Tube videos to help me train her I was surprised to see those with large service dogs judging small dogs. I get it. My small dog can't help me with my balance disorder. But she can indeed help with DPT. In human therapy you can place your own hand on your chest for pressure therapy but in the service dog community a small dog can be seen as incapable of providing DPT. That is incorrect. There are those of us who don't have an in-house support system to help us maintain a large service dog. I had to go small because that is the size that I can manage on my own. We service dog teams need to support one another because it's hard enough dealing with non service dog world. We don't need to oppress our own community members. Here's my mindset.. I can't afford a professionally trained dog. I'm doing the best I can with obedience and task training but my dog may just never be as great as a professionally trained dog. We don't even have service dog trainers in my little state. When I contacted the Governor's office for information they pretty much recited what I already knew about the ADA. So no help. My option is advocating for myself with support from a great PCP and a great therapist. If the public or the service dog community thinks we aren't a good enough team then they can pay to train us or pay for a professionally trained dog. If not...then they can keep their useless opinions to themselves. Cause they make my life harder with their lack of support and sensitivity. My advice is to do the best you can with what you have and ignore negative and non- productive feedback. That's all you can do.
As an RN this will be very helpful if I run into a situation, where I can help someone understand the "unseen disability " that a service animal can change someone lifestyle.
Thank you so much for speaking on this. So well spoken and explained! I empathize with it all!
Thanks for the kind feedback - helpful!
When it comes to the generalised term "medical service dog", honestly, that's all most people need to know. There is absolutely no reason for you to feel like you're hiding something. The average Joe does not have a God given right to stick their nosy noses deeper into your business than you wish to let them.
I'm personally curious by nature, and may ask invasive questions sometimes, but I fully expect to be told "That's private"/"I'd rather not say" or similar things if I cross a line I didn't necessarily spot myself. I don't have a right to every little piece of info just because I'm curious - and some questions are too invasive to even ask, no matter how curious I am
My husband has Tourette’s. I am my husbands ALERT DOG. In stressful situations my husband stutters and then things go down hill. They wouldn’t let me into the DMV……they are not nice…..he had an episode and they we’re going to arrest him for having a fit! Even with no stress i can tell if he is going to have an episode.
I love you for this…we have a dog who alerts him but she is a Boston Bulldog. She sits at his feet or body slams him. But she isn’t accredited service dog.
There is no such thing as an accredited service dog. Is she trained well enough to handle the public and all other kinds of animals out in public? If not that is the easy part if she is already alerting! Even a Boston Bulldog can be a service dog. Just make sure she won't react to other dogs or animals or people in public! There is no certification or anything to be a service dog. Don't let anyone tell you there is. Go to the ADA.gov website and read about service dogs and what it takes to be one.
@@RiverWoods111 She is sweet as punch and goes to the hospital with me (or did COVID) as a volunteer! She has her own badge as well. Your so sweet 🥲. Thanks we will check it all out! She is a real prissy snob hahaha other dogs don’t bother.
There is a real problem with social bias within disability and chronic illness and it's incredibly debilitating to constantly worry that people don't believe you or that you are not worthy of anything that might help and support you to do normal things.
YES
I am currently coming down from a migraine. This is my second one this month. The last one lasted almost 5 days and I almost went to the hospital but I rode it out at home with my medicine. I hoped and prayed I wouldn’t get another so soon but I got this one two days ago.
Jen-thank you for always sharing all of yourself with us.
I went to that site for the medical service dogs because I am really wanting to get another service dog for myself. My old one had to be retired. I don't know if I can work with them, they are breeding Labradoodles! That is so ethically wrong! Even the creator of the Labradoodle has regretted it and spoken out against the breeding of them. I have rescued in the past and these mixed new designer breeds have some of the worst medical problems! To make things worse on her site she says her dogs are "hypoallergenic", but Labradoodles are NOT! They do shed, and it is the shedding that causes them to be allergenic. For someone like me that can be dangerous, cause I am allergic to dogs and have to have a purebred poodle or like a dog that doesn't shed and has to be groomed because they have hair vs. fur. As long as the dog is bred with a labrador the dog can shed. There is no guarantee that the dog will not shed. There is no guarantee that the dog will get the so-called good qualities of the poodle and the good qualities of the labrador. The dogs in my experience often get the worse of both.
