Sending hugs right back to you Bobby ((( Hugs )))

Blue

Downloaded the Epilepsy Foundation recommended App on my iPhone and filled out the requested data and will let it track me on my watch. Then found a BiPolar mood app that will let me put in specific information and it saves it and I can send it to my psych doc. I think these both will be a helpful tools.

Monday morning woke up after sleeping for 1 hour and felt really awful with mood. This is the day I lost 2 hours.
Tuesday morning woke after sleeping 12 hours and felt very rested
Wednesday morning (this morning) woke after 7.5 hours and felt a mood shift occurring: irritable, spaced out, paranoid, edgy. Now feeling like things are settling a bit for the better, but still irritable, paranoid and restless - can't settle down.

Interesting, this morning I think my cat picked up on my mood as he was also very restless, yowling and staring at me.

Blue

Blue

Please also keep the changes with your cat in the diary too.

Many say that a dog or cat can alert to seizures. Derrick had
a dog who would come running down my stairs especially at midnight
to get me, barking away. Till I would go up stairs with him. To see
what was going on. He was the brother to our 21 year old dog Nipper.
But when Derrick had a seizure yapper, this dog wouldn't go far from
his side, nipper would hid from derrick. He seemed to feel the electricity
and wouldn't want around derrick. Then when Yapper died about 4 to
5 years later. When Derrick got his vns a year later, nipper started
staying with Derrick a lot more. And started sitting with him after
a seizure. He seemed to not be electric as much.

no other way to explain. His present dog can tell when Derrick is
off. He has been with Derrick since we came home today, he isn't
wanting to leave him.

Wendy the one between the two was a lot like a alert type dog
just not the best of it. She was just a good sweetheart.
DOnna

Thank you Donna, just added that comment about my cat to the new App and also in my Excel spreadsheet.

That would explain alot then. My cat carries on right before a migraine, when my tinnitus is loud. He will do a low constant whine and it goes on a long time, so much so, that I have to leave my home to get away from it. Then when I come back, I find him on the other side of the front door and his whining starts up again. When he whines, he sits and stares right into my eyes. If I get up, he will follow me everywhere, whining. After the migraine, he stops.

Like today, after I felt the symptoms pass and was able to settle down, so did he. He's been sleeping all afternoon. I am ultra fatigued and have a bad headache (not migraine type) so something might have happened. The problem with Absence Seizures is when I am home alone, I have no clue unless I notice a significant amount of time as passed. Usually during that lapsed time, I might find my deodorant in the freezer, or something else wacky that has occurred that I can't explain. I am pretty good putting things back where I find them, but I have lost alot of things with no explanation what happened.

Since you brought up the thought that when I was seen at that community gathering and I have absolutely no memory of this, I am trying, for now, to do an hour by hour accounting. I used to do this when I was given this in the trauma hospital to help with dissociation and triggers. For now, trying to stay away from my neighbors.

My 14 year old cat, sniffed out my breast cancer. If it hadn't been for him, I would have put off my mammogram another year, and not be here today. After the radiation, he left me alone.

The special needs cat I now have is my Therapy Cat, as designed by my county. My psych doc wrote in a letter about my cat so I could keep him and take him out of the apartment for walks. Now, I have to take care of him. Oh well. But you know what? I have no children and every cat I ever owned was a special needs cat, thinking they all come to me because I will take care of them, no matter what. I remember my vet saying to me "It can happen to only you". So, I had to give up searching for a healthy cat, lol, as I always end up with a cat that has alot of health issues to deal with.

Have to close for now, a storm is rolling in.

Thank you for keeping an eye on me Donna and helping me navigate thru seizure issues ((( appreciation hugs )))

Blue

just incredible animals. you two are very special people!
fondly
bobby

Sorry, I had to race off due to the storm approaching, but wanted to comment on what you shared about your dogs and Derrick.

I didn't read this until recently, so I asked in your own post about the VNS surgery asking if you stayed overnight. Now that you are home, you are saying that your current dog is posted beside Derrick. Is there any danger since the surgery that he could have another seizure until he has stabilized? When does he go back to see the neurosurgeon?

Now, is your current dog trained to be alert for this, or is this picked up naturally? I looked into getting a therapy dog, but they are ultra expensive and there's quite a wait list.

Animals are soo intuitive and sensitive and have a special place in our hearts and lives.

Hugs,

Blue

Doby is a natural at it. I know that Derrick's downstairs neighbor the
guy takes him out when Derrick works. One day last year, his girlfriend
had Doby with her, and her health isn't the best. She fell, and couldn't
get up. Doby was working to help her. But the fire dept. came to help her
they weren't sure how they got called. She looked at them and told them
the dog hit the button, because she couldn't reach the phone. She had
told him to hit it. One day that year, he had a seizure, and his special
bus had came to get him. And he wasn't coming so they called and doby
answered and just barked, And Derrick finally answered, and told the
guy he wasn't going he had a seizure. The guy then called his contact so someone knew. But he didn't know till later that it was the dog that answered.

So yes, he seems to know, He will stay with me if I'm having trouble walking, and the same with Derrick or anyone else. We have just gotten lucky with our dogs.

Yes, one of our kitties, was the one that started telling me I might have a problem with my breast area. more than once. So yes, I believe in animals.
They are expensive to train, so we look for ones that are good at this.

Donna

that is totally amazing and so inspiring!

Donna,


How old is Doby? What kind of dog is he?


M

Donna ~ At midnight last evening, I started to get up as it was time for bed, then all of a sudden I looked over at my clock and it said 2:30AM. I have no memory of what happened between midnight and 2:30 this morning, other than my cat Sam sitting and staring at my face and meowing constantly just before midnight. I thought to myself that I had no migraine auras, so he must be hungry. Tossed him some treats which, oddly, he refused to touch, but kept sitting right in front of me staring and meowing.

Just after vacuuming this morning I noticed my coordination is way off, having trouble walking, arms and legs are sort of numb and having word salad. Now my cat is sitting and staring at me, meowing again Thinking I may have another migraine heading my way, so will just sit in my recliner and see what happens.

Now that you have pointed all this out to me, I am paying attention to things.

Will add this to my iphone seizure app.

Blue