Nooooo its not me A friend of mine is pregnant, baby due in November, and she has been suffering from dreadful headaches, some lasting up to 4 days :(
She has been told by the Midwife and Doctors she can't take headache tablets, and altho she asked in 'Holland & Barrett', they could suggest nothing either

Any CD'ers out there have any suggestions for homeopathic remedies etc, which are safe to take during preganancy?

Thanks

libs

Hi,

I know paracetamol is safe to take during pregnancy, but even when not pregnant, you shouldnt take it continuosly!

One thing i would reccommend is, dont do anything that might strain your eyes, i suffer with migranes and i find, watching tv, the laptop, reading makes it worse, i tend to just lay down and close my eyes for a bit!

Hope they ease off for her soon, headaches suck!!

:)

A dab of lavender or peppermint oil on the temples can help to alleviate a headache.

My mum has a remedy that she swears by and you don't have to take anything. What you do is pinch the fleshy part at the base of the thumb on the hand opposite to the side of your head where the headache is i.e if the ache is on the left side you would pinch the right thumb.  The part you pinch is on the palm side underneath where the thumb bone "ends" and you have t pinch quite a lot of flesh so use the thumb and forefinger of the other hand to do the pinching. You have to pinch it really hard so it is often better to get someone else to do it for you. Pinch for about a minute or so and the pain should start to ease - not sure why it works but it seems to in most cases, perhaps it works along the lines of acupuncture or reflexology but definitely worth a go.

You can take Paracetamol :) You can also get those cooling gel things you stick on your forehead but can't remember what they are called :)

Lucy
xx

she'd been told she couldn't take Paracetamol, I did mention that 'Stick' thing to her too, and apparently the Pharmacist said that was a 'No' too

I can confirm you can take paracetamol during pregnancy.  I had major abdominal surgery when I was 4.5 months pregnant, I was allowed morphine for 24 hours after the op and then was only able to take paracetamol.  As you can imagine, it did little to ease that type of pain, but I was on paracetamol for a good 3 weeks at the recommendation of my consultant, surgeon and GP.

Another thing your friend could consider is getting her blood sugar levels checked out.  Low blood sugar levels (and dehydration if not drinking enough) can cause very bad headaches.  As diabetes is quite common in pregnancy it may be worth getting a check up just in case.

HTH,
Helen

Can also confirm paracetamol is safe.  I suffered dreadful headaches and was told I could take it (you aren't allowed to take nurofen etc but paracetamol is ok).  Just confirmed this with my SIL who is a midwife!!

Libs I was on a cocktail of painkillers when I was expecting Indigo due to my bad back. They don't like giving them as a matter of course but it is a case of the welfare of the mother as well as the unborn child. If the mother has undue suffering during the pregnancy then there is a greater risk of post natal depresssion :)

I would get her to ask for a referal to another doctor :)

Lucy
xx

Something I have found to be very good is called 4head ...here's the blurb on it:-

"When applied directly to the forehead, 4head's powerful natural painkiller, pure levomenthol, works to block headache pain signals and relax the muscles in the head associated with tension headaches. 4head's format has many benefits; the topical application minimises the risks of side effects that can be associated with oral painkillers, while the compact dispenser - about the size of a lipstick - is convenient for use whenever a headache creeps up, whether at work, home or on the move. "

You can buy it is Asda, Tesco as well as in Boots etc

Margot

i was just about to suggest the same thing margot("4head")-i've used it, and i found it pretty good, but more effective when applied as soon as you feel the ache starting as oppose to applying it when you have a herd of elephants doing the salsa in your head!!

I go with Lokis mum,
I get terrible heads and 4head always does the trick (or tiger balm if you can get it) Hope your friends gets it resolved as there is nothing worse than being in pain and not being able to do anything about it

I presume they are keeping a very close eye on her blood pressure.

How are her sinuses?  There are certain problems that you can get with your nose when pregnant!!  All the fun of pregnancy unfortunately :d

I had a terrible headache not too long ago and HAD to take some pain killers as I was really suffering but I wouldn't if I could help it being pregnant, saying that I am not a fan of pain killers anyway and will suffer the pain for as long as poss before taking anything.

I too think Lavender oil rubbed on the temples and across the head can help, that and sitting in a dark room for a bit.

