Headaches

[Calluna]

I have had a killer headache for the past 2 and a half weeks, it starts off in the morning really sharp in my temples and moves down behind my eyes. Everything makes it worse, light, sound, movement, etc
It seems to get better after I eat but after about 30 mins its back again. I dont want to keep taking panadol all the time - I've been avoiding it as much as I can. But its really getting to me. I went to the doctor and he said it sounds like neck pain, but that doesn't explain why it goes away when I eat.
Any ideas what could be causing it? And what I can do to relieve it? It's driving me nuts.

[Arimeh]

I had that when pregnant with DS and it was because my blood sugar was too low.

I was on a can of soft drink a day (towards the middle or late arvo) so my bloods didn't go too low - but i was fainting and stuff too.

Once I started on my hit of sugar I was fine.

[tk1999]

Rather than taking panadol for my headaches I have gone and seen my acupuncturist. I was seeing him to assist with TTC and he was also treating my headaches. In the first trimester I didn't have that many headaches but now I have had a few more and my acupuncturist has been a life saviour. The headaches seem to stay away for longer periods when I have acupuncture rather than taking panadol.

I also looked whether there were reasons for my headaches and for me there were - I am working FT and was studying at Uni part time in the evenings. I have since applied to take a leave of absence from Uni for 2009... I just cannot concentrate as much as I am required to and it was hurting my brain!

[Calluna]

We dont have enough food in the house to keep my headache at bay. I'd be eating every 30 mins and be the size of a house.
I thought it might be low blood sugar because of the food thing, maybe I should get some lollies to chew on throughout the day do you think that'd help? I've recently stopped eating so much bad food as I thought that might be the cause but maybe it was helping? It does seem to have gotten worse since ...

ETA I used to see an acupuncturist for back pain and general health but we cant afford to do that now unfortunately, if only they were covered by medicare.

[tk1999]

Yes I agree it would be good if they were covered by Medicare.

Um, have they been worse since you cut out junk? Maybe it is the lack of some junk food that is making them worse.

Have you had any neck stiffness - maybe it is the movement in your jaw when you eat that is relieving the pain. I suffered from TMJ (inflamation of the mouth joint) a few months ago and it gave me very bad headaches but they were better when I ate as it was like a massage for the inflamed joint.

[Chow]

I was getting a lot of headaches all through my first Tri and then again at about 19 weeks. I found eating some fruit or lollies helped me! I always have a pack of fruit tingles in my bag now, I think mine is a blood sugar thing as if I don't eat somthing as soon as the headach comes I end up really pail with a super red nose and then i feel like fainting, its always a great look
Try lollies, anything is worth a try

[angelaartsstudent]

Mine are blood pressure related. I also get a raging pulse when I have them - around 140 bpm! Check up on your blood pressure to make sure it's not a tad high.

[Calluna]

how can i tell if my bp is high? my hr feels pretty normal to me? its not racing or anything. i cant go anywhere cause i have no transport is there anyway i can check my bp at home?

hehe sounds like a good excuse to eat lollies

[Calluna]

Yes I agree it would be good if they were covered by Medicare.

Um, have they been worse since you cut out junk? Maybe it is the lack of some junk food that is making them worse.

Have you had any neck stiffness - maybe it is the movement in your jaw when you eat that is relieving the pain. I suffered from TMJ (inflamation of the mouth joint) a few months ago and it gave me very bad headaches but they were better when I ate as it was like a massage for the inflamed joint.

Yea. It has been worse since I cut out some junk, McDonalds for example, havent been there in a couple of weeks, and lollies.
Not stiffness so much but I did get DP to give me a neck and shoulder massage like the doctor said and it helped alot, headache went away for a couple of hours. But I can't get him to do that every day before work.

My forehead feels a bit hot too. The rest of my body temp is normal I think, I dont feel feverish or anything. I dont have a thermometer otherwise I'd take my temp.

