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Pregnancy

What does a preeclampsia headache feel like?

25 replies

Nikki2ol6 · 13/11/2016 15:56

Iv ha a headache on and off all day it was on my right side now it's my left more at the front. Iv read online Preeclampsia headaches feel different to normal headaches.... I generally don't get headaches so wouldn't know the difference.
I last had my bp and urine checked 11 days ago and was normal so I doubt it is......

Can anyone who has had preeclampsia tell me how their headache was?

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Thinkingblonde · 13/11/2016 16:06

Have you got floaty spots in front of your eyes or other visual disturbances? If you're worried you should contact your midwife or go to your local maternity unit.
I had preeclampsia with both pregnancies, I didn't have a headache with no1 but had high bp, swollen ankles, fingers and protein in my urine, admitted to hospital three weeks before due date and kept there until I was induced a week before due date. With no 2, headache but no other symptoms, I was fine until after delivery then had a fit the day after. I recall feeling as if it was a migraine then woke up in ITU.

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DashboardLightParadise · 13/11/2016 16:10

For me it was like a sinus headache. Top and front of my head. Ring if you're worried, they won't mind.

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Dazedandconfusedtoomuchpeppa · 13/11/2016 17:36

It just felt like any other headache to me. Please get checked out. It can happen so suddenly and not worth taking any chances.

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Dementedswan · 13/11/2016 17:39

For me it was a sudden omg I feel like my heads going to explode along with body weakness and a weird spaced our feeling every time I moved which would subside when I was sat still relaxing. Horrible.

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SolomanDaisy · 13/11/2016 17:45

Mine started like a normal headache and I only got flashing lights after I'd been admitted to hospital. It was also less than two weeks since I'd had my blood pressure checked. One difference with a normal headache was that paracetamol had no effect at all.

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HughLauriesStubble · 13/11/2016 20:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CatchingBabies · 14/11/2016 02:03

Any headache that doesn't resolve with pain relief or causes visual disturbances should be investigated. How many weeks are you?

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mumonashoestring · 14/11/2016 02:23

Please go and get checked out - I had the world's most boring pregnancy, everything normal, right up til 2 days before my due date, just a couple of days after my last midwife appt where everything was normal as usual. Woke up with a dreadful headache and was tempted to assume it was a migraine and just go back to bed with some flat coke but went over to the maternity unit just in case. I didn't take an overnight bag, I was so sure I'd be told to go home and stop malingering Wink

My blood pressure had gone up so high they checked it with three different machines then did it manually and double checked that - I was kept in and induced a day later. I won't scare you with the full story but I will say it was a damned good thing I went and got checked out.

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Nikki2ol6 · 14/11/2016 10:06

My headache went away last night so I just left it at but it's coming back again today. Just random sharp pains in my forehead so far which is how it started yesterday but I guess if it was PE the headache would stay. And no my vision is the same as always and I don't have any swelling

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Dazedandconfusedtoomuchpeppa · 14/11/2016 10:56

How many weeks preg. are you?

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PerspicaciaTick · 14/11/2016 10:59

I would phone your midwife or the Maternity Assessment Unit at your hospital...just to be on the safe side.
PE can come on very quickly and just because everything was OK 11 days ago, doesn't mean you are still OK now.

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Nikki2ol6 · 14/11/2016 11:43

I'm almost 33 weeks

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CatchingBabies · 14/11/2016 12:05

It won't harm to go and get your blood pressure and urine checked out, they would rather you came in and it was nothing then stayed at home with a problem.

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Andbabymakesthree · 14/11/2016 12:08

Give your emergency number a call. You are worried enough to be seeking advice on her so no harm in seeing midwife :-)

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SquedgieBeckenheim · 14/11/2016 12:12

My pre eclampsia headache felt like a constant pressure and never went away.
It's different for different people, please call your midwife and get checked!

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Couchpotato3 · 14/11/2016 12:14

Just go and get checked, will you, please?? If it's all fine, then nothing lost, but if it's pre-eclampsia and you ignore it, the consequences could be extremely serious. Nobody in their right mind is going to tell you it's OK on an internet forum. There is only one way to know for sure, and that is to go and get checked. Please see someone now, today, without further delay!!

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Titchypanda · 14/11/2016 13:50

Go and get checked.

I had pre eclampsia and the headaches do come and go or ease slightly at times. I ignored mine as a chronic migraine sufferer and was admitted to hospital (at 22w) with a seriously high BP. I came home the next day on meds and had to go to clinic for monitoring. At 25+2 my midwife sent me back to hospital as I said I had a slight headache and my BP was a bit high. I was admitted straight away and my daughter was delivered the next day by emergency section. She is a month old and very poorly in nicu, but if I hadn't been checked and gone in, she wouldn't be here now. We have a long uncertain road ahead of us, but we hope she will keep fighting.

Please go and get checked either by GP, midwife or maternity triage at your hospital. They will not judge and will be happy to check you and baby are ok.

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Nikki2ol6 · 14/11/2016 17:37

So I called up the mau and the nurse said because I was seen 12 days ago and blood was taken and they found my iron was low it would most certainly be that and because I have children already and didn't have preeclampsia with those the chance would be extremely slim! Also because I have no other symptoms and my head ache is mild I don't need to be seen...... Hmm

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Dazedandconfusedtoomuchpeppa · 14/11/2016 18:49

If are still worried then book in with nurse at your GP practise for BP check? Or make appointment with GP. I know Lloyds Pharmacy do free BP checks but not sure if they would do it on a pregnant woman.

Keep an eye out for any swelling!

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littlefrenchonion · 15/11/2016 16:15

I had it like a headband across the front of my head. Not extreme in my case, but relentless and aching. I also saw 'fireflies' in my vision, like little orbs that whizzed around. Everything was swollen, including my face and my feet were so swollen they were extremely uncomfortable. I wanted to cut them off at the end! Call your midwife, if they are at all concerned they'll get you in ASAP. Mine were brilliant and popped round to the house whenever I felt unwell to take my BP and check me over (although I had been diagnosed at this point).

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SolomanDaisy · 15/11/2016 16:18

Jesus, you need to call back. You are almost perfectly describing hellp syndrome, which is related to pre eclampsia but unlike pre eclampsia is more likely in a second pregnancy. At least go to boots and get your blood pressure taken.

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Bluntness100 · 15/11/2016 16:28

I don't recall having a headache, but i develop pe very quickly, anc I then developed fully blown eclampsia, which didn't alleviate after they delivered.

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Nikki2ol6 · 15/11/2016 18:14

I have felt better today and only had a headache for half an hour this afternoon. Have been feeling so tired so it could just be that causing headaches

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Andbabymakesthree · 15/11/2016 18:17

Still think you should be getting checked out.

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Roomba · 15/11/2016 18:26

Mine was a constant pressure across the front of my head, like a sinus headache. Painkillers didn't relieve it and I felt sick, so I thought it was a migraine until the midwife took my BP.

I only got the headache after a fortnight of exhaustion, fluid retention, dizziness and tiny 'speckles' in my vision when I stood up. I naively assumed this was perfectly normal as I was heavily pregnant, knackered, and extremely stressed indeed due to moving house and the related holdups. Actually it was because my BP was 192/120!

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