Hope she feels better soon!

also a good shoulder and neck massage can help as alot of headaches are caused by tension ( or thats what I tell my husband :-D )

Slighty going off subject a bit, but according to my midwife, their not supposed to check your blood presure now until 24 weeks! Which i think is absolutely ridiculous! Or use dopplers no more as it can cause unnessasary worry to expectant mothers!

I actually find it very comforting and nice to hear :)

And as for the blood presure thing, my midwife has checked mine anyway lol And its been quite low since ive been pregnant, which is probably why i come over a bit faint every now and then :rolleyes:

Also . . . (yes, theres more) Not sure about first time mums, but i saw my MW at 7 wks, 16 wks, 20 wks, but now wont be seeing her till im 28 wks, then 34 wks, 36, 38, 40! Now when i was pregnant with Damian it was every 4 weeks till you was 28, then once a fortnight till 36, then every week till delivery!!

Talk about neglect us preggy girls!! :(

I think that is horrendous, Blue!

When I think of it, 40 years ago this summer, when I was expecting Al , although I was sent away from the doctors until I had missed 2 periods, I then saw the doctor once a month until the 7th month, then once a fortnight until I reached the start of the 8th month - then it was weekly.    I also saw the midwife once a month (generally in between doctor's appointments) until the 8th month, then all 3 midwives in the team visited the house (so they knew where it was) - 1 a week - then I saw them weekly too.

Blood pressure always taken, water always tested, loods tested and iron tablets always prescribed.   When they decided that I was still anaemic at the start of the 9th month, the midwives came in daily to give me an iron injection - straight into the bum - ouch!!!

Sadly I don't think that pregnant women get the attention they need today :(

Margot

No they don't.  Maternity services have born the brunt of many a budget squeaze round our way, although to be far a lot of the backing off by doctors, at least, is as a result of the song and dance some pressure groups have applied that pregnancy was not an illness and should not be treated as such :)
I do think though if someone is having bad headaches or any other symptom out of the ordinary careful monitoring is needed.

I know! Maybe its not such a worry for us 2nd time + mums, as we know what its all about and what to expect (although we should still be checked up on) but for first timers, i think its essential!

Another thing thats wrong is some counties dont offer the 12wk scans, i know years ago scans wernt even an option, but now they are they should be made use off, someone on my 'mums due board' spoke of her friend who wasnt offered one and had to wait till 20 wks to find out that she`d had a missed miscarraige at 7 wks! :( How terrible that must of been :(

It is ok to take parcetamol when pregnant as the others have said, when i was pregnant i suffered from terrible migraine and virtually lived on paras :rolleyes: i panicked that my baby would have a totally trashed liver but she was fine :-) she is 13 mths now.

As for services being cut, i agree with Blue about the regularity of MW checks. When pregnant with my son 2001/2002 i had very regular check but with Georgina 2004/05 hardly any.

Another thing that has changed is Health Visitors. With Tim i saw the HV every week from 10 days until he was 6 mth. Then mothly for next year (with option of clinic each week) But now they see you twice after the birth and not again until they start school In my area you can still go to clinic if you have a problem, but if you are a first timer how do you realise you have a prob? My HV says that she worries about the welfare of the child :-( a lot of damage can be done in 4 years :-(

Thats terrible!! :(

This stupid country is all wrong IMO! The first thing they should do is look after their own, but that seems to be the last of their worries!

Don't forget some very vociforous pressure groups fought for the backing off of medics from childbirth :)

Thanks all for your helpful and informative replies, :) I will pass it all onto her.

libs :D

The cutting back of antenatal appts. is due to the recommendations of NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence).  As midwives we have the difficult job of balancing who most needs our time.  Many trusts are cutting down on staff and we do not get paid for any overtime.  There's only so much goodwill!  If people want to complain they should write to the Dept. of Health with their concerns.  Up to about 18-20 weeks gestation headaches can be due to the hormonal changes.  Pre-eclampsia would not be diagnosed before that time.  However, I would suggest your friend asks her midwife to refer her to an obstetrician who may want to run some neurological tests, in the absence of any proteinuria or hypertension.

Excellent post. Certainly food for thought on the complaint issue! I applaud midwives, have a difficult job which they do fantastically, I'm not one for blind trust but that is what I had for everyone that helped me, especially at the birth. Each birth.