Horrible Headaches

I'm not pregnant but I feel for you! The past week or so I've been getting the same type of headache and it's horrible! Nothing helped. My husband finally pointed it out to me that I've been pulling my hair back more the usual. Once I took it out of it's ponytail my headache finally went away. Could that be the cause? I know when my hair gets too long I tend to get more headaches then usual. Hang in there!

Hi A.,

I don't have any brilliant advice for you but I just wanted to let you know that I am also 12 wks and 5 days pregnant with my second baby and I have had nothing but terrible headaches all week long! I called my doctors office today because I was starting to worry and they said its all normal and to just take tylenol if it gets unbearable. I had an absolutely perfect pregnancy with my son and this pregnancy has been a nightmare since I found out I was pregnant. Don't worry! You are not alone and we can only look forward to hopefully feeling better in a few weeks! Good luck!
~Ali

Hi A.,

I had horrible headaches (starting about 13 weeks) that didn't seem to respond to anything, but stopped abruptly on their own at around 16 weeks (just like the OB said they would). Here's hoping 16 weeks is the magic number for you too!

Ice packs.... I swear by them for painful headaches. I have a brain tumor and the headaches that I had prior to surgery were excuriating. Ice was the only thing that worked and after surgery, they controlled the pain. I would see the my dr and have him check your blood pressure, make sure it's within healthy limits. Limit your sodium, increase your water intake, but go see the dr. Pregnancy can stimulate all sorts of things, so go see your dr. Here's to a happy, healthy pregnancy and the new member of your family!!!

You can take tylenol if you think that will help. It might be good to do your glucose test to make sure you don't have gestastional diabetes as well. I had it with my daughter and one of the indicators for me was headaches. That being said, I'm monitoring my sugars now and they're perfectly fine, but I too have had headaches for the past week+. I think the air quality has something to do with it personally.

I always felt my headaches subside when I ate a healthy portion of protein and drank a bunch of water. I would make sure to eat breakfast right away also, as any delay seemed to increase the chance of a real killer headache.

Good luck and congrats!

Hi!
I had horrible headaches like that with my last pregnancy. I would suggest eating a lot of protein-rich things. Your body needs a lot of good nutrition when you're pregnant and it will start "acting up" if it's not getting what it needs. Also, you might want to try a calcium-magnesium supplement. You can buy them at health food stores or even Fred Meyer. The kind I used was liquid, orange flavoured. Once I upped my calcium/magnesium, and my protein intake, my headaches went away. Hope it helps for you too!

Sincerely, J.

Lavender oil (natural lavender, not artificial perfumed lavender) is a very good natural headache cure. I have suffered headaches my entire life and although, it doesn't always get rid of the headache, it often helps quite a bit. Just make sure you are either using real lavender, or whatever lotion/soad/whatever is scented with lavender oil and not "parfume" or any other sort of artificial scent.

I had one long miserable headache for much of my early pregnancy with my daughter. Not migraine, which I had previously, just a nasty headache. I finally found that acupuncture was the best route out. I did it weekly for six weeks and both my headache and nausea improved significantly (the nausea may have been timing more so than acupuncture). Massage also helped. One day it finally broke and it was almost shocking for it to be gone - didn't return for the entire pregnancy. And the migraines are also almost entirely gone (at least by comparison with pre-pregnancy).

Good luck - I know I was pretty miserable til the acupuncture.

-ms

Hi A.,

I recently had twins - thus a lot of hormones in my system. I also had headaches that would last days, even weeks. It was almost worse than the nausea. I finally tried a combination of tylenol and caffeine. I would take four tylenol with a cup of coffee - tylenol by itself didn't do jack for me... My doctor also finally told me to use tylenol, then motrin (which of course, is not safe during the 2nd trimester, but she felt comfortable with it once in a while during the first trimester) and then prescribed hydrocodone, which she told me was safe (when necessary, and used for limited times) during pregnancy. Basically, I'd see what your doctor is willing to do or suggest. It really bites, though. I remember. Good luck!

J.

A.,
Try a chiropractor, your spine and skull might be out of alignment or may be pinching a nerve.
It was always the case for me, and the treatment worked.

Best of luck

Call the midwife! This could be indicative of something serious. If not, then she probably will know what to do to at least get you some relief. Good luck!

You have some good advice so far. I would add, ok it's going to sound strange, but sniffing vinegar....it really works!!! I also drink gatorade. I mix the powder in hot water to make a tea of sorts. This really works!! When I was pregnant I sliced ginger root and added that to my hot water for ginger tea which also helped. Chiropractic is a wonder!!!
I feel for you....I had headaches throughout both of my pregnancies.

