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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Another A&E thread

534 replies

MyOtherCarIsAPorsche · 12/10/2023 21:53

AIBU to take granddaughter to hospital this evening or will it wait?

She's been having headaches regularly this year. She describes pounding and pain in eye. GP said eye test - optician immediately said that she could see a large prescription. DG had glasses then three months later had another checkup and a stronger pair prescribed. She's due back in December. So I'm assuming that they're increasing the strength of the glasses in increments.

Her headaches have persisted. This current one she's had since last Friday. I picked her up from school on Monday and could tell that each footstep was making her wince with pain. She couldn't sleep Monday night because of pain and feeling sick. We've been alternating paracetamol and ibuprofen for pain relief. Saw GP on Tuesday who said it was nothing sinister but was referring her to paediatrician. This evening she was complaining of eye and nose pain and appeared to be light sensitive. She's woken in pain a couple of hours after she went to bed and her eyelid is drooping.

Is this worth a trip to A&E?

We're very worried.

OP posts:
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13
Woahbodyforrrrm · 13/10/2023 07:14

Ps, @Somuchgoo I hope the person in your life with a BT is doing okay. I'm so sorry you've had to go through the trauma of a diagnosis and all that comes with it 💐

lovewatchingrainfall · 13/10/2023 07:14

Omg @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche I remember reading your thread about your husband and your grandson with his seizures. I hope your granddaughter is okay and things are okay. It never seems rain but pour for you does it. Hope you manage to get a rest.

Woahbodyforrrrm · 13/10/2023 07:12

@Wishitsnows I'm glad things are moving along but please don't let them reassure you that it's nothing sinister. They simply cannot tell that without a scan.

So many people with brain tumours are diagnosed via A&E when they're in a life threatening situation and this is often due to them being misdiagnosed by various healthcare professionals who put their symptoms down to other things. In my case, my symptoms were put down to having 4 children under 5 and being very sleep deprived. I was having headaches, extreme tiredness and one of my pupils was bigger then the other. I ended up in a coma in ITU.

So little exposure is given to brain tumours that people are unaware of the signs. @Somuchgoo post is brilliant and well worth a read.

For the first time ever, I heard an advert on the radio yesterday talking about the signs and symptoms of brain tumours. We need more awareness.

Please please please push for that MRI and don't be afraid to tell them that you're concerned about the possibility of a BT and need it ruled out. She is a child and I'm sure they will do it for you!

HeadAgainstWall0923 · 13/10/2023 06:56

I hope your granddaughter is okay.

Princesspollyyy · 13/10/2023 06:51

Hopefully youve gone to A&E. I don't think any complaining will be needed, or demanding of mri scan, as with those symptoms and the new addition of the dropping eyelid, they would also be concerned.

Hope your granddaughter is ok x

Kweenbee · 13/10/2023 06:48

Day staff should be coming on duty very soon now, I am so sorry this is happening to your family on top of everything else you're having to deal with. Let us know what the medics say.

Loubelle70 · 13/10/2023 06:47

whateveryouwantmetosay · 13/10/2023 06:19

I would not be leaving without a CT or MRI. Hope things are ok OP.

This..and id be complaining if not considering its ongoing

Sleeplessinseattle234 · 13/10/2023 06:41

Fingers crossed she is okay

whateveryouwantmetosay · 13/10/2023 06:19

I would not be leaving without a CT or MRI. Hope things are ok OP.

BeethovenNinth · 13/10/2023 05:35

Absolutely right OP. I always taken them to A and E for this kind of thing. Ultimately it needs a scan to check.GP should NOT be dismissive - this is why people end up at A and E

Chrispackhamspoodle · 13/10/2023 04:32

merrymelodies · 13/10/2023 03:48

Brain tumour? 😳

How could this be a helpful thing to post to a clearly worried op?

Wall13 · 13/10/2023 04:25

Hope you get some answers soon.

321user123 · 13/10/2023 04:13

MyOtherCarIsAPorsche · 13/10/2023 00:23

GP said it was nothing sinister on Tuesday. Which was reassuring. She referred to paediatrics who rang daughter today (which I though was very quick service which automatically made me more worried) and asked her which hospital she wanted to be seen in and then told her how long the waiting lists were for each one.

Local one was 8 months, nearest larger hospital was 12 months and a further hospital was 3 months.

Of course my daughter chose the one with the shortest waiting time. Which is a two hour journey away.

Show quote history

OP I agree with woahbodyforrrm that you should push for an mri and get things ruled out.
GPs often miss things or underestimate them,
you don’t want to take that risk and rely on their word alone.

merrymelodies · 13/10/2023 03:48

Brain tumour? 😳

5YearsLeft · 13/10/2023 03:46

MyOtherCarIsAPorsche · 13/10/2023 00:16

She's gone to York.

All checks were ok - apart from blood pressure which was high. But she was possibly frightened.

She's not had a good sleep since this 'clump' of headaches began (last Friday). - she produced a piece of paper from her room, to show the paramedics, which had all the times that she's been awake through the night this past week. She'd been writing it down.

She was awake less than two hours after going to sleep this evening which is unusual - and she looked shocking.

My daughter decided that she's not going to work tomorrow so she's gone to the hospital. I'm left waiting here for her youngest son to wake up - he cries most of the night. He's just started melatonin so the beginning of the evening is now quiet as it 'knocks him out' quickly - which has made such a huge difference to her older two children who can get to sleep much earlier than usual as the house is now suddenly peaceful when the melatonin kicks in.