[briggsy's girl]

given that the pain has gone away with the neck/shoulder rub, i'd say the bulk of it is related to your neck being out,and the only way to get consistent relief is to visit an osteo or chiro. it's painful that it's not covered by medicare, but given you have 17 weeks of pregnancy left, the money migh be well worth the dollars you have to spend. i have always suffered headaches, and it's now kicked up a notch or 15 late in pregnancy. my neck is FUBAR cos of the relaxin from the pregnancy letting my neck muscles just do what they want without fighting, so i'm getting nasty nasty headaches.

i go to chiro once a week to once a fortnight now - he has discovered that my pelvis is also out very badly, so between neck and pelvis i have no hope of keeping my body in alignment and i either have to visit him or deal with the consequences (which last night was a severe migraine). if it tends to be on one side of your head, you can almost guarantee it's a "structural" headache, not a metabolic one.

the food might simply be that your body is appreciating the sugar hit (i find coke helps a lot with my headaches, but i only revert to that on bad days) - but as soon as the sugars drop off a bit, it will start again. the only way to know if it's BSL related is to get on a low GI diet and keep your BSL's stable...

ummmmm, try to steer clear of the blood sugar yo yo - it will get a lot worse. try heat on your neck or ice - see which gives you more relief - one is usually better than the other depending on whether you have localised inflammation. you can take any meds that have paracetamol and codeine in them (minimise codeine if you can but i find i take one panadol, one mersyndol day most of the time and feel ok)


ooh, the other thing thta might be causing it (and i know it's messing with me) - the relaxin hormone messes with ALL your muscles, including the ones in your eyes. given that i wear glasses, the changes bought about by the relaxin mean my eyes are fighting against the prescription i have sometimes so this makes my eyes hurt lots. i find i have to refocus all the time so i always have whatever i'm working on reasonably close - laptop, cross stitch etc - and then have the TV on in the distance so that i look up and refocus and exercise my eyes. it's not perfect, but it can help a lot. your eyes will often play up in pregnancy, and nothing you can do while you're pregnant as the relaxin messes too much with the muscles and as soon as you give birth, it all goes back to "normal". i am usually in the optometrist every November to get my eyes tested ( have had glasses since before my first birthday) and it's killing me not being able to "fix" this... just another thought to keep in mind as a maybe cause...

[Calluna]

It starts on one side (at the temple) and moves across the front of my head to the other side and down behind my eyes.
How much is a chiro? I've never been, is it exxy? We don't have any extra cash atm but maybe i could save for a few weeks? I'd like to get my back checked as well cause I've had a lot of problems with back pain and now I'm pg it's so much worse. Almost unbearable when I first lay down at night.
Maybe they're all related? I've had sore legs and hips too but I just put it down to being pg, extra weight and my leg muscles being tired. Actually now I think of it all my muscles are sore and tired, it's probably all related to my back and neck.
I wish I'd thought of that before.
Could a GP help me with this or do I really have to see a chiro?

[briggsy's girl]

GP's are seriously USELESS when it comes to this stuff - i saw a GP for months (well, years really) as a kid when i was getting migraines and they would come up with every medical option they could to treat it and i got nowhere - i was getting migraines up to three days a week. started seeing a chiro, and all was fantastic! wake with a headache, ring, appt with him and i'm fine within an hour.

the fact that your pain is all over, i'm guessing it would be back related - perhaps you're unfortunate like me and have your lower back out - that is what is causing a major part of my issues at the moment - hip pain, down to my legs, up to my neck (and it's putting my neck out and causing headaches) cos i'm all out of whack.

ummm, cost - well, i have PHI, so i get a rebate - pay on the day i "think" full cos is around $55 for initial visit, $42 for subsequent visit. taking an account adds a bit to the cost. i would ring around and ask about costs, and whether, given your circs, you are able to take an account so that you can get the treatment now - also make sure they are confident working with a pregnant woman. my chiro has two tables in diff rooms - one is just a basic table (like a massage table) and we use that room if i don't have to lay on my tum - the other is fully adjustable and he can drop out the tummy section, give extra support under my upper legs and chest so that i'm not uncomfy and baby is free to move. we use that one whenever i need back adjustment or massage that has me on my tume so as not to squoosh the Gremlin!

