I also previously woke up with HA's or migraines but now I take a medicine called Diamox. It is a medicine that relieves pressure in the brain. I take it at night before I go to bed and it really helps waking up with a HA. I was skeptical at first that the pressure thing is what it was since Diamox is actually a diaretic. And yes, I do have to "go" in the middle of the night but only once. So to me it is well worth it. I sometimes still wake up with HA's but usually it is a much lighter one that I can handle with my morning meds. Remember: I used to wake up every day or night with major HA's and migraines usually starting the day off with pain level 5 HA. So from there I am already chasing the HA- I can't be proactive at anything.
Maybe ask your Dr. about this med. Start out with 1 tablet at night and if that doesn't work go to 2 or 3 or 4 etc. One patient at the clinic I go to takes 8-10 a night! They are hard to swallow to me though so drink alot of water or something.
Try a different pillow or get one of those memory foam ones . Alot of headaches which occur during sleep are caused by neck tension.
Also look at what you are eating before bedtime , certain food preservatives or foods you are alergic to could be causing a problem .
try to stick with fresh fruits and foods which contain as little crap as possible before bedtime .
I've noticed with me that I have to be extra careful with what I eat late at night. Trigger foods will wake me with a terrible migraine also. Maybe keep an eye on what you are eating and see if that helps any.
Diane
Hi, I'm new here. I also suffer with h/a's. The symptoms being: pain is always on the left side around my eye, my nose hurts, pain in my shoulder, cannot lie down as this makes it worse, feeling sick, the pain is excrutiating I feel like killing myself sometimes. My attacks are usually around 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, they last anything between 20 mins to an hour, I go back to sleep and can wake again in an hour or so and go through the cycle again. These attacks can go on for 3 months or longer, but when out of cycle I can go for a year or so with no attacks at all. Sound familiar with anyone?
My husband is also going through this. Headaches that will wake him up after about an hour. The h/a's seem to spread out to his ear and jaw. He's had and MRA, MRI, CT Scan, and blood workup. Everything is coming back clean. He's never suffered from headaches before and he's 52. Does anyone have any idea what this is or what's causing it? Anything you could offer would be appreciated.
My husband is also going through this. Headaches that will wake him up after about an hour. The h/a's seem to spread out to his ear and jaw. He's had and MRA, MRI, CT Scan, and blood workup. Everything is coming back clean. He's never suffered from headaches before and he's 52. Does anyone have any idea what this is or what's causing it? Anything you could offer would be appreciated.
Hi. I am new to this site. I can see myself spending a lot of time here. I am replying to the "headache at night" posting. I was waking up many times during the night in 90's and it wasn't until my brother and I were discussing it that I diagnosed myself with cluster headaches. It was very frustrating for myself going from doctor to doctor and walking out with no answers. I used a lot of medication for these HA's that gave me many side effects that I did not like. Now when I get them I get perscribed oxygen in my home for a few months. I will never again take any pill during the months of my HA's. If these HA's are always waking your husband up I suggest researching up on cluster headaches. I'm glad I did.
Hi. I had all those symptions. These HA's are much different from migraine headaches. YOU CAN'T SIT STILL DURING THE ATTACK. I would rub my head as fast as I could. Paceing back and forth in a dark hallway. I found that cold air would help. I have stuck my head in the freezer, layed down on the floor with my face in the vent while my air conditioner was running, stood outside in the winter barefoot and no jacket on just to breath the cold air. I can relate to what you are going through. You are not alone.
My headaches come like clock work. Every night the same time. I am so afraid to go to sleep because I know what I will wake up to. I get between 1-5 headaches a night (not every night). Some nights I am HA free. Some times I have aborted the HA by crying out loud only for it to return later in the night. One time I stuck my finger down my throat over the toilet and the gagging stopped it for getting severe. I have been on Imetrix (pill and injection), verapimil, and a few other meds. The beginning of Spring this year my head was acting funny and I thought the worse. Here comes my clusters! Turns out it turned into a head cold (twice this Spring that lasted more than a month along with a bad cough). I wish there was more research done on cluster headaches (mine may be hormone related) but, not many people have them.
I hope you can find some thing that works for you. Everyone is different and what works for me (oxygen) may not work for you. Good luck.
Alot of good information on this post. I've been suffering, diarizing and searching for answers since 1975 if you can believe it.
For me, I get most of my migraines and/or cluster h/as AFTER really stressful times. You have heard of students getting them AFTER final exams, welll AFTER games (I'm in sports) I will almost always wake up at 4 or 5 with a doozy of a headache.
While I'm 'off' in the summer time I run clinics that are non stop 24/7 and after they are finished I can count on someting happening with my head.
