Question:
How do you deal with the morning headaches?

I have read posts from people who have complained about headaches. How do you deal with them? I am still waiting to hear from my insurance regarding wls and due to a recent weight gain (I am guessing here) I have terrible headaches in the morning. I use Breathe Right nasal strips and Flonase nasal spray but I still wake up with headaches, every morning. Aspirin/motrin doesn't help and sometimes I can get relief only with Imitrix Nasal Spray for Migranes. I can only get 6 per month from my insurance and they are too costly to buy without. Does anyone have this problem and have you found a way to deal with it?    — Mary G. (posted on February 17, 2000)

February 16, 2000
Have you had your blood pressure checked lately? Is it close to your monthly? I get migranes that last about 4 to 6 days, the week before and the week after my period I assume from the hormone change. I used to take imitrex, but stopped cause they were producing bounce back migranes,(i was getting them even more often). Now at the first sign of a migrane i take an execedrin migraine and it that doesnt work i just live with it, for the days that it is with me.Prior to me knowing I had high blood pressure, i was having them nonstop alwaays worse in the morning...hope this helps
   — Linda C.

February 16, 2000
Hi Mary: I agree, get your blood pressure checked. Also, morning headaches can be caused by sleep apnea. Do you snore excessively or have sleep apnea? That could be it! I know I had a headache every morning while I had sleep apnea. EVERY morning. It was terrible, 'normal' pain meds like Tylenol or Ibu didn't really help it. WLS cured my apnea, no more headaches! Good luck. Jaye
   — Jaye C.

February 17, 2000
Mary, I just read all previous posts answering your question. Several mentioned sleep apnea. I have sleep apnea and I can tell you from experience, the AM headaches are killers. Please have a sleep study done. If you truly have sleep apnea (which is a co-morbidity) you may be given a CPAP machine to use while you are sleeping. Breath Right strips did nothing for me, neither did the OTC anti snore pills. There is supposed to be some kind of spray on the market now, but in reading the Sleep Apnea list, most have very limited luck with it. Snoring connected to Sleep Apnea is more that just an embrassment, sleep apena and the sleep deprivation it causes are dangerous. It effects not only your bodily health (heart, lungs, high blood pressure, alertness, memory, etc, etc.) but it can be very dangerous when it comes to driving or other tasks. Take care.
   — Sharyle L.

February 20, 2000
In regard to your headaches, I had chronic migrane and cluster headaches for years. Sometimes they would wake me up in the middle of the night when I had felt fine when I went to bed. Excedrin helped to relieve the pain for a few hours but I had to keep taking it repeatedly, so much in fact, that I medicated myself into ulcers. Imagine my surprise since having RNY surgery in October that , not only have I lost weight, but I have lost the chronic headaches. I have had only 4 minor headaches in the past 4-5months. Personally I think that having too much sugar was causing my headaches since I no longer eat anything with added sugar and I have no more chronic headaches. You might try cutting out sugar completely for a week or two and see if it helps you out.
   — Lois S.

February 22, 2000
Another possibility regarding headaches is caffeine withdrawal, especially those of us who are soft drink and diet cola fiends. I am in the process of weaning myself from my beloved Diet Dr. Pepper now and I have experienced some headaches. The best way is to do it slowly instead of going cold turkey. I won't rid myself of caffeine completely as I will still drink tea and coffee, but my 6 pack+ per day DDP habit has got to go! Just thought I'd share.
   — [Deactivated Member]