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Suggest Remedies For Severe Headache
Question: I had a dull headache since last Friday. Sunday evening it escalated to a horrible, unbearable pain. After drinking water and taking some ibuprofen it subsided. However for the last few days around 9 to 9:30 I get so sleepy I am unable to hold my head up. I went to bed last night at 8:00 and got up this morning at 6:00am. What is wrong with me???
Brief Answer:
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
From what I gather apart from the excessive sleep preceded by the headache there are no other symptoms such as fever, changes in behavior, confusion, weakness or numbness of the body on one side, visual problems, balance and coordination difficulties, nausea and vomiting etc. Those would be manifestations which would raise the concern of a brain lesion such as infection, stroke, tumor etc so in their absence shouldn’t be overworried.
Some viral infections such as mononucleosis can at times manifest with headache and subsequent fatigue and sleepiness which usually subsides gradually.
Rarely low thyroid function or iron deficiency may also manifest with sleepiness as well (but should be more gradual).
One other common cause are mood disorders such as depression. Some mood changes are more common during menopause due to the hormonal changes during this period.
So to resume while there doesn’t seem to be a cause for panic, if the issue persists some routine blood tests such as blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, c reactive protein, blood glucose, liver and kidney function, electrolytes, thyroid function are advised. These are cheap initial tests to screen for infection and inflammation or metabolic changes which might contribute to such disturbances.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
From what I gather apart from the excessive sleep preceded by the headache there are no other symptoms such as fever, changes in behavior, confusion, weakness or numbness of the body on one side, visual problems, balance and coordination difficulties, nausea and vomiting etc. Those would be manifestations which would raise the concern of a brain lesion such as infection, stroke, tumor etc so in their absence shouldn’t be overworried.
Some viral infections such as mononucleosis can at times manifest with headache and subsequent fatigue and sleepiness which usually subsides gradually.
Rarely low thyroid function or iron deficiency may also manifest with sleepiness as well (but should be more gradual).
One other common cause are mood disorders such as depression. Some mood changes are more common during menopause due to the hormonal changes during this period.
So to resume while there doesn’t seem to be a cause for panic, if the issue persists some routine blood tests such as blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, c reactive protein, blood glucose, liver and kidney function, electrolytes, thyroid function are advised. These are cheap initial tests to screen for infection and inflammation or metabolic changes which might contribute to such disturbances.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you, for your advise. I did not think about being menopausal, but that could be the reason. I will make an appointment with my physician and have some tests ran.
Brief Answer:
You're welcome.
Detailed Answer:
I hope you'll be back to normal soon.
You're welcome.
Detailed Answer:
I hope you'll be back to normal soon.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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