At a loss of where to start to help my niece

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Hi everyone, thank you for letting me join you. I have a 32 yr old niece who was diagnosed about 6 years ago. She has had debilitating migraines since puberty onset. She has been working in banking for over 10 years now, but has been forced to apply for FMLA again this month due to what I guess you call break thru seizures. Plus she says she has been noticing bruises in the mornings and thinks she is having seizures at night. Her neurologist has talked about monitoring her at night, but it appears they may be waiting on insurance approval. She only works 20 hours/week because it appears that more is too stressful and brings on more seizures and migraines.

She doesn't drive, although she used to. Her mother died a year ago and she lives at home with her dad, who doesn't drive a lot and is in the depths of depression, as is she. I just feel like she needs to know what kind of support is available out there, and to connect with others in the same circumstances. I feel like her main needs at this point are emotional support and knowledge of resources that are available to her. She lives in the Clear Lake, TX area. I have looked for support groups in that area, but they all seem to meet at night and her dad doesn't and shouldn't drive at night. I have suggested Uber as a means of transportation, which she can afford. Any suggestions any of you might have would be so very much appreciated. Thank you for reading all this.
 
Austin has good medicaid.

I know she's far away, but their ability and willingness to help are great, indeed.

Their public transportation is nice, too.


I'd look into applying for medicaid, either way.
 
That's what I think too. Believe it or not, she does have insurance through her work, at least for now. Thanks for your suggestions.
 
Hi Sunny,
Just like your niece I've never been able to drive in my life and I've had epilepsy for 46 yrs. now. I also started out with migraines and then the seizures started up. If your niece is willing tell her to look into public transportation if I have to I will take the bus into work or they have a program called Gadabout here where you sign up and they come get you in a van and take you back home, they also do this for shopping and Drs. apt. and I pay $2-$3.00 it depends on how far I have to go.
When it comes to depression that's all part of having epilepsy and often the seizure meds a person is taking. Tell your niece to look at Elton John he's had seizures for a long time but he doesn't let that stop him and I've been working in a public school for 32 yrs. and I have had seizures in front of the students but they understand because I teach them about the seizures and this is one thing your niece may want to do with her co workers. Here's wishing you and your niece the best of luck and May God Bless the Both of You!

Sue
 
Hey Sunny, welcome to CWE!

In addition to support groups in her area, you might encourage your niece to join CWE. :)

It's possible that her seizure medication is causing or exacerbating the depression -- it's a known side effect of some of the meds. Her neuro should review her meds with her to make sure this isn't the case. If meds are ruled out, can her neurologist refer her to a therapist to help with the depression? If transportation is a problem, it might be possible to have a therapy session via phone after a few face-to-face meetings.
 
Sunny Garbarino

The first thing is, Welcome to C.W.E. you should be commended for trying to be more informed. Your Niece was a long time working and then to have to give it up, that is hard on her. From my point of view if she is noticing bruising do not dismiss it, she knows her body better than anybody else and she could be very right or it might be a result of a medication she is on. Stress is one of the big triggers when it comes to seizures, so only being able to work 20 hours a week is pretty good going.

I am sorry she does not drive, I am one of the very lucky ones, I could drive and work and did. As far as support goes the first thing I would recommend is joining C.W.E. the support, understanding and love you find here from people here is limitless. You could look for support groups in your area which might benefit her.
 
Sounds like she needs to sort with the neurologist and get diagnosed first. You didn't say if she was on meds, for migraines or seizures. There is no reason why she can't return to work if she can find meds that control her seizures and migraines. She's on a slippery slope right now. If she loses her insurance and can't afford treatment, it's going to be difficult to pick up the pieces again. Make sure she sees her doctors and follows through. This won't be one or two doctors visits either, it may take several months to find the right drugs and dosages. If she sticks with it, she could very well work full-time again (if that's what she wants to do).

As far as the depression goes, epilepsy and depression are strongly linked but that doesn't mean you have to live with depression! Make sure she talks with her neurologist about the depression. If she's on meds, she needs to tell her doctor about this because it may be a side effect. If it's not a side effect of meds, I recommend seeing a psychiatrist.

You also mentioned emotional support. Support groups are good, but would you consider a one on one therapist? You might find the more personal and confidential nature of a one on one therapist safer and more comfortable than a group setting. As far as cost goes, my insurance paid for a limited number of visits to group therapy but paid full costs, whereas I have unlimited visits to my therapist but I have a $35 copay per visit. Not all group therapy is the same, some group therapy is free to the community, but because of this has a long waiting list typically! Make sure to do your research and ask questions about the program.
 
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