I don’t know if this will help anyone, but it helped me. My daughter came up with it when I was having headache and I still do it now if I get one, the wheat warmers that you can use if you need to warm an aching area, put it in the freezer and cool it down then place this on your head and sit and relax, I take a couple of painkillers and let them all start to work, don’t freeze it completely just get it cool enough, it seems to calm the chaos your head is feeling. I hope this helps someone.
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I like the idea of a chilled wheat warmer. I’m seven months post stroke and was doing really well, I had been headache free for a little while. I have had a week of banging headaches and thought i’d kicked these into touch I have started to get some fatigue back as well.
feels like it’s never ending but i guess that’s life post stroke.
Hi rups hope your keeping well it’s been ages since we spoke , as when the site changed I couldn’t get on with it life is a struggle I’ve managed to go back to work but cut my hours down … pippy
Shwmae Pippy, it’s good to hear from you, I’m sorry to hear that things are a bit of a struggle. I struggle too, it’s a tough old slog after stroke. Got to be brave though and weather each storm with a view to soak up simple pleasures. 
Glad you have dipped back into the forum. I hope that this weekend is treating you kindly.
Hey yeah good to chat again weekend was ok thankyou been out on the canel in my sons boat was cold but nice being amongst nature , I’m on annual leave this week so done a bit of shopping today how you been you done much today x
Bore da Pippy, a canal boat ride, sounds lovely. I’ve never been on one. I’m still having my wake up coffee. I don’t get moving until noon most days. I am up but I tend to read or do administrative things on the laptop until I am ready to tackle daily tasks. It’s a wee bit chilly today, so will light the fires and learn how to thread my new sewing machine. 
Hey you have a sewing machine what are you making x
At the moment, handkerchiefs, but I am just about to start repairing a travel bag that has seen better days. This is my first foray into the world of sewing, so I am well green. However, for someone who feels they need to be endlessly pottering, it has become a welcomed indoor hobby for when I want to be useful but not too active or do not feel like venturing outside. Hope you are having a decent weekend.
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@LisaQB reading your story and it is exactly what I’m going through! Stroke at 53, just 3 weeks ago. PFO identified and I’ll need a PFO closure. Such a scary and traumatic experience. Hope you’re doing ok xx
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve gone through that experience but I can assure you that things get better from that point. However scary it is to know you have a PFO that requires surgery, I can assure you that the relief of knowing the root cause of the stroke risk has been dealt with is priceless. I found that PFO closure procedure itself wasn’t very invasive or anywhere near as bad as I’d imagined and I recovered very quickly (but don’t tell my hubby as I made the most of the recovery rest time and also insisted on lots of ice cream to aid my recovery!).
I found that having a PFO diagnosis - while scary at the time - answered a lot of questions about my life and health before stroke, including struggling at altitude, lack of energy and stamina, breathing difficulties, migraine with aura, hair and nail breakage etc.
Once again, I’m sorry to hear that you too have been through this, but you’re not alone and things will get better.
You can message anytime, and please let me know how you get on post PFO closure.
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@LisaQB Thank you so very much for your supportive and detailed response. I’ve been simply terrified and it’s a massive relief to find someone who has been through the same experience. I’ve suffered from altitude, breathing and all the other issues you describe too and it certainly helps to have the problem identified and know that there’s a solution. So scary that it’s taken a stroke for PFO to make its presence known though! It’s so reassuring to read your experience of PFO closure and I feel much calmer now, thank you so much. I’m still waiting for an appointment for the procedure, I’m an emergency outpatient but I guess it’s still going to take some time, which is stressful. I’ll keep you posted on how I get on! It’s so lovely to meet you and I send my best wishes to you and your family xxx
I NOTICED LAST WEEK AT HOME IN BED TRYING TALKING TO MY GODSON THAT LIFT UP MY HEAD WAS CONSTANTLY HURTING from a stroke.
