Swansea woman's migraines dismissed by GP as 'dramatic' - BBC News
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I couldn't live with the agony of migraines anymore but my GP called me dramatic
By Rowenna Hoskin
BBC Wales
Published 23 September 2026
Updated 1 hour ago
Warning: This article contains details of mental health struggles including references to suicide
When Lauren Evans told her doctor she was suicidal because of the "pure agony" of her chronic migraine, she was told she was being dramatic.
Lauren, 29, was seven when she got her first migraine and went on to have them regularly - by the time she was 24, they were happening every day.
"People need to understand that a migraine is a full body experience," she said.
Migraines are often misunderstood as "just a headache" despite being a neurological condition that can leave people unable to work, socialise or function in everyday life, according to a migraine expert.
The Welsh government said it was working to improve access to neurological services.
Image: Lauren Evans
Image caption: Lauren says when she is having a migraine attack, one eye droops, goes quite puffy and watery
Lauren, from Swansea, said:
"Although the 'headache' is in the head it can affect body temperature, digestive system, speech, light sensitivity, limb numbness, ability to walk and carry out a journey, brain fog, sleep, neck pain, mood swings, visual aura, sound sensitivity, cravings, vertigo. I would wake up daily either in pain or worried about when it would start."
She also spent a huge amount of time researching triggers and spent "hundreds on various things just to see if that would help" - from vitamins to chiropractors.
Lauren was training to become a biomedical scientist in the NHS but the lights and overstimulation of Singleton Hospital were so intense she had daily migraines.
She added that she often felt dismissed by colleagues who implied she was faking her condition but was lucky that her manager was supportive.
Some colleagues would accommodate her by turning off the lights, she said, but others said: "If you don't get your annual leave approved, you can just say you've got a migraine and you won't come in."
She continued: "That was so untrue. So you're battling, not just your physical health, you're battling all the mental side that comes with it as well."
If she went home every day at the sight of a migraine, Lauren said she would never be in work. There wasn't a day without pain and if there was, she'd be waiting for it.
To manage her symptoms, Lauren changed her working hours, starting at 08:00 BST and finishing at 16:00 so she could get home to take medication, but was still "in agony".
"I couldn't make plans because I knew I'd be suffering in the evening. My weekends would basically be spent recovering," she said.
Image: Lauren Evans
Image caption: The NHS says there is treatment to help manage symptoms
Lauren said frequent attacks affected her relationship and left her feeling isolated: "It was a dark time. It got to the point where I was like, 'I can't do this for another year'."
Lauren said she went back to the doctor to try to find another option.
"I was like 'I've tried quite a lot of things. Is there any referrals I can have?'"
"I actually disclosed that I'm starting to feel suicidal and I'll never forget the words out of her mouth..."