another option is to contact the hospital you will be birthing through and see if they have a physio for their birthing mothers - we're able to access a physio for about $10 but it's part of a class, not individual treatment, so not sure how beneficial it would be. i was also given contact details for another physio - but given my chiro is physio trained (and accupuncture) i know i get much the same treatment from him (and have 12 years of history for him to work with!)

if you're waking like this every morning, check out your pillow too, and how you sleep. try and check if you have "neck gap" from your pillow being too soft or not fitting up under your neck (i tuck my pillow down into my neck when i go to sleep, and have a latex pillow rather than a "normal" pillow to make sure it fits properly to support my neck as well. sleep with a pillow between your knees (stops you rolling too far over too far and keeps your hips in line) and with a small wedge or cushion under your bump. takes a bit to get used to it cos it feels weird (when not pg, i sleep half on my tum, half on my side) but i've felt it gave me heaps of relief. i actually grabbed a full length body pillow, sleept with that between my knees, under my belly and then cuddle it, and i don't have anywhere near the lower body pain when i do this... i think it was maybe only 20 or 30 bucks at harris scarfe....

as you can tell, i'm trying as much as possible to save money by using alternative treatments and keep chiro visits to a minimum

it's defintely worth getting on top of any painful bits early - if you're having significant back pain now, imagine how much that one might play up when you're in labour... you want to be in the best condition you can be before you go into labour. yeah, it migth cost a bit, but it's worth it long term

[Calluna]

I'll definately look into it. I was expecting it to be around $100 + per visit... not sure why, just the impression I get.
I can definately see it being worth it, its just finding the money in the first place, if I can get an account, then it could be ok.
I just realised how much I don't know about this stuff. lol.
So often these days I find myself thinking I'm very naive.

[briggsy's girl]

not naive - just not been exposed to this as a need before...

[Calluna]

I dont mean just this, lots of things. *sigh* live and learn I guess. Thanks heaps for your help.

[Taurean]

Briggy's seems to have given you lots of good advice (as usual BG ) but I just wanted to add my two cents worth as well. I've been getting more headaches as things progress and have managed to avoid taking panadol so far as I find either water or food helps. I'm guessing I'm either a little dehydrated or my blood sugars have dropped. Water or juice have worked wonders for me and I always try for carbs if I think food is needed - a cheese sandwich, crackers, fruit, etc.

[Calluna]

Food definately helps, but we have a shortage in our house atm, same goes for drinks, (we only have milk or water, both of which make me sick ) We curently have a fruit cup, some yougurt (both of which ive had today already) a tin of tomato soup and a maccoroni cheese packet thing (but no butter/ marg to make it with). Everything else is either old or really old. lol. DP should be home soon though, I'm gonna make him take me to a cafe round the corner for some lasagne (not that we can afford it). I feel like I've barely eaten all day. Definately has not helped.

[~Hestia~]

I was having awful headaches that really hurt my eyes & jaw, nothing relieved them. I thought maybe I was just tense so went for a massage. The masseuse actually found that my neck was quite stiff & did alot of work on it with me sitting on a chair as I can't lay on my tummy now. She thinks it's coming from my posture as I'm standing/walking differently due to belly, so putting alot of strain on myself. I still don't always remember to stand up tall & not push my belly out so much so I have gone back a few times. Even though I don't get any neck pain whatsoever I always feel 100% better after she's worked on my neck. It doesn't cost alot, maybe $40 at the most. Then I get back a little from HBA.
If you do see a masseuse ask beforehand if they are familiar with pregnant women. They need to know how to work around your bump & I've been told there are areas they are meant to avoid massaging & oils.
Hope you find something that helps you though.