Hello,im matthew.
I was diagnosed with FND after years of symptoms, Im 16.
Im pretty lost in the lack of information i can find. My symptoms arent getting better...and doctors arent helping me.
Ive always considered a dog but now im not sure if that will help plus i dont know anyone with a SD who has FND.
Help?
I was falsely diagnosed with FIND however I am now getting tested for celiac as it is more likely the cause of my many many symptoms. Keep an open mind in terms of what other things could be causing your problems.
Hi:
I also was falsely diagnosed more than once. One Doctor told me that I had Fibromyalgia and I believe him for a long time. Then I met other people with Fibromyalgia and boy they were really sick, so I started my own research and I relized that I did not have this horrible condition. I had severe food allergies, Lactose which I sort of knew but I didn’t want to give up my wonderful cheese. I also have Celiac which I had to get a biopsy, Fructose Intolerance which I never heard of. Once I changed my diet all symptoms went away. That’s why you must be your own Adovate.
Take Care
Wow. Glad to hear you figured it out! That’s very true they don’t always have it right the first time.
Hi Matthew - I think a service dog might be helpful - if it helps to reduce anxiety/ have an external focus when things are bad - then yes maybe. I don't know your exact symptoms so I'm unsure if you need a fully trained SD or if just a well trained and calm pet would work - SD's are great but very expensive to train. Many hugs - you are not alone
Hi:
What are your parents saying about this? Have you had a food allergery Panel Test done? You seem to be to young for this. You are only 16 years of age. Have you had an ANA blood test done to see if you have some kind of Autoimmune Problem. You are young you can look at all of your test results and try to see if the Doctors missed something. You and your parents must advocate for you. Make sure you have copies of all of your records and MRI’s CT Scans etc. including your Doctors Notes. You have a right to have all records. I don’t know about a Service Dog. Good luck keep in touch
my parents want me to just act normally,pretend i feel okay ect. ive spoken to them about service animals ,if also spoken to my current psychologist who thinks im just talking about emotional support animals and doesnt take me seriously.
all of my EEGs and MRIs are perfectly normal.
i went to mayo to get it done, their awesome.
i havent done ana blood testing yet and im not sure about autoimmune stuff...
i know i dont have a food allergy.......question is this abnormal for me to be so young?
Hi:
I think you are way to young, but I am not a Doctor. Did they x-ray your neck? Spine? What kind of symptoms are you having? I am still testing at the Mayo not sure what I have. I did not know that I had Fructose Intolerance until they tested me. That can cause so many symptoms. I didn’t know I had Celiac either until they did a biopsy. See if they tested your ANA through your blood work. Any Doctor can test your ANA. Talk to you later
I am 14 years old and recently diagnosed with FND. FND is something that not all doctors believe is an official diagnosis. Some believe that it is caused by something else, such as PANDAS or Lyme Disease. Just thought you should know.
Hi! I am also your age and suffer from FND. I also went to Mayo Clinic. You can be diagnosed at any age, don’t let anyone tell you you are “too young to be sick” that’s one of my biggest pet peeves!
If you get a service dog and then recover from your FND, you will be in an awkward situation with your service dog. You can return the dog, though, right? I would try to recover from FND instead of getting a service dog. There is a book called Functional Neurologic Disorders, volume 139 of the Handbook of Clinical Neurology, that has a section on treatments that I recommend you read.
You might want to rent a regular dog from a humane society for a few days, to be sure that you are able to clean up after its pee and poop.
I have two dogs both are the perfect age to start training, i have many other problem to need a service dog like chronic migraines and non epileptic seizures(starting to think its PNES), and bad depression and anxiety(signs of cptsd). because my FND i also struggle with mobility and stutter and stumble over words,and blackout completey .i might recover but im pretty sure the dog will continue to work. ive been thinking about it for awhile ive read the ada laws and i am what my doctor considers disabled.
thank you for the advice tho 
ill be reading that as soon as i get through finals.
p.s i dont think you can rent a dog plus im very sure it would hurt the dogs hopes to find a home =p
You don’t return service dogs. Each dog is specifically trained to help each patient and are meant to stay with them for life. Your dog would be totally different from someone else’s. I don’t think you can “rent” dogs from a shelter and it would be totally unfair to take a dog from a shelter and then take it back again. Dogs in shelters already have enough baggage without using them that way. That said, many shelter dogs make good service dogs, especially trained by their new owner.
