Canine Partners

[master2]

Hi everyone

I could really do with some advice for a dear friend.

My friend Zara is 21 and has suffered with what the doctors are saying is sciatica for more than a year. She can't bend at all she had to leave college last year when the condition started because of how bad the pain is. She has often said she would cut her legs off if she could it's that bad , she screams in pain. Her condition means she has to have someone with her ( at the moment that is her mom) she can't bend over at all without screaming so she can pick things up, she can't be left on her own as sometimes one of her legs collapses and she falls to the ground ( this happens when the sciatica gets really bad) this is why she can't be left alone. This means her life is on hold and she is miserable as she wants to go back to college. But can't as her mom can't stay with her. She wants her life back. So I suggested canine partners. At the moment the doctors are trying physiotherapy for a third time but she knows this won't help. If it does not then she will be having tests done at the hospital to see if they can get any answers as her GP said that sciatica normally does not last even a Year so if the MRI does not show anything than it looks like she will be like this for life. I thought if she does get told that she could apply for a canine partner to help her pick up things and to get help if needed when she goes back to college ( if she can't have an assistant dog than she can't go back to college) her only worried is her and her mom are both on benifit she's on ESA and mom is on the same as her mom suffers with arthritis and diabetes type 2. So she's worried about the cost of food, insurance ect. CP has told her that they may be able to help her but with cost the only option is her local council as they can cover the cost of looking after for the dog as he\she will be seen as a career.

I wanted to ask is this true as I can't find anything on the council helping with the cost of food, insurance, flea, wormer ect?

[Lara575]

I am so sorry your friend is in this much pain.

I don't have an answer to your question. But is she sure it's sciatica as normally you only have that for a few months. Does she get pain anywhere else other than her legs?

[Nettle]

I speak for dogs because they have so few people to speak for them. This poor girl cannot look after a dog properly. It would not be appropriate for her to have a dog at this time. I hope very much she finds help for her condition.

[master2]

Yes she has pain in her rib cage area left side, collar bone going down to arm on right side. She gets a lot of spasms, she gets restless legs as well as aching legs, she has sensitive hearing don't know if that could be part of her condition but I know she said that since her pain started her ears hurt if loud music or people talking loud hurts her ears. Recently she's been having hot flushes , feeling hot at a certain time of the day. She also suffers with migranes?

[Lara575]

Hi master2

The reason I asked is my farther got diagnosed with sciatica and then after suffering for a year and developing other problems was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It does sound like that I would advise she sees her GP again for an x ray and the possibility of other conditions.

Nettle- so how is she supposed to get help if the doctor has already said there's nothing they can do so what she's meant to just be left in pain and get so depressed at the fact she can't go back to college like master said due to the fact she can't be on her own so then what has no one and like most people in this situation considers suicide. I'm sorry but I feel very strongly about people like this poor girl who needs help but probably won't get it and canine partners might be a solution and a lot of the people who have a CP dog can't look after them selfs that's why they need the dogs help. What you said could easily be said for some of the other owners. Plus she has her mom who can help. Plus canine partners have already said her and her mom can benefit from one of there dogs.

[Nettle]

As I said: I speak for the dog. Dogs need proper care. Anyone who can't offer appropriate care shouldn't have a dog at that time.

[Lara575]

I get what your saying Nettle but we're talking about a service dog who is trained to look after and aid people like this girl. I mean there are people in wheelchairs and people who can't walk probably who have been given freedom thanks to these dogs.

[JudyN]

Lara, you have to consider what, realistically, the dog could do for this girl, and what the girl would need to do for the dog. If they can't look after themselves, how can they look after a dog? The best trained dogs can't get their own food, refill their water bowl, and walk themselves. They also can't cure pain, or pick someone up if they collapse. And they still need as much physical and mental exercise as any other dog. An assistant dog isn't a magic bullet.

I dare say, though, that Canine Partners would thoroughly assess every applicant to make sure that they would genuinely benefit from having an assistance dog.