Unfortunately no medication has worked very well on them and the Dr.'s give me morphine IM to use at home which works great but isn't something I'm comfortable taking.
I guess I'm lucky because my headaches are not migranes. I suspect they are connected to the tension I seem to carry in my neck and shoulders. What I find odd is that my head hurts only when I'm on my side. If I lie on my back, the pain almost goes away.
Problem is, I can't sleep on my back like I used to. I also have one of the Temperpedic pillows designed for side sleeping. I guess I should swap it out for a regular pillow and see if that helps.
It would be nice to have a deep shoulder massage before I go to bed!
I guess I'm lucky because my headaches are not migranes. I suspect they are connected to the tension I seem to carry in my neck and shoulders. What I find odd is that my head hurts only when I'm on my side. If I lie on my back, the pain almost goes away.
Problem is, I can't sleep on my back like I used to. I also have one of the Temperpedic pillows designed for side sleeping. I guess I should swap it out for a regular pillow and see if that helps.
It would be nice to have a deep shoulder massage before I go to bed!
That's EXACTLY what I have. Like muscle tension headaches, lower left base of the skull. Seems to happen only when I sleep on my right side. I have tried two doctors, a chiropractor, acupuncture, Valium, feng shui, and voodoo with eye of newt. Alcohol makes it worse. Stretching, exercise & weights help a little. I finally videotaped myself sleeping one night...I fell asleep on my back. About an hour in, I rolled onto my right side and within 30 minutes I sat up grabbed my head & said "OW" and rolled onto my other side. Confirmation for me, but my doc wasn't impressed. He sent me to physical therapy for more stretching.
I also carry my stress in my shoulders/neck. I think it's nerve/spinal related or maybe deviated septum?
Funny about the post above - I am about to switch my down pillow for a Therapeudic for a couple nights. Or duct tape myself down on my left side.
My husband is also going through this. Headaches that will wake him up after about an hour. The h/a's seem to spread out to his ear and jaw. He's had and MRA, MRI, CT Scan, and blood workup. Everything is coming back clean. He's never suffered from headaches before and he's 52. Does anyone have any idea what this is or what's causing it? Anything you could offer would be appreciated.
I am new here today. I started having bad headaches in early April of this year and they are intense at night with similar symptom that are in the above quote. Like the above quote, I wake up after about an hours sleep and it is a maddening pain. Sometimes I get into a warm tub and keep holding warm cloths on different parts of my head and throat. Some nights the throat seems like I have been poisoned and I have a metallic smell in my nose and a similar metallic taste in my mouth. The night explosions seem to be getting worse. I am near panic stage when the pain is so severe. I am somewhat ok during the day after I am up for a while but still have a mild headache through the day.
Before this happened I rarely ever got a headache and have been in very good health. I am 75 years old so health wise I have been very fortunate.
At first my doctor thought it was a sinus infection and prescribed an antibiotic which didn't help. It just kept getting worse. He told me to take Ibuprofen which helps during the day but the headache comes back after it wears off. I have never had the intense pain except after about an hour of sleep, even during a sitting up nap in my big chair.
On May 9th I had a CT scan and it was clear -- no problems showed up. After that the doctor just told me to take Ibuprofen. When I plead for some help this morning he ordered Nabumetone 500mg to be taken one time a day at supper time. I'm afraid to take it after looking at the precautions.
The doctor also ordered a sleep test which will be on May 29th and a consultation with a neurologist on June 27th.
I have heard a lot about palliative care for dying people but I'm sure not getting any pain killer that will stop these horrible night attacks. Last night my brain felt like it was on fire. I almost went to the ER.
Imitrex Nasal Spray might be worth a try when you wake with the severe headache, and as a last resort, Stadol Nasal Spray (a rapid acting narcotic) could help.
Thanks Aussiejono for some tips. It is comforting to see how people far apart can be concerned for each other.
Before finding the health message board recently, I didn't realize that people were suffering like this often without known cause or any way for relief.
The new drug that was prescribed -- Nabumetone 500mg -- worked to stop the headache while I was still up but gradually through the night I woke up from time to time with increasing headache. By 3am it was very painful but not quite as crazy-bad like before. But since I could not take anything I had to endure it alone. The Dr. told me not to take anything in addition to that one pill a day. So I had one miserable night but at least I didn't have the very intense spell. I got up at 3 and sat in my easy chair for the rest of the night -- dozing in and out of sleep with a bad headache. It eased up when I got up but I still a dull headache and low painful jaws and throat.
I didn't call the doctor today. I don't know whether I will try that drug again. Very soon after taking it, my head felt like it had been over inflated, odd pressure without pain.
Re: Headaches while sleeping 
