Im a 55 year old female. 6 days ago whilst sitting on the loo i had the worst headache ever. As if i had been hit over the head with a hammer. This severe pain lasted approx 5 mins. I couldn't move. I was waiting for my lights to go out. The pain reduced to a pounding headache score 8/10. So shocked and frightened i called NHS directline who called an ambulance. My Blood pressure went up to 192/104 and my pulse was 112. I went to A&E. I had a CT Scan and a Lumbar puncture. I was given Morphine & Anti sickness IV. My scan and LP were all ok. I was discharged home with Analgesia. Since discharge i have still got headache although 4/10, stiffness in my neck and shoulders and nausea. Im not convinced that all is well. My GP says nothing to worry about as the tests they did are clear.He suggested it may be a migraine, but no way was that a migraine. I cant stop thinking about that first pain. That was just not right, it frightened me very very much and i want an explanation. Im worried its going to come again and maybe i wont be so lucky. What should i do? I dont want to be a pain but im worried. Im still resting and taking analgesia. Im not well enough to do much. Any advice please ?

Hi Sheilz, Welcome.

I've had 2 headache episodes that have sent me to a hospital ER. Both were migraine, but one was very similar to yours. Nausea often accompanies migraine. Could the stiffness in your neck and shoulders be the result of your tensing up from the pain? (I get that too.)

There are many kinds of migraine that can present differently, as well as migrain/tension headache complexes, so if you've had migraines in the past, this could still be one -- just a different type. Have they given you or prescribed a migraine abortive to try and 'break' the headache?

You may need to become somewhat of a detective so that you can arm yourself with clues & evidence (information/knowledge) to make a case when you go back to see your doctor. This will also (hopefully) help him help you.

Google: headache journal log and start one for yourself. You can download templates, or review some and devise/modify your own. The idea is to gather & track data about this or other episodes to help identify the specific type of headache, and hopefully why it's happening and how to treat it.

At the same time, start researching headaches.
Google: headache diagnosis
Google: headache types
Google: migraine types
and follow where subsequent links lead (the Searches related to _____ at the bottom of the first search pages)

This is not necessarily to diagnose yourself, but to help your doctor by providing more clues -- things to investigate or rule out.

At some point, you may need to be referred to a headache or migraine specialist (not just a neurologist). I went to several neurologists who said they treated migraine, but they really didn't have a clue. Once I finally found the one in my area they called "the migraine guy" things began to improve. His practice is limited solely to headaches/migraine, and that, IMO, is the best kind of doctor to have for this kind of thing, if possible.

Doc

Thank you for your reply.
I am due to see my GP on tuesday. I think that maybe the neck stiffness and sickness was a follow on from the Lumbar Puncture. Today had been a lot easier for me. I did suffer from Migraines years ago and sometimes they were severe and lasted a couple of days. However, like i said, this was very different. It lasted 5 minutes or so and came on in a second without any warning. I just have a gut feeling that something is wrong.
I will report back to base !!

It could possibly be tension headache.