To feel like GP is fobbing me off?

[rhaenyra01]

For the past few months I’ve been waking up some days with really bad headaches, and then experiencing headaches throughout the day. Over the last couple of weeks it’s happened every morning; I wake up with a splitting headache and my eyes ache, it doesn’t matter how much sleep I’ve got, I feel absolutely horrendous every single morning. I’ve then still been having headaches throughout the day and generally having really low energy and feeling dreadful.

I phoned the GP and they basically said, because I have a 5 month old, it sounds like I’m just tired and it’s from disturbed sleep, said it’s very normal for new mums, etc.. I feel like they’ve just completely dismissed it. I don’t think it’s normal to have headaches like this every single day.

Should I try and get a second opinion from another doctor? Or does anyone have any ideas what might be causing it?

I would actually find an osteopath and get them to check your back and neck out.

If that doesn't help then I'd be back into the phone.

Another consideration is sinus congestion due to allergies?

Caffeine withdrawal headaches are evil as are codeine/paracetamol one did you have been taking pain relief to cope with such bad headaches.

Get your eyes tested.

Change your pillows and find an osteopath. After pregnancy your hormones and muscles are all changing as is your posture.

Definitely try an osteopath or a physio - but definitely sounds like GP is fobbing you off!

I have this, it’s a tension headache. Try doing shoulder rolls, moving your head side to side and round, dip your chin to your neck. All help release the tension

It could be any number of things headaches can be caused by so many factors.

I was having daily headaches for around 3 months as you describe a number of years ago and was fobbed off by the GP, I went for an eye test to see if that had anything to do with and was sent straight to hospital with swelling behind my eyes.

I was diagnosed via lumbar puncture with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension.

Get your eyes checked, including blepharitis/dry eye.
Get your ears checked too. I had similar and ear microsuction and blepharitis treatment helped.

A few other things you might want to look up:

migraine
medication over-use headache
sleep apnea
hormone induced nasal/sinus congestion

I hope you manage to find some relief.

Go to the pharmacy and get your blood pressure checked at the very least. If that’s ok then try some of the other poster’s advice.

I would start with an eye test - when I had my son, my eyes changed quite dramatically. I'd worn glasses for years but the prescription did alter. Am optician can also check for any other issues with your eyes.

Secondly, a good physio - tension in the neck/back/shoulders can cause headaches so worth seeing if that's an issue.

Another one worth considering is are you grinding your teeth? A dentist will be able to help here. When I had bad anxiety, I got headaches which stemmed from teeth grinding. I had no idea I was doing it but the dentist could see where I was causing wear on the teeth. A small guard can be fitted to reduce the impact.

Are you getting enough liquid? Dehydration can cause bad headaches.

I just came on to say grinding teeth as well. I can get awful early morning migraines, and after exhausting the usual eye test/tension etc I had a chat to my dentist and she made me a mouth guard.
It's reduced the morning headaches by about 80% and if you have a young baby with all the anxiety that goes with it in those early months, it could very well be, as you wouldn't know you were doing it x

Get your iron levels checked. Including ferritin.

Try this yoga video. I had terrible headaches from shoulder and neck tightness when my baby was little. This really helped

Sounds like you need an eye test

I think your GP is fobbing you off, and that you should get a second opinion.

I second the eye test and ferritin levels test.

After my 3rd baby was born, my ferritin levels dropped to about 17 when the optimum should be 100. I felt horrendous for about 8 months until I started taking iron supplements and they slowly came up.

I also had a diagnosis of an eye condition called narrow angles, or angle closure glaucoma (althpygnt strictly speaking, it isn't actually glaucoma but it is related to high intraocular pressure).

I used to wake up with a headache, and a feeling like my eyes were sore and slightly bigger/bulging. I saw halos around lights when I woke up too, and all these symptoms were a result of my rye pressure increasing overnight. After I had a laser iridotomy procedure, it was made things a lot better, and hopefully this treatment will help until I might need cataract surgery one day to help in the future.

I'm not saying you have the same problem as I did, but it's definitely worth getting your eyes tested.

Sorry for the typos 😅

Also, if it is a similar condition to the narrow angles that I have, be sure to see an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) ASAP as the condition is very serious and has a high risk of sight loss, which essentially what the halos around lights were showing. If I'd not had the laser procedure, then I think the chances of me having sight loss would have been quite high.

Drink a pint of water before bed and a pint of water when you wake up.

Watch your posture. Leaning your head down a lot can pinch the nerves in your neck and cause eye pain (occipital neuralgia)

Get some sleep when you can

Eat regularly

At the very least your GP should have advised an eye test, discussed coffee and painkillers with you, and suggested some relaxation exercises and to return after 4 to 6 weeks if there was no improvement. I suggest you do those things op and go back in 4-6 weeks if the problem persists. At that point I'd expect a full blood screening. If at that stage your GP still refuses any further investigation, I'd ask them to note on your record that you have asked for it and they have refused.

If it gets to that stage you will probably have to pay.

FWIW I had a lot of headaches and gripy tummies in my mid to late 20s. I felt off and continually tired but wired. My GP dismisses my concerns after an iron test and told me I had a stressful job, a young person's London life and to modify my lifestyle. I sucked it up. A couple of years later I was feeling more tired and wired and then my feet ankles and lower legs swelled like balloons. This worried me so much I saw a City GP privately. They did a full blood screen and werenon the phone 24 hours to tell me they had made an emergency appointment with a consultant endocrinologist and I was to go straight there. I had severe Graves (hyperthyroidism) no TSH and a T4 of 49. They thought it might be affecting my heart.

I'm not saying it's your thyroid because lots of things cause headaches and I had always been headachey even as a child. Nevertheless I think some basic modifications/investigations would be helpful.

Once controlled I never had a gyppy/gastritisy tummy again and headaches diminished significantly.

Post menopause I don't get headaches any more so there are consolations :)

As you can see, people have all sorts of ideas about what causes it because headaches can be caused by any number of things. Go back to the GP and specify a different doctor. Don't just say you have bad headaches, tell them you are waking with PAIN in your head AND your eyes. Tell them it persists all day. Tell them the pain is stopping you being the kind of mother you want to be. Go to a pharmacist and ask for a consultation (most chemists now have a private room for this, even all the tiny ones that I know). They generally have more time (or perhaps make more time) to listen and ask questions. Don't downplay how much it is affecting you day to day. Also, as others have suggested, have your eyes tested. These days, with the equipment used in vision testing and the emphasis placed on eye health, opticians are really good at picking up problems.

Just ring then back and say its still not gone.

I had this and was sinusitis. Called after 10 days of headaches. Can try Sudafed in the mean time.

Just keep ringing back. You need to advocate for yourself. It can be the same person its not necessarily a second opinion but does need a follow up.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, I’ve got an appointment again tomorrow so I’m going to try and get it sorted! Thank you x

Women get fobbed off by the GP (and other healthcare professionals) all the time. It's a proven fact that shows up in research data time and time again.

We have to be our own advocates and really stamp our feet before we get listened to.

It's bloody outrageous.

Saw a different GP today who is referring me for a CT scan. So I’m glad it’s being taken seriously, but also now extremely anxious as he said he just wanted to check it wasn’t any fluid or cysts on the brain! Not what I want to hear with a 5 month old baby 😞 fingers crossed it isn’t anything serious. Thank you again everyone for your suggestions