[master2]

OK as I don't won't this to turn into an argument I think I shall clear a few things up that you all have brought up.

The dog would help her by picking things up she drops as she can't bend, also by taking clothing of on the bottom half like socks and trousers ect. Regarding her falling over CP said that some of there dogs are trained to get help if an owner needs assistance like if the fall over. Regarding looking after the dog. Walks and mental exercise would be given by her and her mom. She can still walk normally and even run just in pain so she is still capable of exerciseing the dog. Mental games would come through puzzle toys from her and she will teach the dog to come and take the toy from her as she cant bend. Food she can put in the bowl but her mom will be the one putting it on the floor. CP said that some dogs have been taught to put there empty bowl in the sink.

[Shalista]

Regarding her falling over CP said that some of there dogs are trained to get help if an owner needs assistance like if the fall over

I've actually seen videos of dogs that help with this.

I'm in physio and sciatica is no joke =( hope she gets the help and answers she needs

[master2]

Thanks shalista

Do you think it even sound like sciatica, shalista as she's had it over a year now and the pain is not just in both legs and back its also in her left ribcage, in her right collar bone leading down to her shoulder and arm. She also gets hot flashes , restless legs, muscle spasms, migranes, sensitive to loud noises and smell (she can smell things that we can't), migranes or headache she gets a lot, she gets this tingling in her feet and hands, she's a very anxious person. I am starting to think she has not got sciatica at all as her symptoms do should like fibromyalgia? She sleeps well it takes awhile to get to sleep but once she does she does not wake up until morning? What do you think shalista? She has not told the doctor about her other symptoms as she did not think they could be related. She only told the Dr about her leg and back pain which is why she was diagnosed with sciatica.

[Nettle]

Master2, this isn't an argument stating circumstances that others may not have considered is an important part of discussion.

If a dog can be properly cared for, its ownership is worth considering and can be a huge comfort. That's any dog, any person, any home. Where someone is very ill, it isn't just about what the dog can do for them but about the life the dog leads outside those circumstances. For instance, consider the effect on a dog when its person is screaming in pain day after day. What about with a person who suffers major and prolonged anxiety? Dogs are not equipped to deal with this kind of trauma, no matter how well trained. But if there is another person who can take the dog away from human distress and noise, who is left there to deal with the person who is ill and needs help? Would it happen that way? It's all too easy to think of the dog as a tool that has no needs apart from fuel. But where the dog gets treated like a dog and is a family friend that has its own needs managed too - that's any dog in any home - it can have a good life.

[master2]

Hi Nettle

I just don't won't it to turn into an argument.

She's not screaming in pain all the time and when she does she goes to her room or a place were no one will hear her as even her mom gets really distressed and hates seeing er like that. She can still do most things we do but just not pick up things. Her anxiety is not as bad as people think. As long as she has someone with her she relaxes she just gets tense and scared if she's on her own and obliviously her mom can be with her at college to support her or pick up things. That's why I feel a dog could help her.

[JudyN]

She has not told the doctor about her other symptoms as she did not think they could be related

Then she definitely should. As I said, she could easily have both fibro and sciatica - fibro will magnify the pain so even if on examination it appears to be mild sciatica, it could feel severe to her. And with fibro, when one part of your body is in pain, the rest of it seems to think it should join in too until it's difficult to find a body part that doesn't have some degree of discomfort.

Poor sleep is typical of fibro - even if she's not aware of waking in the night, her sleep might be the 'wrong' sort, not recuperative, hence feeling like you've been hut by a truck in the morning.

But she needs a proper diagnosis. There isn't a cure for fibro, but there is medication that can help a lot.

[master2]

JudyN I just asked about sleep and she said she does not wake up but a lot a people tell her she looks awful and she should get some sleep yet she sleeps 8hrs. She feels stiff in the morning and when she has been in one position for a long time. Her main pain is in her collar bone down her shoulder to her arm on her right side , lower and middle back, both legs down to the ankle and left ribcage. But she gets an aching feeling everywhere else.