Daily headaches from hell-help needed

My OH had severe head pain for two days. Out of hrs suggested he fone for an ambulance. Straight to A&E. MRI scan to check for a bleed on the brain. Blood tests galore. Spinal tap. Turns out he had Viral Meningitis.

Never mess with severe head pain.

If indeed your headaches are related to the menopause (i.e. lower oestrogen production) replacing the missing oestrogen should give almost immediate improvement in symptoms. I suggest oestrogen patches for a week or two and if they work you can decide whether you wish to continue with the HRT. Long term HRT would have many additional benefits such as protecting you from osteoporosis, vaginal atrophy, etc.

I very much sympathise Kentish. I had terrible PMT and headaches from age 13 till I went on the pill age 18. I stopped taking at 38, had 3rd baby and then in mid 40’s had such horrendous migraines and heavy periods I was wiped out for 2 weeks a month which made working virtually impossible. Terrible peri menopause but once it was over all my symptoms vanished. I agree with other posters not to ignore your symptoms though.

Drinking not ringing Duh spell check !

I stopped ringing coffee & my migraines stopped too. It was the caffeine causing them
I now have Decaff Rea & no chocolate or coffee & no migraines. Such a relief.
I notice you said they make you want to cry.
This may be the message your body is also trying to send you via the pain Locked in grief. can be released thro shedding a few tears & voila the pain is released too.

I’ve been a migraine sufferer since I was 10. Clusters of migraines have been awful. Please ask your gp to check your platelet level as it may be too high. This is what I have and I’m now receiving treatment via a haematologist. Wish you well.

So glad you're going to the optician. My experience was the same as nanny123 I had a blinding headache which nothing could relieve and it was sudden onset glaucoma. They brought a surgeon from his bed in the middle of the night and he saved the sight in my left eye.

They can do wonderful things and I hope you get a diagnosis and treatment for whatever is causing the pain.

Once everything ruled out by optician and medical team - you are entitled to a second opinion - you might want to consider this: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47831576?fbclid=IwAR3C8mz26OBFwy1uS_jeAOLQ6umEbtXsRtl8VKNMUOthHULX1UkaLdIiZjw - or perhaps not. It's not for me but I have friends here in Orkney with various health issues who regularly swim in the sea locally and seem to benefit.....

You could be getting cluster headaches which I believe to be extremely painful. My nephew gets them periodically and they are agonising. Oxygen therapy has given him relief... you will/may need to attend A&E initially to get it

I really feel for you. I don’t know if the following is at all helpful but I have found buying an ice kap ( correct spelling) helpful - it wasn’t cheap but fits snugly over the head and the combination of all pressure and intense cold seems to counteract the pain of my severe migraines. I got one after trying out wrapped freezer gel packs on the forehead and/or back of neck, and getting some relief. Other than that as preventatives I always try to make sure I’m hydrated, wear sunglasses if a bright day and am aware tiredness or certain foods can act as triggers. I hope you can get some relief.

It could be hormones. I used to get dreadful migraine after having my first baby at twenty, severe pain behind my right eye, nausea and my head felt like a ton weight. It would always go on for 3 days continual at the start of a period. I felt like I could murder someone. lol. It finally went when I went on HRT patches when I was 50 ish. Can't remember exactly. I would go back to another GP though and as others have said, make an appointment with an optician. I feel for you, I really do and hope you get sorted out very soon.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and kind words.I have booked an optician appointment for tomorrow because I still have this dreadful pain in my eye which can radiate out.am at my wits end.

I'd go back to your doctor too. 8n the meantime adap, book a session with a Chiropractor. I've had headaches all my life and have discovered some were referred pain when I tried the Chiro for one of them (included neck that time but I've experienced all sorts)

I have headaches that started with the menopause lasting 3 days or so. Doctor said they were cluster headaches but nothing seemed to touch them. That horrendous ache behind the eye, throbbing head and nausea plus a really pale face and black under the eyes.
Eventually I remember Mum had headaches and used to take aspirin. This was my last resort butto my surprise they worked, not immediately but at least gave some relief. They were especially good if I managed to take them as the headache started. I try to carry aspirin with me at all times for emergency treatment.
These days headaches are few and far between now and only last a day if I can take the aspirin early. I have no other physical health issues so it may have been hormone related.
Hope you manage to make an improvement.

Try drinking more water and cutting out alcohol, tea, coffee and fizzy drinks- introduce them slowly one by one after a while and compare the effect or non effects on the headaches. My daughter, when a teenager, had lots of headaches which continued into early adulthood but now she only drinks very weak squash and she hardly gets any.

It could also be lack of sleep, too much time spent with technology, stress or hormones.

Mine turned out to be high blood pressure, with the correct medication they went away completely. I do agree that you need further tests and see an optician if you haven’t already.

Urmstongran I think you must be right LBC about them being hormonal. I used to have classic migraines in my 40’s - with the preceding aura of zig zag lines. No family history of them. The first one I ever got was when I was reading and ‘gaps’ or blanks with no text appeared on the page. It frightened me to death! I lifted a hand up and moved it in front of me and it ‘disappeared’ at one side. I thought I had a brain tumour.

I had exactly that as a schoolgirl when my periods started. The partial blindness started before the headache and, as you say, was terrifying. I looked down at the textbook on my school desk during a lesson and whispered to my friend that I'd got a faulty book because half of the print was missing. When she said no, it wasn't, I thought the worst.

Later I got the aura and then the blinding pain.

Clearly they were hormonal and had kicked in with puberty. I suffered them for a number of years until I discovered certain foods/drinks could trigger.

I had a friend who suffered from something that sounds like what you are describing.

It was diagnosed as Horton's syndrome, which is unpleasant but not a dangerous condition, but it is quite uncommon, so a lot of GP's don't recognise it.

Ask your GP for a referral to a specialist and don't take no for an answer. It's your life that it being made a misery, and the menopause is no excuse for not treating a migraine.

I assume you have had your eyes tested recently?

I took epilim in low dosage for regular migraines. The drug is meant to control epilepsy but also works on migraine. However if you are in that much pain and for that long you should be having an MRI. I hope it is just as your GP says

My sympathies here.....many memories of waking 3-4 am with violent pain in one eye and side of my head, which only started to subside after vomiting. Am wondering if you’ve tried Acupuncture? Although my symptoms are almost history now that I am 3 score and ten+, I still occasionally need the acupuncture that so helped me.

Sorry, I am agreeing with Nanny 123

Have you seen an optitian? They can see what is going on in the back of the eye, and also detect things like high blood pressure.

Friend of mine has suffered with debilitating migraines most of her life and had all sorts of different meds from the doctors. She recently read a book about plant based diets and saw a suggestion of taking one quarter teaspoon of ginger powder dissolved in water when she felt pain coming on. This has transformed her life, it puts a complete stop to her migraines. Worth a try?

. . .my own experience of excruciating migraines over many many years . . . . was cured with immediate effect following a hysterectomy . . . I'm not suggesting this as a remedy . . . merely that that was my experience. . . BUT it would suggest as pp said that the issue is/could be more in the " basement and not the attic " or at least maybe hormonal which may come to pass post menopause?

I have also seen that a form of botox therapy works well in extreme cases . .it may be worth a google?

Hope you feel better soon.

I suffered for years with what you describe thinking it was just another “headache” The pain behind my left eye was awful at times - I happened to mention it when I went to have my eye tested and I was sent to the eye clinic at our local hospital that same day - apparently what was causing the pain was pressure behind the eye and if left could have been awful. I would urge you to maybe get your eyes tested as the opticians can often pick up on things that maybe a GP wouldnt.