Need an emotional support dog

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Hello!

my husband is a firefighter. I am in nursing school. I get anxiety when he is gone (he is gone quite a bit ) and I can't sleep. It's really wearing me down.

L.s.s. I'm getting a dog but would like to make it an emotional support dog. If course, this dog would not actually go to work with me or to school with me . It would go lots of other places though.

Question:::

when applying for a job, can anyone look up medical info and discriminate against me for having an emotional support dog ?

If I didn't tell the hospital I applied at, would there be any way for them to find out prior to hiring me ?

Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I have epilepsy, too, but I don't have convulsions. (yet? Scary thought that this progresses.) I've been thinking if I reach that point, I may consider a service animal. Have you looked into getting one?

No, I never have. Thankfully (knock on wood) mine have been under control with Topamax. Although I haven't been sleeping well for whatever reason so I'm starting to twitch a lot. My psychiatrist refuses to give me anything to sleep. Currently I'm on Trazadone. I'm going to demand to be taken off Trazadone since it's not helping for my depression or sleep & change to something else & make him give me another medication for my depression & for insomnia. Whew!

I hope your epilepsy never gets any worse. I have grand mal seizure & it's never fun.

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Specializes in critical care.
No, I never have. Thankfully (knock on wood) mine have been under control with Topamax. Although I haven't been sleeping well for whatever reason so I'm starting to twitch a lot. My psychiatrist refuses to give me anything to sleep. Currently I'm on Trazadone. I'm going to demand to be taken off Trazadone since it's not helping for my depression or sleep & change to something else & make him give me another medication for my depression & for insomnia. Whew!

I hope your epilepsy never gets any worse. I have grand mal seizure & it's never fun.

Goodness, yeah, no sense in taking something that doesn't work.

I have left temporal lobe seizures. Usually I'm well controlled on vimpat. Liquor and electrolyte imbalances bring them on. Most of my activity is in my sleep, though. More often than not, I know I'm having them more because I lose words. Nouns, specifically. I get zapped in Broca's area, I think. Anyway, grand mal is terrifying. Do you get auras ahead of time? Any warning at all?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Goodness, yeah, no sense in taking something that doesn't work.

I have left temporal lobe seizures. Usually I'm well controlled on vimpat. Liquor and electrolyte imbalances bring them on. Most of my activity is in my sleep, though. More often than not, I know I'm having them more because I lose words. Nouns, specifically. I get zapped in Broca's area, I think. Anyway, grand mal is terrifying. Do you get auras ahead of time? Any warning at all?

Wow, that's crazy!

Well the last one I had, I didn't feel it coming. My husband, son & I just came back from my SIL's & I was bringing a glass to the kitchen, that's all I remember. But that was a little almost a year ago.

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Specializes in critical care.
Wow, that's crazy!

Well the last one I had, I didn't feel it coming. My husband, son & I just came back from my SIL's & I was bringing a glass to the kitchen, that's all I remember. But that was a little almost a year ago.

Crazy, and embarrassing. I was trying to talk to a colleague about troponins and couldn't remember the word "troponin". I could describe the crap out of what it is, but couldn't retrieve the word. Inspires a ton of confidence on a step down/tele unit. :\

But I must say, I'll take that minor embarrassment over the scariness of your last experience. I hope it resolved fairly quickly and without injury. Every now and then we'll get an epilepticus patient that reminds me to stay thankful for where I am right now. I know a time may come when things will change, and I've prepared my hubs and kids for that possibility, but for right now, it's a small thing.

Anyway, thank you for indulging my questions. The only person I know around me who publicly has shared they have epilepsy is a young boy with it, and it was his parents who shared, and he has a whole host of other challenges he faces. I don't get to talk to people living with it except patients, and of course it would be a bit inappropriate to start prying when I'm supposed to be caring for them. Mind if I inbox you sometime?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Crazy, and embarrassing. I was trying to talk to a colleague about troponins and couldn't remember the word "troponin". I could describe the crap out of what it is, but couldn't retrieve the word. Inspires a ton of confidence on a step down/tele unit. :\

But I must say, I'll take that minor embarrassment over the scariness of your last experience. I hope it resolved fairly quickly and without injury. Every now and then we'll get an epilepticus patient that reminds me to stay thankful for where I am right now. I know a time may come when things will change, and I've prepared my hubs and kids for that possibility, but for right now, it's a small thing.

Anyway, thank you for indulging my questions. The only person I know around me who publicly has shared they have epilepsy is a young boy with it, and it was his parents who shared, and he has a whole host of other challenges he faces. I don't get to talk to people living with it except patients, and of course it would be a bit inappropriate to start prying when I'm supposed to be caring for them. Mind if I inbox you sometime?

Oh no problem! Yeah, sure. I love talking about epilepsy. The brain & epilepsy interests me so much! I've had epilepsy since I was 13 & I'm 26 (27 in July). I'm the only one in my family & I have to say every day I'm nervous my son will have a seizure. But if that day comes, I'm prepared for it.

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Specializes in critical care.
Oh no problem! Yeah, sure. I love talking about epilepsy. The brain & epilepsy interests me so much! I've had epilepsy since I was 13 & I'm 26 (27 in July). I'm the only one in my family & I have to say every day I'm nervous my son will have a seizure. But if that day comes, I'm prepared for it.

Yay thank you!