That said the Poodle is probably the most trainable dog out there and the smartest. There is no need to cross-breed it with anything! It is a sporting breed just like the labrador, and as a matter of fact, is the same kind of sporting breed as they are both bird dogs. There is absolutely no reason and no benefit to cross-breed the poodle breed with a labrador or any other dog. This is just a novelty with no benefit gained. She would probably end up with a better dog with a purebred poodle than she would with a Labradoodle, or she could just do a labrador or she could do some labradors and some poodles, but the mixes are an unethical practice.
I realize that I can just go to an ethical breeder of purebred poodles and then have them help me to train my dog, but now I am questioning their ethics and if I can do that? This has really upset me. As I am really needing to start this new path in the near future after I relocate.
If you are that allergic, no breed is safe for you to own as dander and saliva cause allergic reactions not fur vs hair. I agree about labradoodles being unethical, but all iq tests place border collies above poodles. And labs aren't as handler oriented making labs/labradoodles better for psd, also they are typically heavier boned which makes them better for mobility than a poodle.
I have suffered from migraine for 29 years
I’m only 39! Went through a bout of chronic daily headaches that went with my migraines.
Don’t worry what others think. Only worry about what you know to be true. A migraine is a medical condition. Do buddy is your medical alert dog.
My neurologist asked me what I consider a migraine vs headache. Because I have them every day I figured it was easier to call it a headache if I could function at all to do normal life. If I can't function, it's a migraine. That's not technically correct but when you have it every day... What do you say. Migraine vs bad migraine?! They were all bad. Lol My doctor actually appreciated it. A lot.
However, it makes me crazy when people say, "sorry you have a headache"... Yes, I get paralysis, total cognitive confusion, complete loss of vision and every other symptom because I have a headache.
I went from episodic starting at 12 years old. In my 20s I started getting cluster migraines. They were completely different than a traditional migraine. Instead of sleep I wanted to put my head through a wall... I had a cluster last 3 months and had to take steroids to get it to stop... Was in the ER many times thinking it was an aneurysm.
In Ohio I've had to say yes that I fall under the disability act for years. One of the women I work with was confused about an applicant saying they are disabled. I then explained invisible illness and that even I qualify for the disability act.
i get migraines where i just have throbbing pain on the left side of my head with no aura, and i also sometimes get migraines that dont involve pain on the left side but involve sudden sickness, tiredness, noise and light sensetivity
so i was pretty surprised when my doctor said i was getting migraines bc i thought it was like the classic migraines i got at the onset of puberty that had auras and pain
Glad I found u I have been suffering from migraines and treat it with over the counter medication maybe I should bring this to my doctor and very sick just thought I was being silly
So I was having a conversation with a friend at work about seizures and migraines, because he has epilepsy and I have migraines and what looks to be nocturnal epilepsy with petite maul seizures when I am sleeping. He told me that migraines and seizures are related, which is interesting to me. When I started researching my nocturnal seizure episodes I found out waking up with migraines in the morning can be a sign of nocturnal seizures, and I have also woken up seizing in the middle of the night, and because mine is petite maul I stay conscious and remember everything that happened. I was laughing with someone in my neurologist's office about the fact that when it happened at first I just thought we were having a big earthquake. She looked at me weirdly, and I said, "I am from California!" We both got a laugh out of that. This was all as she was hooking me up to the EEG machine, that they wanted me to fall asleep on, and I actually did!
I was curious about this because I was having a seizing fit every time I almost fell asleep for a while. I wish there was an answer for all this weirdness! It's just that... weirdness! A lot of overlap. Hard to get to the bottom of things. The docs do not have an easy job.
When I was around 11 I and one of my older sister started having migraines. We saw a neurologist and made some tests… the the doctor gave us a pill to take half an hour BEVOR the migraine starts? WTF? Of course we never took one of them. How are we going to know when one would start? He wouldn’t take us seriously!
