Any Hope for Headaches?

[JulieNH]

I had a aneurysm, SAH which bled for a week, a coiling and a stroke during coiling starting on June 23, 2006. I'm doing VERY well and my only real complaint is a terrible headache. I always have what I call a background headache, but I'm also having what I explain as "Stabbing" headaches. There is no rhyme or reason to where it stabs, the pain moves around and comes and goes (mostly comes). Sometimes behind an eye, sometimes behind an ear and sometimes the top of my head to the very back of my head. I'm finally going to see a neurologist in 10 days, but I was wondering what everyone else had been perscribed or what has worked for any of you. I had an EEG and there are no seizures, thank God. Has anyone had the headaches go away? Is there hope? Thanks for all or your imput and support!

[jordal]

hi there i also been constant headach/ migrane sufferer... dr gave me amatripiline wow iv suffered all my life now i 30 they finally figured it out!!! i take 100mg a day and i even have days with no background headache. it didnt take the problem away all the time, but helps so much (if ur like me any relif good!) i dont know y they didnt give it to me before..... good luck all the best... jordal

[Dal]

I too had those headaches and after a cat scan everyting looked ok, so the DR. rx'd me lorazipam (ativan) nothing I tired would touch the headaches, all was going good until I got a case of shingles, made those other headaches seem like nothing, they rx'd me morophine and gabapentin. I'm about 10 months post coiling.

[Biane]

Julie,

Hello. Glad to hear that you are doing well except for the headaches. I am two and a half years post clipping for an unruptured left ophthalmic annie. I still have headaches - always a dull background ache and as you described, jolts of pain every now and then. My neurologist called it "idiopathic jabs & jolts" which means, of course, "I have no idea why you have these pains but you do".

I too had an EEG - no seizures. :) I just try to deal with them. If it gets bad I take meds.

Some of it - for me - is most likely due to my having TMJ. I am getting a splint made to wear over my lower teeth and that should help. The doctor I saw for TMJ said that most of those jabs & jolts were probably due to muscle strain. I'll try the splint and see.

Wishing you the best - Biane

[cindybear]

I have horrible head pain 24/7 for allmost 6 years...It's not a very fun way to live..But I take alot of pain meds ( in signature , below ) I have had an attempted surgery. But I had a stroke,,So I'm inoperable...Waiting for a miracle...I'm 44, started when I was 38...Take one day at a time...Hugs, Cindy

[jordal]

I too had those headaches and after a cat scan everyting looked ok, so the DR. rx'd me lorazipam (ativan) nothing I tired would touch the headaches, all was going good until I got a case of shingles, made those other headaches seem like nothing, they rx'd me morophine and gabapentin. I'm about 10 months post coiling.

i got bells paulsy when annie troubles begain, the reason i quote is because bells paulsy and shingles are the same virus.. they gave me morphine also along with a whack of other crap, but nothing seemed to take ha away completly while face was still parilized and bout month after now if head ache is really bad i take 20 mg morphine 50 mg amitripiline and 4 advil migrane, put my ear plugs in and rest dosnt get that bad very often anymore, in fact ha are better now than they were before annie. so there is hope! i didnt think so and they tried so many different things through my life i figured that i would always have to deal with constant headaches and frequent migranes. all the best to u....

[FireflyR7]

:o Hi hun, I had a rupture in June 05. I didn't get diagnosed until the end of august after going to the ER several times?? I finally had my first surgery in Sept. 05. I also threw a clot durring my first surgery for the stenting & pretty much died on the table for a moment. I had the second surgery to put the coils in in Oct. 05. I feel lucky to be here!! I too suffer from headaches... I am taking Gabapentin, Depakote & vicodin in between those doses. I am also on a few more things due to insomnia & a muscle relaxer for past back surgeries. My Dr. had to try several things before he found a combo to work well. You need to find a General Practioner close to you that deals a lot with "Vascuar" patients, that is the heart, strokes, us... I went to several "specialist" and my G.P. help me more than they did!! Your NS is basically a surgeon, they don't do long term follow up care, only if you have problems or test. Finding a good Gen. Pract. is what you need, mine is so nice!! He sits patiently while I ramble on, he also answers the phone himself after hours or weekend or his fill in does, no answering service!! He is very caring and knowlegable!!! He has made a big diff. in my care! :) That is the best advice I can give you, sometimes it does take a while to find the right combo, of course I am one of those people who are allergic to everything!! Good luck hun! Have patience. Take care hun & always in my prayers! Tricia

[annie2105]

I take Pamalor for my "background headaches". Seems to work pretty well and calms my nerves a bit too!

