Headaches

I really do apologise for yet another search for info, and know that the site cannot give medical advice.
I am just presuming that having daily headaches is the norm for some people 5 weeks post stroke.
Is it an old wives tale that the weather effects, as the last 3 days I have had headaches alot. Also even when no headache, my head has felt weird since the stroke. Really don’t want to TRY and bother the GP’s.

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@Dido14 Why don’t you have a word with your GP, they are the best people to talk to. It’s not good to ask amateurs.

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Hmmm when my care was passed to GP, don’t think they actually got the gist. Not been able to see anyone, re my prev posts. Had one tel appt about shoulders, to be told referring you back to stroke team. So waiting for that, although I will fill in another e-consult form for GP surgery, but prob get wait for referral

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But in many cases we’re far from amateurs.

@Dido14

We have a better visceral understanding of stroke as a lived with condition and the breath of knowledge here means that any bad advice would (likely) be countered or caveated by other contributions

My conclusion is thus:-

It is good to ask members that’s what we come here for.

True that no one should rely soley on the opinion of others as expressed here especially when related to medical matters

But between us we have a lot of experience to share; Mine is that I get lots of headaches. I have done since stroke. At various times they are better or worse. they varying in sorts between sharp pains in small regions that last a short time to overarching aches that go on for a reasonable amount of time.

At 3½ years I can’t remember the pattern. at 5 weeks you are early in the journey so there is still physical healing going on as well as compensations being learnt, meds being a climatized to and if you are working strains on the out of balance system

Intense and sharp pain is normally a warning sign of something to be investigated. Anything that lasts more than a few hours especially more than overnight likewise deserves asking somebody medical - Although our collected experience has proved time again often say “unexplainable take some painkillers, come back if it’s still a problem next week” :pensive:

@Dido14 …and there really really isn’t any reason to apologise for asking for the support of those of us who are here. Those that don’t want to give it either don’t come here or just read. Those who contribute are writing to respond & are doing so it in the hope that we can pay forward the support we got from others when we arrived and had the same uncertainties that breed very real anxieties and sap at your spirits and thus affect your post stroke life

IMHO You should definitely bother your GP to give you the medical support you need. That’s what they’re paid for from the taxes that are extracted from your pay packet. You’re paying everyday whether you use the service or not would you buy anything else everyday and then not use it? Yes the GP’s are busy and that isn’t their fault but that doesn’t decrease the your importance or the importance of getting sound advice

To a varying degree having a stroke does mean you’ve got a different head so if it now feels strange that’s not a surprise. You make get used to it and /or you may need help - seek it where you can find it

:slight_smile:

Depending on whether you are in (England and Wales or in Scotland) there should be a bridge function between hospital discharge the post stroke care team. In E&W the stroke association hold those contracts from the NHS. You might find the stroke association helpline can advise you have to contact if they have not been proactive in reaching out to you.

Where you diagnosed with a stroke or with a TIA There is in fact little difference (They’re just points on a scale) but which word is used seems to change the degree of support made available.

Caio
Simon

Ps did you return to work at the end of May?

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Hi Dido,

sorry about the headaches… would be good to solve this. Firstly, is your blood pressure okay? You can buy a good enough machine to measure it from Amazon. This would be a starting point. Once a GP admitted to me that new research had found a correlation between headaches & BP, but it depends on many things.

Headaches are not the norm post stroke, so hopefully you can investigate a little, and do something to help yourself; perhaps you’re very anxious ? (understandable, of course)

Bye for now, Roland

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@Dido14 for the first 8 - 9 months after my stroke I had daily headaches & my head just felt generally weird. I thought it was never going to improve but it did. I do still get many headaches & weird feelings in my head. It could just be your stroke however medication can cause them too. I was told by 111 once that if my headaches felt like I’d been hit with a shovel i should seek immediate help.

As with all our comments they ate based on personal experience & if you are at all concerned you should speak to your GP or another medical professional.