Hi:
I just read your other post, you have a lot of symptoms. I agree with pickleweed buy that book I would definitely get a food allergy panel. Headaches can be caused by certain foods. I never heard of Fructose Intolerance until I was tested. I eliminated all sugars good sugars and bad sugars and what a big improvement, no honey, no gum not a single molecule of sugar. No more headaches for me. What do you have to loose. Maybe your headaches.
Hey, just did some blood work, hopefully they'll find something... they are talking about the possibility for autoimmune disease so thats a start. I caught something recently and its just getting worse which make it even harder to get through my day so i when to the doctors today. Ill talk to you when i get the results
-Matthew
Also how do you even cut sugars out?
Hi:
It was the hardest thing that I had to do. Read all labels on whatever you buy. There are so many hidden sugars, corn syrup is one of the worst. I would start with the corn syrup and all candy cakes, pies😋😋 my favorite, pop including diet pop. I know this will be extremely hard to do. Least try it for a month or asked your Doctor if you can have a Fructose Intolerance Test if you really don’t want to give up all sugars, but you should least get rid of the simple sugars those are the cakes, candy, definitely the corn syrup. The test is where you drink this liquid (pretty sweet) then every 15 mins. you got to blow into a bag that can go on for 40-60 mins. It is a fairly easy test. After I drank the liquid within 30 seconds I became so sick and I knew I had a problem. I am glad that I took the test. I was eating fruit daily and the only symptoms that I had was I became groggy and the next morning I would have diarrhea, not excessive only 3-5 bowl movements and I thought that was normal because I have been doing that since I was a child. There are so many people walking around with Fructose Intolerance and they don’t even know it. Sugars can cause your triglycerides to sky rocketed and cause different Dieases. I hope you don’t have this problem. As far as Autoimmune Diseases there are over 200 Autoimmune Diseases. Usually when you have a high ANA then that indicates you have an Autoimmune Diseases and it takes an excellent detective (Doctor) to figure it out. Usually a Rheumatologist can do that. As far as having Lyme Disease, well you have to find a Doctor that specialize in Lyme and you need the proper testing and that can be tricky because most Doctors do not do the correct testing that is why you need a Doctor that Speialize in Lyme. Well I hope this help. Be your own advocate. Talk to you later.
Good luck on your finals.
Hi Matthew,
I was also wrongfully diagnosed with FND and Fibromyalgia and had to research more myself and was eventually positive for Lyme Disease. Lyme is known as the great imitator and many of FND symptoms are the exact same as Lyme.
Regarding giving up sugar.. Cut out gluten, caffeine, any ingredients that have a high dose of sugar labelled on it. The less ingredients on a food you eat the better!
Hi matthugh just to let you know i have taken on a assistant dog and in the week I have had her it's been let's say improved she watches my bath removes items from my floor that I could trip over on but most of all she won't let me sleep through any seizures she has been trained to do various things to wake me up and she even senses when I am going to have one through the day she woke me up at around 06.45 this morning and kinda layed on my chest untill I came round apparently if she can't ever wake me she will let off a howl that will only stop when assistance arrives I worked with a lot of dogs during my time in the armed forces but this one ( poppy) is special but trust me she may be a small breed of border collie but she has the iq of Einstein and the heart of a lion very protective and always on duty I hope she have been of some help and please carry on thinking out of the box as I do big respect mat
Hi just came across this post.
Hope things are improving since your post. Ive had functional gait disorder for 4 years. Walk mostly with a limp ..often a walking stick ...asi drag left leg when tired especially...but I manage to work from home just !....so recently I got a Yorkshire terrier. He is 5 very calm, lap dog. I thought a puppy be too much for me, as I live alone only me to look after him.
Didn’t look into service dog, but my cousin has made her dog a mobility dog so she can now take him everywhere, I believe.
