Headaches

Hello everyone,

I haven't been on in a while. I hope everyone is as well as can be. I had a craniotomy after an AVM bleed over a year ago (November 2009). I have had a headache every single day since the surgery. The headaches are in the back of my head. I also have been getting frequent migraines (I never had a headache before the surgery). I spoke to the neurosurgeon and have gone to a neurologist and both insist the headaches have nothing to do with the AVM or the surgery. i refuse to believe this. No headaches before and headaches everyday after?!?! And they are trying to tell me there is no relation between the headaches and the surgery. I know I had a traumatic brain injury, but can they really think i am that dumb to believe that?!?!

Anyway, does anyone else get constant headaches this long after a craniotomy. My surgeon said they should subside after a year. Any advice, or medication that works??


I can't help, but I feel for you. I have been lucky, my AVM has not bled yet and i am waiting for Gamma Knife, but I am having the most horrific headaches I've ever had. They are so intense they reduce me to tears and before I know it I've been asleep on the sofa for hours! The one yesterday came on suddenly at 2pm and was almost like I'd been shot through the back of my head, from the soft part at the top of the neck/bottom of the skull, diagonally deep inside my head. I also get chronic pain in my forehead, the top of my head and my face - I've suffered migraines for years but this pain is different. It's a sudden intense pain, I feel nauseous, physically drained and like the blood in my whole body has solidified and everything feels so heavy. These headaches frighten me. I am thinking they must be related to the AVM, but I don't know.

I'm with you though! Traumatic brain injuries cause headaches... I hope you get some advice that helps you.


That sounds like mike headaches, Lena. I'm on a few kinds of pain meds, but they put me to sleep too. I hate sleeping so much, but I sure am glad for the relief from the pain for a little while!


Lena Court said:

I can't help, but I feel for you. I have been lucky, my AVM has not bled yet and i am waiting for Gamma Knife, but I am having the most horrific headaches I've ever had. They are so intense they reduce me to tears and before I know it I've been asleep on the sofa for hours! The one yesterday came on suddenly at 2pm and was almost like I'd been shot through the back of my head, from the soft part at the top of the neck/bottom of the skull, diagonally deep inside my head. I also get chronic pain in my forehead, the top of my head and my face - I've suffered migraines for years but this pain is different. It's a sudden intense pain, I feel nauseous, physically drained and like the blood in my whole body has solidified and everything feels so heavy. These headaches frighten me. I am thinking they must be related to the AVM, but I don't know.

I'm with you though! Traumatic brain injuries cause headaches... I hope you get some advice that helps you.

Look up Sharyn Laney’s page… On her blog Migraine she had some interesting advice!