My father had cluster headaches - at one point he was going to have a procedure to cut a nerve in his face, which would have left him 'droopy' on one side. He then decided against it. When he got an agonising headache he would ask my mum when the next train was due and I didn't realise until I was a lot older that he was meaning that he felt like he wanted to throw himself under a train. They stopped when he was in his 50s.

Another long night ahead - it's usually my younger grandson who's going in the ambulance when he has longer seizures. They're getting more frequent and more severe as he gets older.

And I don't want to even mention my husband who has a heart condition which has taken a worrying turn.

I'm rambling because I'm literally sick with worry ....

I'll will try and count some blessings. My shoe thread on here hasn't resolved either but there was a slight plot twist.

Show quote history

OP, I just want to nip in and say, as someone who had terrifying migraines that started mimicking strokes at age 17 and it worried my gran half to death, as she raised me, (I still have migraines two decades later, but only get one like that about once a year), that it’s okay to be overwhelmed and scared. It absolutely doesn’t mean you’re not grateful for the blessings that you have.

Bless, we’re only human. We know there are other people that have it worse, but that doesn’t change things in the middle of the night when you’re scared and you don’t know what the future will bring. If counting your blessings helps with the fear, then do that. If it makes you feel guilty for focusing in the fear… don’t. Read a nice book or have a cuppa for some distraction instead for a bit. We love the people we love (as I’m sure both your daughter and grandchildren love you); we don’t expect them to be saints.

I hope your granddaughters’ case will resolve much like mine (yes, I have migraines, sometimes they LOOK terrible and hurt like hell, but that’s all they do); though 7 is very young for migraines, it’s not impossible. You can only take each day as it comes, and no one will ask or expect any more of you than that.

Vick99 · 13/10/2023 03:34

Another one who thinks your daughter should push for a scan now. I have no medical knowledge, but such a rapid deterioration of eyesight sounds very unusual.

Ihavehadenoughalready · 13/10/2023 03:23

Just chiming in, a coworker's granddaughter was diagnosed with a type of glioma-IIRC (that is what the rest of us are concerned about for yours and why we think she needs an MRI) when she was about 11. Obviously it's not as likely as a more benign explanation. She's 16 now and cannot smile evenly; they've said it's not operable, but it can be controlled for now with radiation.

i guess it would be hard to push for an MRI when the GP has said it's nothing worrying. OTOH for pure peace of mind and as a rule out, I personally don't think it's unreasonable to at least ask. Certainly if she gets any worse I would have her mother ask.

NeunundneunzigHorseBallonz · 13/10/2023 03:13

Poor kid! I hope she gets some answers soon! I had horrible migraines that seem to have been hormone-induced. I now have lots of ischaemic scars scattered all through my brain - like those of a chain-smoker. My stroke risk is dramatically increased as a result. I grew up in the 80’s when these things weren’t investigated.

Fionaville · 13/10/2023 01:31

MyOtherCarIsAPorsche · 13/10/2023 00:23

GP said it was nothing sinister on Tuesday. Which was reassuring. She referred to paediatrics who rang daughter today (which I though was very quick service which automatically made me more worried) and asked her which hospital she wanted to be seen in and then told her how long the waiting lists were for each one.

Local one was 8 months, nearest larger hospital was 12 months and a further hospital was 3 months.

Of course my daughter chose the one with the shortest waiting time. Which is a two hour journey away.

Show quote history

God it makes me so mad that a child is being left like this for months!!
This f'kin government 😡
Hope she gets sorted sooner. Tell your daughter to keep on ringing, she might just get a cancellation. I'd go as high as I could complaining to be honest, it's amazing what it can get you in these circumstances!

jswawsn · 13/10/2023 01:23

I hope she's ok x

Upallnightsndallday · 13/10/2023 01:17

I had trigeminal neuralgia years ago ended up on some nasty epilepsy tablets to stop something in the nerves to the brain struggled for months before getting a mri
the pain from that also feels like it could be excruciating toothache has she mentioned that or just headaches (a lot of people end up having teeth taken out as they think it’s that before being diagnosed and will try anything to stop the pain as it’s so bad
luckily for me went as suddenly as it came and (touch wood) not returned since

nocoolnamesleft · 13/10/2023 00:50

Which is why, earlier in the thread, I advised getting assessed tonight.

Somuchgoo · 13/10/2023 00:47

nocoolnamesleft · 13/10/2023 00:43

I agree that it sounds like she needs a scan, but a hospital the size of York may well not be able to MRI children overnight, so the question then becomes whether things are worrying enough to do a CT overnight, or whether to wait for an MRI in the morning. A decision that obviously can't be made by us, with limited history and no examination findings.

Absolutely. Its a job for tomorrow/ASAP though, not the 3 months to even have a referral.

nocoolnamesleft · 13/10/2023 00:43

I agree that it sounds like she needs a scan, but a hospital the size of York may well not be able to MRI children overnight, so the question then becomes whether things are worrying enough to do a CT overnight, or whether to wait for an MRI in the morning. A decision that obviously can't be made by us, with limited history and no examination findings.

Somuchgoo · 13/10/2023 00:37

Actually here is a headsmart poster

Scanning is required where there is a persistent headache plus at least one other symptom, which she's got.

Another A&E thread
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