I can carry my dog into most places l, am lucky as here n brighton they are very dog friendly ...he gets me out for little walks every day, nice break from my desk.
Amazing ...my limp is much better when I walk with him 
distraction technique maybe ... also gives me confidence ....
Just wish hit him years ago !
Good luck.
Did you get a service dog? My daughter is just beginning her journey after being diagnosed with FND. Looking for any advice.
I sympathize. I also have FND and lack the support or sympathy of medical providers.
I have also considered a service dog. It really depends on your symptoms and what tasks you would require of the dog. Another thing to consider, for myself. I was left in a wheelchair and have three young kids, so I have to very seriously consider whether I am realistically able to care for the dog and see the training and costs thru.
If you have a disability you can get a service dog. There are a lot of resources on YouTube about service dogs. Like angel dog Persy. So depending on what your symptoms are you will need to train them to help you. A slight problem is that your a child and have no control over yourself. So the process of talking to your parents is an important one.
I hope this helps.
You could also try CBT and treating underlying mental illnesses. I also have FND and am in the process of finding treatment.
Hi there my daughter has FND she is 23yr it hard to live and to fight for your rights that why i do most things for her very tired as well
Hi Matthugh,
There are many different types of Service/Support Dogs in the UK - all of which need to have specific training for the intended Partner's condition. However, it is important to understand that the Dogs are taught how to respond to a situation, not understand a situation i.e if you have a seizure the dog may not always pick up on the fact one is going to happen, but will know to say bark or nudge you out of it when it does happen or fetch a medication pouch etc.
In the UK 18 years is usually the minimum age for having a Support Dog yourself (for legal reasons) - younger age groups for Autism/Anxiety/Seizure can have a dog, but it remains the Parents responsibility not the Childs.
I have no idea if FND alone is a diagnosis which qualifies for a Support Dog, I think you probably would need to define what your major life effecting symptoms were physically or mentally etc For me I have Motor FND with other major Physical disability too, so easy to qualify for a Physical Assistance Dog.
You really should think about what you actually need from a service dog before applying or visit a Support Dog Centre at one of their Open Days. I know from experience these intelligent dogs can be a lot of hard work for you to finish their training in your own environment, big adjustments made probably in your lifestyle, expense and they can be a worry when they are sick?
Do you think the benefits of having that emotional/physical support; out weighs the commitment you need daily to maintain and look after the dog, extra effort if to a Public Accessible standard?
I can only speak about UK Charities (but most International Dog Charities will be similar) they have a very strict application process (and always a limited number of dogs, so it can take a few years to get a clear answer either way!) and you need to be trained how to handle the dog- more than the dog in some ways. The Charity also effectively only `lends' you the dog (even though it is attuned to your needs), so it never belongs to you and that means they have certain rules on what you need to do for the dog and what they are willing to do/pay for like care/insurance etc.
Your own dogs may well be able to provide the support you need, there is a woman who bought and had trained a Support dog to help her cope with her Brain Trauma (see YouTube) but even your own dogs will have to be trained to an acceptable standard be used in Public Areas , International Laws are very clear on what is acceptable dog behaviour and handler control to be safe all round people/places.
Don't get me wrong, a special trained dog can transform you life for the better and certainly encourage you to go out more confidently, see people etc. And for you being so young, education or world of work will be huge challenges alone, where a dog could ease that stressful transition. Though whatever you decide to do, remember you have to put the effort in to maintaining the dog's abilities and wellbeing - to get the rewards out that you crave!
Look for the calm in the Storm!
Many Service Dogs are owned and trained by people with FND. I’m one of them. There are numerous Facebook groups for people training their own dogs, and it’s surprising how many suffer from FND. My neurologist highly recommends Service Dogs for those with FND.
Hi, my name is Larna and I’m 15 and have been diagnosed with severe FND. I have tics, seizures, paralysis, my joints lock and I can even lose my eyesight for a short time.I am currently in the process of getting a service dog and it has been a major help. But if I do get over FND I still have ptsd and other issues. If you need some more help or advice don’t hesitate to ask
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