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Thank you for sharing. I’m coming up to 1 year and headaches that move around my head from the back (banging) to the front (splitting) happen daily for me. I am finding that you have to read your body and mine happen when my brain has been processing too much. Its usually the day after but if I’m on the computer or chatting with a friend they can begin after as little as 20 minutes. I’m on Amitriptyline which I know is helping because I tried coming off them and it was unbearable. I’m encouraged that headaches are common and that they lessen over time.
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Thanks @Mahoney. People ask me what I do all day. They can’t believe that sometimes I just sit or lie down with my eyes closed - no distractions. But like you this is the only thing that helps me. I’ve found the joy of birds tweeting outside my window. How had I missed the joy of that for so long. Silver linings everywhere you look. Best wishes.
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My wife died of a haemorrhagic stroke 14 months ago. She was 69 and relatively healthy with none of the usual risk factors.
As a research scientist myself (retired) I wanted answers.
Part of that involved investigating health issues of my wife in the previous few years.
Going back through her diary. I wondered whether there were warning signs months before.
Eight months earlier, she had her first ever migraine, and had 3 more in the following months. I’ve had migraines since I was 14 so it was regarded as ‘one of those things’.
A couple of times she separately noted a stabbing pain behind one eye. A check by her optician could find no reason for it.
Two months before the stroke she had a severe episode of vertigo which, when checked out, was assigned to BPPV, an inner ear problem.
I have since found that her blood pressure was around the bottom of the hypertension range.
In July/August 2020 her diary records a series of 6 headaches – she never had headaches normally.
I have also found out that, way back in May 2019, her optician referred her to the local eye hospital. All I know about that is that her lens prescription was unchanged but she was advised to “optimise control of her blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar”.
Are these symptoms just isolated events or could they be connected and even related to her stroke?
Nothing will bring my wife back but, if such information can save even one person, this needs further investigation.
One thing I have discovered whilst researching this is the effect of magnesium in the body, particularly any link to migraines which I had about every 2-3 weeks.
I started taking magnesium about 10 months ago and my incidence of migraines dropped by 95%. I doubled the dose 6 weeks ago and (touch wood) have had no migraine or headache since.
Being a (retired) research chemist I’m amazed that I haven’t come across this in the 50+ years I’ve been suffering. Big pharma suppressing info?
Since many of the symptoms of migraine can mimic the start of a stroke, I’m wondering whether magnesium supplements could positively affect the nature of a stroke, maybe to even prevent it? It’s a cheap and safe supplement that can have a beneficial effect on many bodily functions.
If my wife had started magnesium supplements after the first migraine, would she still be here? I’ll never know but this info may help others especially if it prevents or reduces strokes.
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Hi @Quarterp
Welcome
I’m very sorry to hear of your loss 
I can’t imagine being without mine
Your research sources interesting and very valuable either as an untapped avenue or as a explorers and marked ‘closed’ on the basis of fact 
Magnesium deficiency is already associated with stroke according to Magnesium intake and all-cause mortality after stroke: a cohort study | Nutrition Journal | Full Text
And other sources some of which correlated to poor recovery
Have you seen Did ANYONE have classic FAST symptoms as well as this thread
If instead of FAST the message promulgated was good to spot warning signs we would be a smaller forum; there would be people who escaped an avoidable event
Caio
Simon
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@Quarterp just popping by to say hi & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear you lost your wife as a result of a stroke.
I’ve pondered the question about whether i had any warning signs before my stroke. I had a pain in my face that went up behind my eye which when i mentioed it to the stroke dr they seemed to think it was related. I had some whooshing in my ear too which stopped when i had my stroke (although did come back for a while afterwards). As you say you’ll never know if it would have made any difference but I do think there is possibly something in the warning signs.
Hope you are doing ok.
Best wishes
Ann
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Ann I had the wooshing noise in the weeks before my stroke and I’ve had it intermittently since.
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It drove me demented and i suspect it was connected as it was on side i had my carotid artery dissection. I get it occasionally now but thankfully (fingers crossed i’m not tempting fate) not often.
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Fingers crossed for both of us
( I had an ischaemic)
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