Constant headaches right after waking up

[nathv26]

Hello,

My Dad is 79, he been a diabetic patient for 30 years. He has also had a history of high blood pressure. In the last 5 years, he has suffered from 2 TIA's, sudden mometary loss of consciousness. He has been on coumadin since the first TIA about 5 years back.

In the last 10 days he has been complaining of severe headache right after waking up and it persists till mid afternoon and he starts feeling better after afternoon. He tried taking aspirin in the mornings, but it has not help much. Can you please give some advise on what to look out for?. Thanks.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

The kidney functions can be said to be on the borderline. Any further stress on the kidneys will not be tolerated by the body.

These do not seem to affect the headache. The headaches are primarily due to the high blood pressure.

Regards

[nathv26]

Thanks Doc.

We have found that whenever hist BP is on the higher side, the home BP monitoring equipment always gives "error" and fails to read. As you have indicated, we have to take him to the hospital to get his BP checked.

On a side note, in his last blood sugar test, the blood urea was at 32 (allowed limit - 42) and creatinin was +1.0 (below 1.2). Does this also indicate a deterioration of kidney function and could this also cause headaches?.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

The type of headache you have described is characteristic of high blood pressure. The headache can come even after a day time sleep. It is worse in the morning and reduces as the day progresses. You should check his blood pressure 2 - 3 times in the morning at intervals of one hour.

Treating the hypertension will help the headaches.

Regards