In my twenties it subsided significantly and now it i have every one or two years a migraine (maybe). One trigger was chlorine in swimming pools. So I had stopped swimming with 12 or so (I loved to swim in the summer!). I still haven’t tried if it still triggers me.
By now I mostly get headaches because of my jaw clenching at night. I get Physio therapy for it and have a teeth protection for the night. The headaches can knock me out of my day and I sometimes have to leave work midday.
I’m glad that you have a service dog helping you and that you had the ability to fight for yourself by now.
I JUST commented on another video only seconds ago about imposter syndrome with service dogs and with our condition in general. How do you always read my mind, Jen?!? 😂
Oh gosh. Well, this video might fit right into what you're feeling right now. I don't think I called it out by that exact name but that's totally what it sometimes felt like.
@@MommingwithMigraine It so did. So relatable, and I always leave your videos feeling a little bit less alone in how I feel.
I totally see it as impostor syndrome - we should never have to feel like we aren't "qualified" enough to be disabled and access the treatments and tools that will make our lives better.
If you're taking about "How to ADHD", I did as well. Immediately after she talked about how she felt with her service dog, I thought about Jen
@@li-la-lomeyutar8825 Yes, that's exactly what I am talking about! Me, too. And then I check my subscriptions, and there she is!
Love you girlie hope you are doing better 💓 💗 💛 💕 💖
Love this video! Great job! ❤️❤️
I mentioned this on another comment in your recent videos where you were feeling like crud. But keep in mind, drinking lots of water without the salt will drain you of sodium! Sodium is a necessity to replenish CSF!
Yes! POTSies have high salt diets typically. Thank you!
Yesterday I had an aoura I have never experienced before. My eyes went cracy and my husband asked me if I were okay. Then I realiced; I have seen Jen’s eyes look like that, and now Im just scared if Im going to have more complex migraines in the future 😥
Not necessarily. I suffer from regular headaches and migraines, but I usually don't have an aura. About two or three years ago, I had a visual field loss and paraesthesia. But it was only once and didn't occur ever since.
Woo early
Edit: did that up there to get first comments. Also your videos every week have been getting better produced it’s wired to see newer creators learning skills
Immediate! =P
I don't think you realize that being a scientist is something you never really stopped doing. You are still 'sciencing' your own symptoms and searching for answers. People are not scientists because of their job. People do specific jobs because they are scientists. It isn't what you do that makes you a scientist, it is how your brain processes information.
I have never had a job as an engineer, but I have been told I think like one. I LOVE figuring out how things work. I ask mechanics to explain what they had to fix and why because I want to understand how my car works. I ask my doctors to explain all procedures and tests because I want to understand what they are looking for and why. That makes me an engineer.
You seem to naturally break big things (for example a CSF leak) down into smaller pieces (leaky nose, migraine symptoms, positional effects, etc.), then work to understand those small pieces (through online research and asking doctors) and how they fit together to make the big thing. THAT is what makes you a scientist. It is just who you are. You are not someone who used to be a scientist, you are a scientist who used to have a specific job.❤️
It’s a journey young grasshopper and you went through the same journey everyone with a non stereotypical service dog does. I teach how to address these issues of the public questioning you in my classes. I even throw in a bunch of humor on how to address prying people.
I just went through 5 migraines in 8 days and I’m like If I lose MY ABILITY TO SEE and end up with LESIONS ON MY BRAIN it’s a disability you fool! .
Did you see my post a few weeks ago on my Facebook page about service dog discrimination on the sciences? It’s real. In the middle of the pandemic I had applied for a job at a Department a Pathology to do a job I did 20 years ago. They didn’t hire me when they had 7 openings. Can anyone guess why? Ugh.
Love this. Thank you so so much for the work you do
One thing I learned the last 5 years of going from "healthy" family to all 4 of me and family members becoming chronically ill is to stop worrying what other people think. Ofc I worry sometimes still when people make stupid, ignorant comments. But I spend enough time worrying or surviving the days on it's own that it's just not worth worrying what other ppl think of me. :)
SO TRUE.
