Meet Charlie the POTS Medical Assistance Dog!

Charlie the Medical Assistance Dog, the centre of the heartwarming story about the dog who can sense and warn, when a POTS attack is about to happen to owner Sam Sutcliffe.




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/11302136/Before-Charlie-we-had-no-quality-of-life.html

 

I wish I had Charlie. Going down in the drug store and taking down everything on a shelf with me is not much fun and a wee bit embarrassing.

 

That is so cool. I wonder if a dog can expand and recognise a migraine pre-aura too It would be great if this became widely available for POTS.

 

Excellent, @liverock! A legitimate excuse for another fur baby!!

 

I think there are Medical Service Dogs in the US trained to warn owners about fainting, but dont have any details I'm afraid.

 

Not sure whether Charlie senses something like an aura before a POTS attack or whether the owners body odor changes. Labs have a very sensitive sense of smell and are being trialled by some universities medical research teams for various cancers by smelling urine samples.

Unfortunately I dont think these dogs are going to be widely available considering the cost of initial training and upkeep.

 

Wow that is awesome, I really could do with one of those dogs.

Im quite reliant currently on having a support worker who knows me well enough to be able to see when Im in impending collapse mode, who can then alert me when Im about to collapse as 10% of the time the POTS hits me without me knowing I was about to do so, so with no warning. (I got excellent warning yesterday as I felt myself go very pale but that doesnt always occur).

Ive fallen into so many different things, I would of smashed the chemist window one time in a hard/fast POTS fall if those windows werent made so strong (it made quite a noise, I fell into it from pavement outside after leaving the store, which brought all the people there running). I broke my shower screen last year in a fall from POTS, while just walking into the shower area, I had no idea I was about to collapse.

 

The dogs are trained to sense blood pressure.

 

@liverock, so cool! Thanks for sharing the information.

So sorry to hear that, Jerry. It's not just embarrassing but could cause serious injuries. I hope you were not too badly hurt by your fall.

I'm lucky in that I've never fainted other than during the tilt table test. However, I have had typical pre-syncope symptoms (symptoms that come on before fainting like dizziness and nausea) and had to quickly sit down on the floor (e.g., while waiting for an elevator). That type of thing happened several times before I started taking my folding seat/cane with me everywhere I go.

 

Me too. My autonomic doc convinced me that sitting down on the floor--wherever--was a smart choice. He described sitting on the floor of a supermarket, himself, (he had POTS) and that image gave me the "social courage" to just sit down, wherever and whenever needed.

That's me sitting on the work-counter at the Post Office, bank wherever! I just ask someone to hold my place in the queue.

Sushi

 

Yeah me too, curtain variety, tried explaining to the estate agent when i moved out why the whole shower curtain rod had been ripped out of the tiles but he just thought i'd been drunk and making up an excuse

 

Oh, that's awkward. In my last house due to falls, they had to replace the towel rail 2-3 times as I'd grabbed it when falling and ripped it out of the wall or broke it where the attachment to wall was. They ended up putting thick more suitable one in so I didnt keep doing that.

My current shower screen is glass (same with one I broke), Im currently still waiting for it to be sorted out to be removed as its too dangerous with the POTS.

 

I used a cane chair for a while it was good as long as my POTS wasnt being too bad. Unfortunately cant use anything like that nowdays as it doesnt help at all as I need my legs up when sitting or I get POTS when sitting. Ive had to get a very special wheelchair which has legs completely up. Horrid having POTS combined with ME as Im not able to push that wheelchair myself (where as I guess someone with only POTS would be able to do so).

 

Yeah I found out the hard way when I fell at hoe and broke two ribs.