I think I got it as an "after shock" from a head injury when I was 18. I wasn't diagnosed until 32, though. I'm 34 now. The reason I got diagnosed was because I combined tramadol with cyclobenzaprine, which I questioned but the NP was like, "this is totally okay!" I was in nursing school at the time and whipped out my drug book every single time I was able. According to Mosby, those two are a no-no. Anyway, I took them together for a back injury, started feeling "off", so I stopped the cyclobenzaprine and kept taking the tramadol. It got worse, though. I started losing time. Slips of a few seconds at a time, over and over, for 6 days before any medical professional took me seriously. Got an EEG and the rest is history.

I remember having occasional losses of a few seconds here and there before, after my head injury, but it resolved on its own and never posed a problem. I always thought maybe my BP was high and I need to sit down for a few seconds, or something random like that. I don't recall it ever happening in my 20s. I've learned to adapt when they come now, and they go quickly. I don't have a loss of motor function during them, so I'm safe in practice and behind the wheel. I cross everything it will stay that way!

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Yay thank you!

I think I got it as an "after shock" from a head injury when I was 18. I wasn't diagnosed until 32, though. I'm 34 now. The reason I got diagnosed was because I combined tramadol with cyclobenzaprine, which I questioned but the NP was like, "this is totally okay!" I was in nursing school at the time and whipped out my drug book every single time I was able. According to Mosby, those two are a no-no. Anyway, I took them together for a back injury, started feeling "off", so I stopped the cyclobenzaprine and kept taking the tramadol. It got worse, though. I started losing time. Slips of a few seconds at a time, over and over, for 6 days before any medical professional took me seriously. Got an EEG and the rest is history.

I remember having occasional losses of a few seconds here and there before, after my head injury, but it resolved on its own and never posed a problem. I always thought maybe my BP was high and I need to sit down for a few seconds, or something random like that. I don't recall it ever happening in my 20s. I've learned to adapt when they come now, and they go quickly. I don't have a loss of motor function during them, so I'm safe in practice and behind the wheel. I cross everything it will stay that way!

Yikes! I hate when medical professionals don't protect us. But I'm glad you finally got help & it's nothing too serious. It's really good it never affects your personal or work life. My epilepsy has done that.

I was working at a county jail & my DON just didn't care about anyone, he just wanted a warm body. So me being young & stupid, I worked every shift (because I worked PRN) mornings, eves, & nights. I worked 8s & 12s. Eventually it took a toll my body, I couldn't get enough sleep & one night I could feel something was off, I felt really tired. I just figured I'd drink some coffee, chug some 5 Hour Energy's & be fine. Nope. The longer the shift went on the worse I felt. I called my DON & he didn't care, he asked if I could make it through the shift my whole shift. I was also suppose to work 4 extra hours on top of the 12 I was working that night. I told him I would try to work the rest, plus the 4 extra. Well I was really tired so I told the nurse working with me I was just gonna put my head down. The next thing I know I wake up in the back of an ambulance.

Oh, I can't tell you how many times in college I woke up in a hospital because I tried to drink like everyone. Yeah... That'll end a party fast!

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

Rescue a kitty, that way you don't have to worry about leaving him/her at home and you'll have a companion when you get back.

I think you're going to have a very hard time taking a dog with you while grocery shopping, etc. without going the service animal route. In that case, they need to wear special vests and there's more to it than just registering them as an emotional support animal.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
I want more information on service miniature horses.

Eta - okay, all silliness aside, they are seriously awesome. Page Not Found

When I was growingup on the farm I had a minature horse stud named Gringo and he was seriously awsome!

Hppy

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

Just lie about the whole "therapy" thing. Buy a $20 vest on-line, put it on your dog, act indignant when someone in the grocery store asks about your "service dog" and park in the handicap space. You're good to go.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Thank you for responding. The dog would go with me to study and everywhere else I need to go . I need a dog but I do not want to leave the dog at home when I go to the grocery store or if I go study at a coffee shop. We do not have a large yard to let the dog roam around in. So he would be indoors . I don't think that's fair to the dog. Making it an emotional support dog would give me the ease of making the dogs life a good life, while also allowing me to be able to have a dog.

The questions to my problems were posted at the bottom of my topic. ...It would be helpful if you had insight to those. :)

Guide dogs for the Blind has come out with a policy statement regarding service dogs and is asking for federal legislation on what qualifies an animal to be considered a service animal. The problem is that many people are misusing the title service dog to be able to keep and take pets into places where pets are normally not allowed which creats a problem for people who have a real need for a service dog.

Your initial post seemed as if you needed a dog for a genuine psychological need but now it seems that you want to misuse the label so you can take your dog everywhere. so my advice is this do some reading on the discrimination that veterrans, people with seizure disorders and even blind people suffer everyday because people think their service animals are pets and rethink your position. If you are lonely at night when your husband is away ( it takes a very strong woman to be married to a fireman or policeman or soldier) get a cat. If you are afraid for your safety invest in some good locks and buy a nice wooden basebal bat. See a therapist for your anxiety and decide if meds are a good idea (not everyone needs them or chould be on them) but please don't misuse the support dog label for your convenience. It hurts everyone with a real need for such an animal.

I am not trying to be mean but I'm just telling it like it is.

Hppy

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Honestly, it sounds to me like you want to get a dog because you're lonely while DH is away (sorry, you've diagnosed yourself, that holds little weight) and want to deem it a "service" animal so you will have the "right" to take it wherever you want to go. It doesn't work like that at all!

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