[hstupno]

I was going to start another post, but I guess my question is in line with this one. Sorry to piggy-back!

I'm still recovering from my ruptured annie. Only 5 days out of my 20 day hospital stay. I suffering strange headaches and I don't know if it's due to over doing it, or if this will just be the norm from now on.

One day, I have a faint headache and I don't really need any meds, the next day, it's a stabbing pain. Other days it's stabbing pain, but it moves around to back of neck or behind my eye. Any idea just how long this kind of pain will go on, or is it just totally different for each person depending upon the severity of their rupture?

The only thing prescribed for me is hydrocodoen (aka vicadin or lortab). The most I've taken is three in one day and they only gave me a supply of 30 tablets. If I'm still experiencing pain after those 30 pills are up, should I ask the Dr. for more? I'll be having a following up in 3 weeks.

From the sounds of it, some folks get the background headaches for years. I also get migraines, so I'll be real curious to see how my rupture effects those...if at all. I hope it doesn't make them more sever, or more difficult to diagnose. I've always been able to recognize when I'm getting one, so I hope that doesn't change.

Thanks,
Heidi

[joannef]

Julie and Heidi,
Well, it's been a year and 3 months for me, and I rarely get headaches now, if that's any consolation. Just the occasional sharp stabbing pain, which goes away just as quickly as it comes. I was told this was from the nerves reconnecting. Not sure it's true. (Even though I was coiled, I had 8 staples in my skull holding the ventric tube in place.)

I'm sitting here trying to remember when the bad headaches went away, and I'm sure it was within 3-4 months of the rupture. But everyone is different, and Julie, with your stroke, I would expect your recovery to take longer. Lortabs were what they gave me after discharge from Maine Med, and I found after the first few weeks, I didn't need them anymore. Switched to Extra-strength Tylenol and that was enough. Remember, too, to drink lots of water and get some form of exercise every day. Eating small frequent meals may help too, b/c it keeps your blood sugar even.

Good luck to you both (fellow members of the Dr. Kwan Fan Club!) and anyone else suffering from headaches.

Hugs,
Joanne

[Ember]

Lots of water, like a minimum of 2 liters a day, gentle stretches, slow walks, frequent small meals, no caffeine--all of this helps my headaches. I take Tylenol if I need it. I was off stronger pain meds by day four in the hospital but I have never been prone to headaches pre-bleed so maybe that has something to do with it.

Has anyone tried any alternative healing methods for headaches? Reiki and other energy modalities have helped tremendously for me. I also had a dear friend who is an alternative healer do a session of sound healing while I was in the hospital. Yoga stretches help me with headaches and anxiety--I just avoid inversion poses where my head is below my heart.

I have been told that headaches can be a sign of overdoing it--my sign is sudden fatigue and nausea. I treat it the same way though, I drink some water and lay down and that usually does it.

Love!
Ember

[Nancy D]

Get a good strong pain med. I could not escape the pain and my BP went to 190/100, not good for us Annie folks. CT showed no damage from high BP.

[JulieNH]

Thank you to all that replied. It is interesting to see the wide variety of pain killers that are perscribed for head pain. I have a neurologist appointment on Tuesday and I have hope that she will stop these painful headaches.

I've noted that my blood pressure, which had always been lower than 90/60, seems to spike just before the really bad headaches come. Has anyone else noticed this? I haven't actually taken my blood pressure because I don't have a cuff, but I feel a rushing in my ears and pressure in my head, or a throbing in my neck veins just before the headaches take over, and the very top of my head throbs. Thanks again!
JulieNH

[ChrisC]

Julie, since you had a rupture, you might have headaches for a little while longer. When an annie ruptures, the blood that enters the brain cavity is like an irritant, kind of like sand in your shoe. The brain is bathed by a closed circuit system that contains cerebrospinal fluid. Ruptures affect this area. That's why alot of rupture patients have neck, back pain and headaches - the blood is still circulating with the cerebrospinal fluid and therefore irritates everything in it's path. It will reaborb, but unfortunately, it takes time. Ask your doctor if, instead of narcotics, maybe try an anti-inflammatory med which might work better for you. See what he says! My prayers are with you.

[Nancy D]

I just got back from my local clinic aftwer having my pupils and BP checked by someone other that a surgeon. I have some more Tranquilizers that have been the only thing that has helped the headache. She thinks I might have Bell's Palsy. What next