As soon as I move to a bigger house, one of my main goals is to get a dog and train my baby to help with migraines and panic attacks, because life with them may be very tough. I also got some PTSD syptoms
I'm so glad you did this video.
I know that service dogs are a benefit to those of need. But then there are other people such as myself that are allergic to many dogs and caused me to have horrible allergy attacks and migraines. So how do we help all that has an usual or different disability. I have more than once had to turn around and leave a place due to the animals and in other cases I’ve had to asked be be Set in a different area. I am not mean and I am not rude but I also have a disability and due to this I have been given angry looks or snide remarks.
Legally, an allergy is not a valid reason to refuse a service dog. That being said, you absolutely have a right to feel safe and not be put in a compromised medical condition. If you see a service dog handler, and they come near you for what ever reason (grocery store, resturant, theme park), tell them you have an allergy. Our dogs are impeccably clean, so unless we touch you or are extremely close, the dander should not be an issue. But please, please tell us!! We know how being forced into compromising medical situations can be scary and difficult. Amy SD handler worth their salt will work something out with you! Just be kind, and we'll meet you half way (from a distance lol)
I have complex migraines with non epileptic auras..very weird...I had to call out today because I was so ill..sick to my stomach,seeing lights..in February i had complex seizures that i was hospital ized for triggered by a horrible migraine
& that is exactly why I say medical alert instead of psychiatric alert. No one takes it seriously 🙃
Migraine brain is so real! And the embarrassment from it is insane. I once put a cardboard box in the oven to reheat cinnamon rolls once during a migraine. That was exciting
I have my service dog for my complex ptsd, she has naturally learned to alert to my migraines and my heart rate and blood pressure drops and spikes, I’m still learning to believe I’m worthy enough to have one
It's shocking how many of us feel this way ☹
I literally had a migraine yesterday and I posted about what my migraines are like. I was spreading awareness for migraine awareness month and didn't even know it! 😂
My biggest migraine trigger is stress release. So my GP likes to say I have "weekend migraines". Like it's a vacation.
No I had one at school once it was uncomfortable aura it happened from the robotics
Show
Oh that's horrible!
I’m horribly allergic to dogs. I can’t imagine need a medical alert dog and not being able to have one. That’s me. I can’t possibly imagine what it’s like to need one and have freaking strangers accost you. 😓
What about xolo dogs? I know of someone who has one for a service dog. I'm not sure if their temperament is generally good for a SD but theirs does quite well.
They're hairless and I think they're quite beautiful. Would you still be allergic to them?
I'm so sorry, if "hypoallergenic" doesn't work (I know for a lot of people it doesn't) I am not sure what other options there are other than mini horses. I've actually gotten yelled at in a store for having Buddy, by someone in the public who was allergic to dogs. I felt awful for exposing him!
same
🙁
Jen... Please do a draw my life pleeeeeeeaaaaaaasssssseeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That requires drawing skills right?! 😳
@@MommingwithMigraine not really
My medical history is long and ugly. June is also MG awareness month, that's just one of several disabilities I deal with. I get cerviogenic migraines also + extreme vertigo. I know how you feel about doctors just wanting to put a bandaid on it or throw a pill at you. I'm going through hell right now with doctors right now and I'm not backing down.
Hello fellow MG WARRIOR! I understand what your going through. Stay strong! If you ever need an ear or shoulder I'm always available. Stay safe this summer... I'm in Houston AMD am doing awhil I can to fight this heat & humidity to stay out of chrisis. I wish you all the best, and of course for maintenance or remission!
Typos... double vision at it's finest. Lol
How did you learn to accept your illnesses and live with them? I was just recently diagnosed with POTS, and I’ve been struggling so much with accepting that I now have limits on what I can do.
It is a grieving process when you learn to live with a chronic illness. Accept that it’s ok to grieve your health as you knew it. It takes time but it gets easier! 💜
@@tiff2106 thank you ❤️
I’ve had migraines since 5 my dad also had them his whole life same thing with heart burn it started young. But I heard you say diabeties. You can have a service dog for that? It would be a miricle to have a dog alert me when my sugar drops before it actually drops 💯
You sure can!!!! You can train a service dog to detect the smell when that sugar drops and in return alert you. I would watch videos and do your research because you want to make sure it is a good fit for your needs.