Best wishes

Ann

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I feel I might add that there is rarely a norm post stroke, what one may experience may be completely different for another, and the timeline of events relating or not relating to stroke will also have its own chronology. I never got headaches prior to stroke but afterwards found my head to be tense, and I still get head tension three years on. Can I call them headaches? I don’t know because I never experienced headaches prior to stroke. Sometimes, if my head feels tense, some paracetamol will work to soothe it. According to the NHS information pages, the weather can cause electrical and chemical functions in the brain to change. I don’t have any qualm with bothering my GP, and I rarely do bother him because he’s almost impossible to get hold of for an appointment. You could call 111, they might have some information that might help.

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Yes my observation too. What we can say though is out of 1,000 or 1m people w/ stroke there will be some things that occur once and some that occur 999 times and so on

I thought headaches post stroke happened sufficient w/ frequency to warrant being called at least not unusual

¿?

:slight_smile:

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I guess it many ways, it is less the norm of what may occur but the intensity, frequency and source of what is reported as atypical post stroke; condition and symptoms. One of the defining common conditions post stroke would, probably, be neurological fatigue.

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hi yes I returned to my part time job end of May. I work from home, 3 days a week. I have now lowered my hours slightly and will spread the remaining hours over 4 mornings, to reduce daily screen time. Hopefully this may help with the headaches a little, as I can sit outdoors in the fresh air in the afternoons, or go for my walk.

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Screens are a potential trigger but so is working cognitively

I hope it improves for you

Caio
Simon

Ps
One additional thought - working on screens with glasses that have fallen out of range for your eyes is commonly a source of headaches - is there any correlation?

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I found getting some glasses specifically for screen work made a difference to the headaches I was getting when I returned to work. Might not work for everyone but I was glad I gave them a go.

Well done on getting back to work.

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I was by my consultant that I could experience frequent headaches for a time after my stroke, and I did.
But 3yrs on I was still experiencing, right at the top of my head and sometimes it felt like a burning sensation. I had scans etc because I started experiencing severe hearing loss too at the time they first started. But everything was clear, no other explanation for them.

Anyway, I did read somewhere about helping with migraines so I tried for 2wks and that seemed to get rid of the headaches and burning sensation. So after putting up with this permanent head condition for 3yrs, I finally resolved the issue myself.

Incidentally, I was already taking daily a daily dose of Calcium which also contained Magnesium, Zinc and vitamin D3. My blood tests have never shown I was low in Magnesium either, go figure.

But if you consider trying Magnesium yourself, I’d suggest you notify your doctor first. Or at the very least consult your chemist because of any other medications you are on. If they see no reason why you shouldn’t try, then go for it to see if it helps you.

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Hi new to this site I was on it 3 years ago but when it all changed I didn’t get it … my stroke was 3 years ago today I had blurred vision with zig zags and felt really unwell I went to A&E they ran some blood tests an ECG and a ct scan all came back ok wasn’t another stroke but said I’ve got optical migraines even now my headache is awlful but it’s set off my anxiety in a big way as I used to have these headaches 2 years prior to my stroke and not had them since my stroke until today … I don’t feel I’m getting better it’s 2 steps forward 200 back

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Just an update and early days, but day 2 of working just mornings, and the headaches have lessened, so I conclude thus far that it could be screen time, especially on financial spreadsheets. Doing 4 mornings for next 6 weeks to see if it helps.

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Glad things are improving & hopefully they will continue to do so as you build back up to things again. Spreadsheets are definitely hard on the eyes.

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Hi Dido14,
You’ve had a stroke, so if you’re not keeping tabs on your blood pressure, maybe go along to your GP surgery and use the self service machine. You should also get an eye check if you haven’t had one recently. Trying to reduce your screen time is also a great idea. Make sure you are drinking enough water also, as the weather gets hotter. No GP is going to feel you are bothering them if the headaches don’t let up - they would rather prevent something than for a crisis to occur. Best of luck and hope you feel better soon

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HI strange how various issues come and go i was doing really well 4 months post stroke then had to have a colonscopy two week ago today which set me back badly my left arm weakness which had all but gone now back and much worse and energy levels back down
had to go five days without my blood thinning tabs in order to have procedure which probably did not help tempted to get gp to refer me back for another scan to see if i have had another stroke but reluctant to get back into the bear pit of hospital visits again
having come out of the other end once
sense of smell and taste buds issues now back also having been resolved pre colonscopy

so back on the merry go round
Wattsy

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It sure is the present that keeps on giving

Hope things normalise for you soon

:slight_smile: