Someone please calm me down - husbands headaches

[Flippers1956]

I posted the other day about my husbands headaches

Over the last years now and then he'll have periods of bad headaches, been checked out had eye tests etc all fine

We rang 111 on Monday as they were quite painful, they said he has tension headaches but his BP was also high

Doctor prescribed co codamol, they have been helping

Told him to keep an eye on BP, it has still been high

He said his headaches weren't as bad today , he went to sleep this evening then woke up an hour or so later with headache- this is what has worried me as I googled waking up with headaches and now I've got myself in a state

His BP is currently high, but I am still so paranoid about it being some MORE sinister

Can high BP headaches happen like this ?

I also think he is now worried about hus BP which is probably making him more stressed, and possibly raising his BP even more but I am just getting so stressed about the headaches as Google is obviously giving me worst case scenarios 😭😩

Hi yes high BP can cause headaches. Has he seen the GP? He may need to start medication.

@Allthecatseverywhereallatonce he was sent to a walk in centre on Monday, but I think I'm going to try get him onto our own doctors tomorrow

As far as we're aware, he's never jas high BP before

Ask for further investigations, has he had an MRI or CT scan?

Could it be cluster headaches?

@Elisheva he was told before he had cluster headache, but the Dr he seem Monday said it was a tension headache

What are his BP readings? Are you checking at home several times a day?

How high is the BP?

What are his readings op?

@Mushable @FlamingoFloss they are ranging 145/90 - 174

They never seem bothered too much about headaches. It must be very rare that it's anything serious or life threatening.

My son gets them and we've been diagnosed with everything from cluster headaches to sinusitis. It's awful for people who suffer from them but there doesn't seem to be the best treatment or diagnosis out there sadly.

@FlamingoFloss yes trying to check several times a day as I know they can vary

@PeachyKeane thank you for your reply does he ever get them during the night?

Get a few days readings and make appointment with the dr so they can see. He may need meds but dr will know. High BP can most defo otele cause headaches. Try not to worry - make the appointment and go from there - I’m sure with meds he will feel better

Yes, he had months of intense pretty much constant headaches. It was awful for him.

@PeachyKeane thank you for your reply

He had a really bad night, not so bad this morning and his head has eased of but his BP is still resding very high

As @floofpaws asked, has he had a CT scan or MRI scan?

My OH has a condition which I suspect is one of your Google worst-case scenarios.

@Pistachiochiochio thank you for your reply, although this has now worries me very much 😢

There are other things that can cause headaches. Dehydration is one, it could be that this is the cause, but it could also be adding to an existing problem. Try to ensure that he drinks plenty of water and see if that helps at all. This recent not weather means dehydration is more common. Tooth grinding is another, especially if he is waking up with a headache. And some people find that caffeine can give them a headache.

All things to consider before considering a worst case scenario. I'm not saying that there might not be a serious cause, just that eliminating the simple causes will help to find out if there are other reasons.

I have woken up with a headache this morning... I know that I probably need to have a good drink of water, and I am very stressed this morning (starting a new cancer med with horrible side effects today!) Either of those things could be, and probably are, the reason.

@DilemmaDelilah thank you for your reassuring reply

Good luck with your treatment

As a chronic migraineur, I'm flabbergasted that someone with long term headaches spanning a number of years is being fobbed off like this. It could simply be migraine which many people, including doctors are ignorant about. Tension headache diagnosies tend to be catch all nonsense.

People think migraine is all one sided pain over one eye, this is not true, the pain can manifest in different ways. They can also cause constant or span many days.

Whether it's migraine or cluster headaches or something else, ask for a referral to a neurologist, if humanly possible one who specialises in headaches. If it is migraine, drugs like co codamol cause rebound headaches and aren't recommended. It could be the drugs keeping him unwell. If the wait on the nhs is an eternity and you can pay to speak to someone privately, do that.

If this has been going on for a number of years, my guess is it's not ominous as I'd anticipate he'd have experienced other issues by now. But I'm not a dr, which is what your husband needs, one who specialises in headaches.

One other thing, one of the first line preventative medications for migraine is propranolol, a beta blocker. GP's can prescribe this for migraine. It's also happens to be a blood pressure medication. Might be worth discussing that with your GP.

@NeonGiraffe thank you for your reply

I am really trying to stay calm, he can see I'm stressed , which is making him stressed, therefore probably making his headaches worse and making his BP higher- he did have some stressful things going on when they started this time, but he reckons he isnt stressed !

I am also wondering if cocodamol is the wrong medication for him, he's never taken it before, and the doctor on Monday did say it may make the headaches worse - now I think about it, he took them before going to sleep, then woke with the sore head

I've managed to get him a telephone app this morning , but I will speak to them and say he needs face to face and tell him the BP readings

This doesn't make it more likely that your husband will face this scenario. Just important to get things ruled out. There are risks to a CT scan anyway

I started to get really bad headaches felt like a tight band also when waking up too. I went to the Dr's my blood pressure was really high if it was a little bit higher he would have sent me to a&.e. Put on medication to bring it down then put on a higher dose as was not going down enough. It is stable now.

@Iloveeverycat thank you for your reply

He has just spoken with the doctor on phone , explained all his symptoms

Doctor has asked him to come in tomorrow to have his BP checked , but didn't seem overly concerned 🤔

He has been prescribed naproxen in the meantime, he has had these previously and they have helped , but don't know if they still will

I suffer from daily head pain. Please keep him away from co-codamol. Codeine causes rebound headaches even worse than the original ones. Neurologists will not prescribe it for this reason. Stick to regular paracetamol and ibuprofen if he’s allowed to take it.