Migraine and blurred vision 3rd trimester

[BlueRaincoat89]

This is the 6th day of me having a migraine - when it begins my vision goes blurred and then I get the worst headache. I've been to the hospital and been checked out for pre-eclampsia which I don't have and the drs have given me coedine for the pain. When the pain relief works, it's only a matter of time before I have a similar attack and I'm back to square one. It's really upsetting me now.

I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced similar migraines. I suffer from them generally but haven't had them since being pregnant. I'm 32 weeks.

I only had migraine once in pregnancy (last week, I'm 36 weeks) and it's was terrifying so I can only sympathise.

Unfortunately nobody gave me any ideas of how to prevent it in the future apart from the usual ones: drinking enough water, getting fresh air, not getting overheated. Have you tried these?

@MammaBear18 Yeah, following all the usual advice - I feel like a camel with all the water I've been drinking! It's just a horrible feeling especially as the Dr can't pinpoint why it's happening.

I think they need to run some more tests you - there’s a condition called IIH which sometimes occurs in pregnancy and can cause huge issues. Are they regularly monitoring your BP and urine? Has the GP tried sumatriptan?

If you have mostly excluded caffeine from your diet then I would try a little bit of caffeine to see if that helps, maybe a fizzy drink? I tried it after a few recommendations on here and it did actually help me.
I ended up taking x2 dissolvable paracetamol in full fat coke and it helped me. Also found 4head very helpful and an ice pack on the back of my neck.
I hope you feel better soon

Hiya

I have IIH (Idiopathic intracranial hypertension) aka Benign IH.

Can I say I get migraines only when I'm not pregnant but they last upwards of 18 weeks each time.
(Only ever had 2 episodes).

The pain is incredible and it's hospitalised me twice now which has resulted in many CT/MRI scans and five lumbar punctures last August to reduce the pressure.

I'm not gonna lie, the meds they had me on made me feel stoned out my box after one tablet and they aren't advisable in pregnancy.

Believe it or not what can help sometimes is sugar water and (when not pregnant) is Ibuprofen and lysine (aka feminax or unbranded migraine relief).

Since I'm pregnant atm it's a total pain as I can feel a bad one coming (the whole aura thing for me takes about 10 days to ramp up) but then I get neck pain from hell and then bam into the migraine.

Check out the IIH links online for info and help, you need a neurologist to confirm diagnosis via tests.

Feel free to ask any questions.

I have had my BP and urine checked three times in 6 days and both are fine - does that rule out IIH?

Are sumptriptan allowed whilst pregnant? They're what I'm prescribed with for usual migraines but they gave me coedine instead whilst pregnant.

I've booked an eye test for Friday morning - my midwife said that pregnancy can change your eyes a lot and it's worth getting checked if I've been having blurriness/flashing lights.

Hi blue - no that may rule out pre-eclampsia but IIH is diagnosed with a lumbar puncture to measure pressure within the spine.

My symptoms at start of attack are floaters in eyes, blurred vision, nausea, neck pain- nearly every symptom of meningitis until they do a LP and boom my spinal pressure is up at 60. (Meant to be around 18-25).

I actually look forward to the LP now as it's near enough an instant within hour relief.

Your eyes can defo change in pregnancy so well worth the check!

I've always been a migraine sufferer since childhood.

When pg I had migraines from 20 weeks, a couple of times a week, more or less right up to the end. It was just awful. GP told me to get blood pressure checked every time it happened - work loved me; it was always within normal range.

Not sure if it's related, but I did have early signs of pre- eclampsia towards the end.

Here is the NICE information on migraine in pregnancy including info around sumatriptan as with most drugs in pregnancy it hasn't been widely tested but there are no immediate concerns
cks.nice.org.uk/migraine

Thanks for the advice everyone - I have an appointment with the Dr today so hopefully they'll run a few more tests and see what's causing it.

I know this sounds silly but my GP did suggest that codeine can cause a rebound headache and make everything worse. May it be worth speaking to your doctor to see if that is the case in your situation. I know once I came off it for 24 hours i actually started to feel much better

Yup, codine can cause a rebound headache and it can sometimes be worse than the original headache - funnily enough LPs can do the same thing.

Hi OP, I'm 34 weeks and currently enjoying my 8th migraine in 2 weeks. I normally only get about 2 a year.

I've had a load of tests done recently as I had flu (which may itself explain the migraines, I get them when I'm run down). Nothing at all has shown up and docs weren't concerned about the migraines. I too get the visual disturbance but this is normal for me, not a new thing.

Just wanted to reassure you that you're not the only one, and sometimes there's no underlying issue.

Ah OP I had this the last couple of weeks of pregnancy (scary it happened once when driving!) Midwife said it was hormonal. I then had one every day after giving birth as my hormones continued to go wild. Horrible not being able to hold my baby or even stand up etc. No advice really except make sure you have someone with you after the birth just in case you continue to get them
For a little while after. You have my sympathies, they are horrible. Good luck with the birth! X

Oh and make sure you eat enough! I think mine are food related too if I don’t eat enough I get them x

Nice to hear I'm not alone with these migraines.

@Hazandduck That sounds really bad - how long did it last for after birth?

I've just got back from the Dr and he wasn't very happy about the dosage of coedine they'd given me at the hospital - apparently the baby can get dependent on it the closer you get to birth and it can cause breathing difficulties for her too. He's given me a lower dose and told me to use it sparingly as well. He said how difficult it is with me being pregnant and has sought advice from a neurologist.

They were only for about an hour or two each time (the aura/dizziness phase was about thirty minutes) but I had them every day for about her first ten - twelve days. It feels so long ago now! (She’s 20 weeks old tomorrow.) It was horrible but it wasn’t helped when I had visitors wanting to pop in all the time! I really hope that isn’t the case for you. I never took codeine but I did take anti sickness drugs and paracetamol as soon as the aura started (they were promethazine which I believe is prescribed to pregnant women any way.) That is good news about speaking to a neurologist, hopefully they’ll have some helpful suggestions for you! X

@Hazandduck That sounds awful - especially it happening at such a chaotic time with visitors etc. Glad it all sorted itself out for you, stupid hormones!