Hi all! Today I had a meeting with a friend of mine whom I haven't seen in several months. This friend bugs me, but today she said something that made me a little angry.
Last August she had two grand mal seizures in less than 24 hours. For about a month before that she hadn't been taking her medications (for other issues) regularly, nor was she sleeping regularly, often times going 24+ hours with no sleep. She has no history of seizures, so before that August day she hadn't ever had any. Nor has she had any since. She had several EEG's and has regular apointments with her GP and neuro. She is also on Depakote daily. All the tests and doctors indicate that she does not have Epilepsy, nor any seizure disorder.
Today we were talking and she said that she wants to get a seizure alert dog, even though she does not have Epilepsy. I told her that in order to get a seizure alert dog she has to have some kind of seizure disorder, but she told me she might just get a doctors note telling her she should have one.
It made me so angry. I have been trying to convince my parents and doctors to believe that I need a service dog for an invisible disability (not Epilepsy), and it peeved me off that I can't get anybody to believe or help me, but she can get a doctors note for a disability that she DOESN'T EVEN HAVE!
So it made me wonder: what are the qualifications for getting a seizure alert dog? Can she simply qualify because she has a doctors note saying she had two seizures, even though they were her own fault?
Update on me: I finally got in to see a neuro this past Monday. Well, the guy was a loser. I explained that flashing lights used to make me feel dizzy/tired/confused/spacy, etc and now flourescent lights have been making me feel very tired, to the point of feeling like I might pass out. I told him that for the past few months I have been getting migraines behind my eyes, this last one accompined (sp?) by eyelid and finger twitching and insomnia for several days after. I told him how everyday at school for many years, I would start to feel like I was going to pass out, my body would sag, and my eyes would go blurry and crossed and my speech was slurred. I also told him how I twitch dozens of times a day. What he said was that the dizzines/spaciness/etc was some kind of migraine (despite two other doctors, and an Epileptic friend, telling me it sounds like seizures) and the jerking was no big deal because I wasn't falling to the ground convulsing. He told me not to come back because I didn't need to. What I am wondering now is, should I try to see another neuro, or should I follow his suggestion and do nothing?
Last August she had two grand mal seizures in less than 24 hours. For about a month before that she hadn't been taking her medications (for other issues) regularly, nor was she sleeping regularly, often times going 24+ hours with no sleep. She has no history of seizures, so before that August day she hadn't ever had any. Nor has she had any since. She had several EEG's and has regular apointments with her GP and neuro. She is also on Depakote daily. All the tests and doctors indicate that she does not have Epilepsy, nor any seizure disorder.
Today we were talking and she said that she wants to get a seizure alert dog, even though she does not have Epilepsy. I told her that in order to get a seizure alert dog she has to have some kind of seizure disorder, but she told me she might just get a doctors note telling her she should have one.
It made me so angry. I have been trying to convince my parents and doctors to believe that I need a service dog for an invisible disability (not Epilepsy), and it peeved me off that I can't get anybody to believe or help me, but she can get a doctors note for a disability that she DOESN'T EVEN HAVE!
So it made me wonder: what are the qualifications for getting a seizure alert dog? Can she simply qualify because she has a doctors note saying she had two seizures, even though they were her own fault?
Update on me: I finally got in to see a neuro this past Monday. Well, the guy was a loser. I explained that flashing lights used to make me feel dizzy/tired/confused/spacy, etc and now flourescent lights have been making me feel very tired, to the point of feeling like I might pass out. I told him that for the past few months I have been getting migraines behind my eyes, this last one accompined (sp?) by eyelid and finger twitching and insomnia for several days after. I told him how everyday at school for many years, I would start to feel like I was going to pass out, my body would sag, and my eyes would go blurry and crossed and my speech was slurred. I also told him how I twitch dozens of times a day. What he said was that the dizzines/spaciness/etc was some kind of migraine (despite two other doctors, and an Epileptic friend, telling me it sounds like seizures) and the jerking was no big deal because I wasn't falling to the ground convulsing. He told me not to come back because I didn't need to. What I am wondering now is, should I try to see another neuro, or should I follow his suggestion and do nothing?
