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Dogs seem to know a lot more than they say. In many ways, our dogs monitor how we’re feeling, responding with fun when we’re happy and quiet comfort when we’re down. On December 15th, long-coated Akita joy received the American Kennel Club Humane Fund awards for Canine excellence at the Eukanuba national championship in Florida for detecting cancer in both of her humans. Joy’s unusual behavior and persistent nudging got her owners to the doctor for diagnosis and treatment—long before they had had any symptoms or their doctors had suspected anything was wrong. Joy’s early detection probably saved their lives.
As a migraine doctor, I’ve heard a few people tell me their dogs could predict their migraines. We teach patients to monitor themselves to try to identify changes in their personality or behavior that might predict a migraine. These changes are called prodromes. The prodrome is the first part of a migraine and treating a migraine during a prodrome can prevent the development of a full blown attack.
Excerpted from The Woman’s Migraine Toolkit:
The first phase of migraine is called the prodrome. The prodrome phase occurs for about one in three migraine sufferers. Some people talk about the prodrome occurring before a migraine. many experts now believe the prodrome is actually the first phase of a migraine, showing you that a migraine has already started. If you consistently experience prodrome symptoms before your headache phase, you can begin to treat your migraine during the prodrome. In some cases, treating the prodrome prevent the headache phase from developing.
The prodrome usually occurs about 12 to 24 hours before the headache phase. Some people will have prodrome symptoms that last for 2 days before the headache phase. during the prodrome, you may experience a variety of nonspecific symptoms:
• Changes in mood
o Irritability
o Hyperactivity
o Anxiety
o Depression
• Digestive symptoms
o Food cravings (often carbohydrates and chocolate)
o Diarrhea
o Constipation
o Loss of appetite
• Neck pain
• Neurological symptoms
o Difficulty concentrating
o Dizziness
o Blurred vision
We decided to test if these reports of dogs alerting people to impending migraine were more widely noticed by dog owners. We conducted on online survey of adults with migraine who lived with a dog, with 1029 people completing the survey. The results were just released in the Journal of alternative and complementary Medicine. Here’s what we found:
54 percent of migraine sufferers recognized a change in their dog’s behavior before or during the initial phases of migraines.
Intense staring, frantic licking, pawing, and whining were also frequently described.
The dog’s behavior usually preceded migraine symptoms by about 2 hours.
about 60 percent of people said their dog’s behavior change was consistently linked with developing a migraine.
One in three migraine sufferers began treating their migraine when they saw this change in their dog’s behavior.
So if you’ve ever thought, “I think my dog tries to warn me a migraine’s coming,” you’re probably right.
Do you get migraine? We’re conducting a new online survey to determine how migraine impacts your life. Click here to take the survey. thanks for participating!
benefits of Pets