Posted before but posting again for traffic- apologies, hope that’s allowed.
I have a close family member who has been unwell recently. We are worried about her and feel she needs more help than she is getting. We are trying to help as much as possible without stepping on her toes as she is an adult. If anyone can offer any advice or knowledge about what we could do as a family to help her it would be greatly appreciated. I will include all the information I’m aware of.
She would kill me if she knew I was posting on here so I will keep it as anonymous as I can!
She is in her early 20s and has been getting headaches. I’ve seen her with them and it’s awful. She throws up and is almost hitting her head off the wall with the pain. I don’t know how often exactly it happens but it is very regularly. She said it started around summer time. I don’t recall her being prone to headaches or sickness before then. She has had eye tests and she said her eyes are fine apart from finding out she has glaucoma- she had to go to the hospital straight away as the test for glaucoma was so high. She takes medicine for glaucoma now but she said the headaches and sickness are still happening. I believe she has been back to the doctor who told her it was migraine but she said last weekend that the medication she was given has not helped.
As her family we are obviously concerned and hate to see her unwell. I am by no means a healthcare professional but she seems very young to have glaucoma and headaches with sickness.
Incidentally she had a CAT scan after an unrelated injury which was fine. Is it fair to assume they would have picked up any brain problems on that scan? As I said I am not a healthcare professional but as a family we were worried about something serious. Would a CAT scan have ruled this out? Should she be asking for an MRI scan or another test?
She seems happy to involve us and tell us about it, but ultimately it’s her decision what to do going forward. She won’t admit it but I can tell she is feeling down about having no real answers or help. We wanted her to be referred for further help for her headaches but she said that the GP said it wasn’t needed. I don’t know what else they recommended as she hasn’t told me, but she did say that the GP wasn’t worried.
Has anyone any knowledge on this type of thing? Or what we could do as a family to help and support her? She said she feels like she is expected to live with it and these headaches and sickness are now part of her everyday routine. We just want to help her but don’t know the best way forward.
She hasn’t complained about it specifically but as a family we have also noticed how tired she is recently. She’s fit and sporty yet is always napping and dozing now. I know she had a blood test recently which she said was healthy, although she didn’t say what exactly was tested.
I have tried to include as much information as I can, if anyone has any knowledge or experience I would greatly appreciate it. We just want what’s best for her.