i'm 15 weeks today and for the past 4 weeks or so i've pretty much had a constant headache. they range from 'just there' to 'oh my i want to shoot my head off'.

of course, Tylenol is the only thing i can take and that just doesnt do it for me. last nigth i did finally take 2 Tylenol PM and at least got a good night's sleep.

any recommendations?

One of the books I'm reading covered this.. Here's what I found online to quote:

An increase in headaches during the first trimester is believed to be caused by the surge of hormones along with an increase in the blood volume circulating throughout your body. These headaches may be further aggravated by stress, poor posture or changes in your vision. Other causes of headaches during pregnancy may involve one or more of the following:

Lack of sleep

Low blood sugar

Dehydration

Caffeine withdrawal

Stress (too many changes)

The best way to deal with headaches is to avoid them altogether. Avoiding tension headaches is easiest when you follow these tips:

Practice good posture

Get plenty of rest and relaxation

Exercise

Eat well-balanced meals

If you are not able to prevent headaches, there are still things that you can do to help them go away. During pregnancy, you want to try and relieve your headache by natural means if possible. Pain relief medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen are not recommended in most pregnancies; however, acetaminophen may be reccommended by your health care provider.

You may want to try to relieve your headache with one or more of the following natural remedies:

If you have a sinus headache, apply a warm compress around your eyes and nose

If you have a tension headache, apply a cold compress or ice pack at the base of your neck

Maintain your blood sugar by eating smaller, more frequent meals. This may also help prevent future headaches

Get a massage. Massaging your shoulders and neck is an effective way to relieve pain

Rest in a dark room and practice deep breathing

Take a warm shower or bath

You may also reduce the likelihood of migraine headaches by avoiding common triggers of migraine headaches. Potential triggers include:

chocolate

Alcohol

Yogurt

Aged cheese

Peanuts

Breads with fresh yeast

Preserved meats

Sour cream

yeah, doesnt really help when i'm not sleeping well (ahhh the joys of pregnancy ... get up every 45 mins to tinkle)... i did take 2 tylenol PMs last night ... slept like a baby... didnt wake with a headache this AM ... first time in AGES..

exercise???? what's that?

Okay...sorry, but I have a strange sense of humor. I'm not pregnant, but was reading this because my DD gets a lot of headaches. I enjoyed the quote and there was a lot of information I didnt' know...but I particularly got a kick out of the following line:

"The best way to deal with headaches is to avoid them altogether."

That one had me laughing out loud...

yeah, avoid them all together...

why didnt i think of that??? :wink2:

Hah, I had responded to this earlier then the board died.

I was just quoting!

But from personal experience, chocolate=helps headache for me.. and I've never exercised to 'fix' any pains.

You're fairly early along so there's not a lot of risk yet, but I would check your blood pressure just to be sure. I had bad headaches BUT it was last trimester and I was mildly pre-eclamptic - but again, that didnt start till 35 weeks or so so dont panic.

When I was pregnant with Eliza I developed a really bad headache that gradually worsened over two weeks, I was only about 9 or 10 weeks along, bit of a worry, but it turned out to be a sinus infection.

FF - i know you quoted.. just thought the avoid the headache was funny... one thing that does take a little of the edge off is caffeine... which i can have a little of ...

jachut - my BP last appt was 110/66 so no problems there. thats definitely something i will be looking for though.

I always get some terrible migraines whenever my hormones are affected. (menstrual cycle or pregnancy included) Since I can't take my migraine meds during pregnancy, my doctor said that a cup of coffee once in a while is fine and the caffeine will help get rid of the headache.