So I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Lillian two weeks ago today. For the past 7 days I have been struggling with awful headaches. I have never had a problem with headaches in the past. I have been drinking tons of water and eating well. I am nursing. While I did not have time to get an epidural, they did have time to insert the tap into my spine (boo). Extra strength tylonol and ibuprofen did nothing for the pain so my OB prescribed tylonol 3. Still no relief. So he prescribed Feoricet, a tension headache med. STILL no relief. I am just exhausted from being in pain constantly for 7 days. Has anyone experienced this or do you have any advice? My doc is talking about sending me to a neuroligist next which sounds scary. I also can't afford any alernative medicine like accupuncture or chiropractics because my insurance won't cover them.
Oops... I forgot to mention that I have already been checked for hypertension and that was eliminated as the cause. My doctor also just told me he does not think it's spinal because the pain doesn't change with my position. I am getting nervous that something could be really wrong...
My sister went through something similar. For her it was post partum hypertension, she was hospitalized and was placed on prescription meds for a few months. Once she was stabilized she went off the medication. She is prone to migraine headaches, though I'm not sure if she had migraines before her pregnancies. I'm glad you are communicating with your doctor and hope you find relief soon. Congratulations on your baby!
Definitely go see the neurologist.
It'll probably turn out to be nothing but you want to get checked out & have your dr tell you that.
Some women have a brain aneuysm when pregnant or can have it even after you've given birth.
Not to scare you but better to err on the side of caution by seeing a neurologist & have him give you a clean bill of health.
If it's nothing, they can prescribe something a little stronger for your headaches.
Congratulations on your little one!
http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/childbirth/exwc2.htm
If the headache persists, and is severe, your anesthesiologist may recommend a procedure called an epidural blood patch (EBP). In this procedure, a small amount of blood is drawn from your arm and injected into the epidural space. The blood clots, seals the hole made in the dura membrane, and the headache is relieved. The blood eventually is absorbed from the epidural space, and other than some mild to moderate backache for a few days, there are no long-term sequelae from an EBP. In the event that your anesthesiologist is not sure that the headache is a spinal headache, a consultation with a neurologist or possibly a CT or MRI scan may be done to search for other causes before doing an EBP.
I had a spinal headache, but it completely went away when I lay down. Since you said, "the pain doesn't change with my position," I'm going to guess that lying flat on your back did not make the headache go away. Apparently, that was a tell tail sign to my doctor.
Please don't be afraid to see a neurologist. We hear lots of scary things (especially if you ever watch Grey's Anatomy or House or some other medical show). A neurologist can diagnose something as simple as sinusitis (a sinus infection), that a family doctor or OB wouldn't having the training to notice as quickly.
Try to relax and take deep breaths. Go to the neurologist and see what he/she has to say. Remember, it could be something very simple and easy to treat. The important thing is to see the right person.
Congratulations on your little one!