Please call the midwife, it could be high blood pressure. (just to rule it out)

You should probably check with your midwife about these. She is there to help you and the baby stay healthy!

My doctor gave me the OK to drink one coke a day. The caffeine made my migraines bearable. He felt it was better (or less bad) than taking aspirin or tylenol and it worked. I still get the headaches occasionally so I'm following your post to see what others have to say.

hi, i know exactly what you are dealing with. i am six to 8 weeks pregnant with my 4th. my headaches usually start sometime before i get up in the morning and if i don't get some caffeine before noon they increase and last for days on end even weeks. i am not a coffee drinker so when i get up in the morning i take 2 excederin (caffeine and tylenol). perfectly fine to take while pregnant. it might take a few days for them to finally go away but it has always helped me atleast get thru the day. if you like coffee prabably a couple shots of expresso in the morning might do the trick. tylenol might be a key component. you will just have to try it. i also increase my stretching and exercise which helps considerably. last pregnancy i ate little bites of things all day instead of 3 big meals. this helped with nausea, weight gain and the headaches. hope these ideas help.

I too had these headaches with both my kids. I tried everything my doctor suggested, with no relief. I did have a little luck with a bit of caffeine every once and a while. I hate to say it, but you might just have to wait it out. I remember the misery and feel really badly for you. The upside is they did go away once the hormones calmed down a bit! Hang in there!

CALL your midwife NOW! It may be nothing, but there is a complication that the headache can be a sign of.
Yes I did also get headaches. But you need to take this seriously.
It may be nothing, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
I am a birth doula, and if you where my client I would say exactly what I just told you.
Good luck, and Congrats...
B.

After checking with your midwife, see a good massage therapist trained in prenatal care. My excruciating pregnancy headaches got better over time with massage--sometimes it was worse the day after, but over several weeks they began to go away altogether

Four big causes I can think of: Whoops...I mean 5.

1) Sinuses

2) Prenatal vitamins (as in they can be too strong for many people...try chewing a flitnstone or equivalent kids vitamin throughout the day if this is the case for you, or get the extra vit/min from your diet)

3) tension

4) do you wear contacts? (our eyes change shape, so contacts don't work for many women while they're pregnant. The eye strain can cause colossal headaches.)

5) Withdrawal : Did you quit drinking coffee lately?
________________________________________________

How to tell if it's any of those first 3?

1) Tap on your forehead and cheeks. If it makes you wince, or feels different from tapping on your chin, your sinuses have a party going on and you're getting the hangover. Time to look into decongestants that are safe while pregnant.

2) Try not taking your prenatal vitamin for two days.

3) Umm...One would assume you would know if your neck muscles/shoulders/back is tight. Have someone else lean on your lower back/tailbone pushing down toward your toes, not the floor, and see if that feels like heaven to test for lower sneaky cramping. But in any event...most insurance companies cover massage. Massage is a gift from above. Pregnancy massage, double so. Also...try rubbing your jaw. The nerve that runs along the jaw can do some pretty gnarly things (googling TMJ will turn up a good list of symptoms). Since our joints get all loosey, even if you don't usually have TMJ you can develop those symptoms, too.

Anyhow... those are the five off the top of my head. If it's a combination of any of those, obviously, a double whammy.

Good Luck, I have chronic sinus infections and migraines. Boy do i HATE headaches!

It could be hormones, caffiene withdrawl, tension or it could also be the early stages of preeclampsia. Do you hear your pulse in your ears like you have your ears up to seashells? I got preeclampsia with my second pregnagcy, but not my first. I guess that is quite unusual. It was quite a suprise, but looking back there were signs that I just disregarded as hormonal or tension related, like those pounding headaches. I would check your blood pressure while it is happening just to be sure.

Sounds just like my migraines! Do you have any vision issues right before the pain comes on or anything that may signal that it is coming?
I never had them until this pregnancy and then I had them the entire first trimester! It was awful and the only thing that worked was Motrin and laying down for about an hour.
You need to talk to your midwife about treatments for migraines..

I am so sorry - headaches are such a drag. I didn't read all the responses below so forgive me if I repeat...I had headaches at that time in my pregnancy too and I finally just had to have some caffine - I know that is debated during pregnancy but I knew it would help and it did. Just one soda took the headache away for at least a little while. I talked with my doc and she said that was fine and that the headaches usually stopped in a few weeks which they did. So have yourself a cup of coffee or a coke (and some tylenol) and I bet you will feel a little better at least and hang in there - the headaches should subside. Good luck!