Do you think it would help if there was a national service dog certification body? Like, from what I've seen, there's no standard uniform for service dogs. They're not instantly recognisable as 'official' dogs like with guide dogs. If there was a certification body, you could still decide for yourself whether to do the training yourself or professionally, but either way you have to have the dog tested. The test would be for temperament, obedience and ability to do the job. The dog would then be licenced and be given an official jacket to wear with 'medical service dog' and the organisation logo on it, as well as a scanable tag. This tag would mean that if there ever was a dispute about whether the dog is genuine, or if you need to prove that it is to be able to take it somewhere, instead of you having to tell people your medical details or argue why you need the dog, people can just look up the organisation website, scan the tag and it confirms that this dog is registered. The organisation could also run education campaigns on service dogs. I expect you'll still get some arseholes but maybe fewer of them at least.
No, because programs only train for things that are thought of as disabling by the general public. I have a combination of diagnoses that render me disabled, but no organization trains dogs to help my needs. Most countries that have registries or require dogs to be trained by programs would not consider my task trained dog a service animal because I'm not cookie cutter. There's also cost associated with certification programs, state run or private. Lastly, how would you prove all evaluation equal? Cgc is considered a standard but some trainers allow prongs, some trainers allow treats (against testing rules) but if a simple standard can't be followed why wouldn't a more strict Standard be?
@@beccamajor6239 I see your points. Clearly there needs to be a broader understanding of what counts as a disability and as a service dog.
I feel like the USA needs something more than we have, but I'm not sure exactly what, because there are so many different factors to consider.
❤️♥️❤️♥️
Yes we all are shaped by our experiences. I am fairly new to headaches or migraines not sure what I have. Is there anyway to slop a migraine if you notice pre symptoms?
I would recommend booking a doctor's appointment.
There are options for both acute and preventative treatment, IF what you have is migraine. You'll need a doctor to diagnose you.
Do they make proactive suits for survice dogs that work in labs?
They actually do make PPE for dogs including goggles and dog shoes. They also wear some form of lab coat typically under their vest/harness. I think they use the appropriate size of human labcoat since they don't make them for dogs. The most well known situation was a handler of a service dog named Sampson, photos are available if you search for his name.
I get migraines I literally have to lay in bed in the dark plus right away take imtrex plus topiramate
👍
Migraine or nuclear plant what do you choose
❤❤❤
Have you heard of the book “The Migraine Epidemic” by Angela Stanton?
Nope!
@@MommingwithMigraine I encourage you to read her book. The author is a neuroscientist who is also a migraine sufferer. She also is on Facebook with over 7,000 followers. Her protocol may help you as it has me.
What is her baby's name?? 😅☺️
Hw is ur pots
Better now that I've learned some tricks to lessen the symptoms. Thanks!
R u under medication
Oh dear, lemme tell you a story that happened to me the other day that made me F U RIOUS.
O am immigrating to Canada with my husband 'cause he got a job there and we have cats.
We are going to take the cats. In the cabin. But there are no spots available right now because the flights have a limited number of pets allowed in the cabin.
I hired an agency to deal with the cats' documentation, and they also have a travel agency, so we asked them to help us search for a place for the furbabies and they came out short.
here's when i got mad.
The agency employee that was helping us ADVISED ME to call the airline and state that my cats are emotional support cats so I could bring them on the flight even if it surpassed the limits.
let me repeat that.
she. advised. me. to do somenthing illegal and imoral.
MAN THIS WOMAN'S ACTION OS THE REASON SERVICE AND AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS GET SO MUCH PREJUDICE.
STOP THAT!
I CANNOT BELIEVE IT. Ooooh I just went on a good rant for next week's video haha. Mind if I use this example? 😄
@@MommingwithMigraine you can use it. yeah. this kind of stuff has to stop
Nuclear power plant