Headache on waking, with nausea and weakness. What is this?

[Sizzlysausage]

Hi all. Can anyone shed any light on this or have similar symptoms? Every so often (becoming more regular - more like weekly) I wake up with a banging headache, along with nausea and a general feeling of shakiness/weakness and brain fog. I feel a bit as though I have been beaten up in the night or at least doing some sort of intense exercise. All my muscles ache, especially back, neck etc. I have a feeling I might be tensing up as I sleep, causing a tension headache, but would that also cause the nausea? Although it is not every day, when it does happen, it is becoming worse and more debilitating. Today for example, fortunately I was working at home - but if not, there is no way I could have made it into work this morning. The rest of the time I'm fine! Reasonably slim, pretty fit, relatively good diet, etc. Blood pressure more or less OK (getting higher though, having been very low most of my life). I'm 50 and already on HRT. What on earth is it and what can I do? No particular stressors other than the normal, work, kids etc. Thanks for any thoughts in advance!

Sounds like it could perhaps be low blood sugar, a creep towards diabetes?

Thanks @Random789 Do you mean type2? Is that likely for me? I only ask as I have had a fairly low BMI for nearly all my life (nearly but not quite underweight). I don't think I have any other symptoms of diabetes.

Check your ventilation/carbon monoxide levels is my first thought.

I .wake up feeling like this, I have kidney problems

Ventilation fine, I think - sleep in an attic room with windows open all night. And I would expect this to be everyday if carbon monoxide the problem - was just on holiday and it happened there too.

@everykneeshallbow - are your symptoms consistent? What is confusing me slightly is that I am OK more days than I'm not. With something like kidney problems I would expect this to be an ongoing issue?

I've considered going to the doctor but I think if it's a muscle/tensing issue, there's not much point. I just can't quite see how tensing up would cause such a range of symptoms, especially the nausea and fogginess.

Sleep apnea perhaps?

I have epilepsy and feel a bit like this after a seizure
Very painful shoulders , nausea , feeling muddled etc. Any tongue biting ? Is anyone in the bed with you?

@Frankie291 yes, usually my husband. As in normally he’s there, not sometimes someone else! He has not noticed anything and no tongue biting. But in addition to other symptoms I do feel spaced out today and exceptionally tired, despite having slept. So I’m pretty sure it’s not a seizure but I do think of this as an ‘episode’’, if that makes sense. As in most of the time I feel ok, but on days like today I feel unaccountably terrible!

I'd go for an eye test.

Also - this is not new but does seem to be increasing in frequency.

I had similar and turned out to be underactive thyroid and high blood pressure (after years of having quite low BP, suddenly went up in peri-menopause). Worth getting both checked perhaps?

@fizzyfood - I have had an eye test since this started happening. No signs of anything sinister.

I would have a chat with your doctor who may want to run some basic tests

@MujeresLibres thanks for responding - and to everybody. Were your symptoms quite regular? I ask because I do have a lot of days where I feel normal to really quite good! I can’t work out what the triggers are for a day where I feel terrible.

You need to go to your GP. There are numerous conditions that can cause this, most are benign and easy enough to sort, others can be a bit more serious, but no one on mumsnet can diagnose you.

@pilates it just feels so irregular and not acute to take to a doctor. The sort of ‘tired all the time’ that gets dismissed. I mean I’m not tired all the time, I just sometimes feel awful! Is that enough to take to a GP?

I started getting migraines in my 40's Many of your symptoms' fit that; headache, nausea, sleepyness, dizzy, etc. Just a thought

@BrownOwlknowsbest Yes - migraine feels the most likely in a sense, but I am not sensitive to light in these 'episodes,' and usually can work through them (not today, today I had to go back to bed and sleep, only managing to get up at lunchtime - this is not normal for me). I am at my desk now but struggling to really focus on the screen and everything feels a bit weak. I have to walk the dog soon which normally I look forward to but today I am dreading. Would this feeling of having been beaten up fit with migraine? I increasingly feel a sense of apprehension when I go to bed - will the next day be a 'good' day, or a bad one? Usually it's the former, but on days like today, definitely not!

Sorry - just to add - my best guess is tension contributing to migraine-like symptoms. But how to address this? Yoga? I tried doing yoga this morning to release the tension in my back/neck but had to stop as it made me feel much more nauseous. Thanks to everybody for engaging with me!

Have a look at Postural Tachycardia Syndrome.
PoTS.

Could you be grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw overnight? I suffered with early morning migraines like you describe. Yes, they can make you feel very sick and shaky. I sceptically had a bite guard made at the dentist to see if it helped, I didn't think I grinded my teeth but I was ready to try anything by then, and it helped enormously.

You should see your doctor with a morning headache with nausea- it could be lots of harmless things, but it could also indicate raised pressure in the brain, which needs urgent investigation and treatment.

It’s not every day, but it is more regular than you seem to be describing. I do think you need to ask your gp, though.

For a while, I was feeling like this almost every morning, it was like a mini-migraine. That eased somewhat when my thyroid was treated but didn't go away until I started blood pressure meds recently. My BP wasn't stroke-level high but it was obviously causing problems.