Pregnancy can cause all kinds of issues that might lead to headaches. Please check with your doc to make sure it is nothing serious! Plus, on the bonus side... he/she might be able to prescribe something that will help. And don't worry that you might "bug" someone (doc, mid-wife...) that is what they are there for - to help you!! Good luck and I hope you feel better soon :)

I have terrible headaches as a rule, and they didn't stop when I was pregnant. The first several times I mentioned them in my prenatal visits, the nurses and midwives suggested all the things you are trying. Tylenol, rest, quiet, etc. did nothing.

Finally, my midwife suggested I take acetaminophen + caffeine (I found this in a Midol product), and that helped a little. For the really bad days, she said it was okay (in first and second trimester) to break down and take an Excedrin (which is what works for me when I'm not pregnant). She said finding relief to this terrible pain is more important than worrying about what the equivalent of one aspirin is going to do. Especially before trimester 3.

I feel for you, sister. Good luck.

I got headaches around that time during my pregnancy. I was seeing a chiropractor/ naturopath at the time. I told him I couldn't afford massages every other day and I didn't want to continue to take tylenol. He told me to try caffeine. I'm not a coffee drinker so he said, "Try some Dr. Pepper." I tried it and within 15 minutes my headache would be gone. I drank sodas about 1-2 times per month before pregnancy. I'm not much into caffeine. But, for most of my second trimester I'd have a Dr. Pepper 2-3 times per week. It was great! You might try a caffeine fix and see if it makes any difference. Much, much luck!

Sounds like s hormonal migraine to me....I had horrible ones like you describe with my first pregnancy. I still get migraines and find that a cold washcloth across my forehead helps to ease the pain. Also my OB ended up prescribing me Tylenol 3 for the pain.

What I do is that I take about 3 Ibroprophen and frozen veggies from the freezer and put them in a ziplock baggie and lay it on the spot that has the most pressure. And then relax and try to sleep it off. I don't have an ice pack. The reason why you have a headache is because the brain is swollen and is pressing against the skull.
Of course being pregnant - you are not suppose to take anything except tylenol. Good luck and congrats on baby!!

A.,

My first thought is a tension headache. Have you considered chiropractic? It may help. I'm not pregnant now, nor did I have bad headaches while pregnanat, but I have had those kinds of headache and getting adjusted helped.

Good luck,
Melissa

I had headaches with all of mine, but they were unbearable with #3. I tried a bunch of things (massage, tylenol, pressure points, chiropractic etc). They helped a bit, but not enough. The thing that worked for me - well helped - was Tension Headache Excedrine. I took that because it doesn't have asprin in it. I'd for sure check with your doctor/midwife first & make sure... they may even have some other brilliant ideas. You may want to check into acupuncture also. Good Luck!

Hello A.,

I strongly suggest that you see a specialist. communicating with your midwife is always good. Communication is great!

When it comes to your health, NEVER wait for the outcome, go to a doctor cause it could be extremely costly to you and your family.

If your family has history of blood clots, heart issues, you really need to be seen by a professional who specializes in those areas. There are so many specialists, you wouldn't believe. For your heart, you need a cardiologis, legs...you need a vascular doctor. I think a lot of us could use a lesson on which specialized doctors that are available to us.

If you have any seizure attacks, then I think epilepsy comes to mind. I just seen something on tv, where this lady was having severe headaches and everything was bothering her, she couldn't even go to her kids 'games' because of how loud the crowd was.

I wish you the very best! Call your doctor and try to get in right away.

Hi A.,

I had this in my pregnancies as well. My doctor said they were pregnancy induced migraines. I had them for about 3 months with each pregnancy. I wasn't allowed to take tylenol but I was told to drink coke. It helped a tiny bit, but for the most part, I just lived with it and was in pain for 3 months.

I'm not trying to be negative. But the reason I'm telling you this is that I had never had a migraine before my first pregnancy and now I get them regularly. This might be something for you to watch out for too. hopefully this one will be short lived for you and you won't get any more.

Good luck!

I would ask your midwife, but I too had horrible week-long headaches during the 1st trimester of my 2nd pregnancy (I am 22 weeks). My dr. said it's ok to take extra-strength tylenol, 2 every 4-6 hours and that tylenol nighttime was ok to help sleep. Once I started taking the extra strength consistently, the headaches went away. I also went to the chiropracter and had my neck adjusted and drank lots of water. The dr. said it was just hormones raging through my body! Good luck!

I had this problem too with both of my pregnancies. Time was the only thing that helped... Once I hit my third trimester, the headaches eased up. I think it might be due to pregnancy hormones. I had a prescription for massage, but it didn't help. Good luck, try to sleep as much as possible, and hang in there.