Welcome and a New Topic - Pets!

I've noticed that we seem to have several new members. I would like to personally welcome all of you. We all like to meet new members, hear what's new with you and hear about the ways you're living with your headaches.

My name is Nicky and I am one of the moderators in partnership with Tsymboo. You probably see us on here regularly. We're here to help whenever we can. Feel free to email us by clicking on the far left icon under our names or posting a message.

I had headaches as a child, they stopped for a while and then started again in my twenties. I'm in my thirties now. I feel like a pro sometimes because I've been through so much. Then I read some of the posts here and realize I don't know that much. I'm going through the process like many in partnership with my doctor, neurologist, and psychologist and have tried many medications and even Botox.

Everything got really bad at the end of last year when I went off on disability diagnosed with depression. I also suffer regularly from anxiety and insomnia. I'm sure they're all intimately intertwined.

So that's a bit about me and now for the second reason of my message.  I didn't sleep much last night thanks to my cat, Tora, a magnificent Russian Blue. He has an innate ability to know when I don't feel well. He sleeps with me, usually at my head and when my head hurts likes to tenderize me with his claws. His ability to sense a headache is incredile. Other than his need to knead me which wakes me up continuously it is very comforting. Pets have an incredibly ability to make you feel better and comforted when not much else will.

Does anyone else have any other good pet stories?

One of them, a Queensland Heeler, is a sweet female who stays so close to me when I have a migraine that I have stepped on her several times. When I go into my room to lie down, she follows me and just lies on the floor next to the bed. Every now and then she gets up and lays her head on the bed, just to check.  If I don't notice her head, she puts a paw on the bed. I reach over and stroke her head and her neck.

My husband almost always comes in and asks if he should get the dog out and close the bedroom door. My answer is always the same. "No Honey, she's fine." I feel comforted just knowing she's there. She never leaves before I do. And the fact that she's in the room with me makes the rest of the family, including the other 2 dogs, aware of the fact that they need to be quiet. Somehow, the "word" gets out. If it gets a little noisy, my husband turns on a "white noise" machine in our bedroom that helps shut out any outside noise.

For our daughter's 6th grade science project, she did a study in which she took pictures of each of our dogs. After I taught her how, she took blood pressure of 4 people before they handled the dogs. Then each person spent 10 minutes petting a dog. Rachel took the person's blood pressure again. Everybody in the study had a significantly lower blood pressure after enjoying their time with a dog. I'm sure there are less scientific reasons for the "warm fuzzies" we get from our pets!

~~Pegasis