Migraine, Pinched Nerve, or equilibrium off?

[Jenn124]

Hello. I am a 26 year old, 5 week postpartum female. About 3 weeks ago I woke up with a pain in the back lower part of my head near the base of my skull. I figured I had just slept wrong...but as the days went on the headache seemed to continue on and off. About 2 weeks ago, dizziness would start to occur whenever I would rock or bounce the baby, however the dizziness would disappear whenever I stopped. These headaches are not a dull pain and seem to come and go, but when the pain is there, I feel incompetent and can't seem to take care of the baby. I went to the ER yesterday  because the pain spread throughout my entire head, scared it was a hemorrhage or tumor and had a CT scan and blood work done...which everything turned out normal. So today I woke up and the pain was gone, however as the day went on the headache slowly returned and as normal I soon had that same pain in the back of my head, which had now extended to the front of my head. I had my Fiance go out and get Excedrin Migraine, which knocked it right out...but after the Excedrin wore off...the pain and dizziness came back. Could this be a result of hormone levels dropping? How much Migraine medicine is safe to take within a 24 hour period...I am not a chronic migraine sufferer and before I had the baby, I rarely EVER got headaches and if I did they were very mild. Does anyone else seem to have these types of headaches?

[mini_d]

Hi Jenn,

What you describe seems like a tension headache, which is similar to, but not exactly migraine. Medications for migraine relieve this headache. Stress and anxiety are causative factors. Your recent delivery, stress of taking care of the baby may have been the triggers for this. Please do not take any medication without consulting a doctor in case you are breast feeding your baby, though Excedrin Migraine is relatively safe, upto 4 times a day. There is no effective, one time treatment for this headache. In course of time, as you get adjusted to the situation around you, these headaches will go.

Dizziness is also seen after delivery, due to anemia, change in blood volume, hypoglycemia, hypotension. Make sure you are taking your prenatals, iron supplements, atleast 4 litres of water and food at regular intervals. Rocking your baby in sitting posture also helps.

Please get back if you have any other queries

Regards,

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Headaches in the postpartum period can occur due to drop in the hormonal levels. Other cause is leakage of spinal fluid. This is usually seen if you received epidural or spinal anesthesia during delivery. The treatment for these headaches is usually bed rest and caffeine. In some cases blood patch may be required.
I would suggest you to discuss these possibilities with your GP and let us know if you have more questions.