First Time Pregnancy and Headaches!!

I had headaches with both my pregnancies in the beginning. I used Tylenol for the pain, but there isn't much else to do except wait a few weeks and they will probably go away. I only had them the first trimester. Good luck!

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had terrible headaches all the time. Unfortunately there was not much I could do about them. I did talk to my Gyn at the time and they gave me a prescription. It was not much help but it did take enough of the pain away for me to function. I would suggest that you talk to you doctor and see what they recommend.

I would suggest you call your doctor. It could be just the way you react to hormones or it could be anemia. A lot of people get anemia with pregnancy and need the extra iron supplement.

GL!

Take the advice from Theresa S. seriously. Not only could medication affect YOUR liver, it crosses from your bloodstream to the fetus' blood through the umbilical cord. God only knows what it is doing to a developing baby's organs and brain.

My yoga teacher taught me a trick about 13 years ago. It has stopped every person's headache that I've taught it to. It is called "Alternate Nostril Breathing." You pinch your nostrils closed with thumb and 3rd finger. Ring finger and middle finger press at the spot in between eyebrows. Close your eyes. Release one nostril, exhale completely, then take in a deep, long inhale - - make it as long as you can keep breathing in. Close that nostril. Hold breath a few seconds (hold about a 4-count). Open other nostril. Exhale completely. Inhale deeply. Close. Hold. Repeat. On the long inhale - - once I counted up to 17!! But start wherever you can - 4 or 5 counts.

My yoga teacher said most of us don't breath in deeply enough to get all the oxygen we need, and that causes many a headache.

I am going to probably contradict a lot of people here. Please do not take Tylenol for your headaches. Acetominophen is one of the most toxic substances to the liver that there is--it has been known to cause extreme liver failure with as little as a double dose. Anything that stresses your liver--and pregnancy stresses your liver--will make your ability to tolerate Tylenol even lowered. In fact, many migraine like headaches can be related to toxification of the liver. I've done a huge amount of headache research because of my daughter's chronic head pain of over 8 years. Also, Tylenol is implicated in "rebound" headaches--meaning if you use it, over time, your body gets used to it and when you do not use it, you end up with a headache.

So what DO you do?
1) Pregnancy can cause changes to the shape of the eye, and since you mention behind the eye pain related to reading, it may be a good idea to get your eyes checked to see if you may need correction.
2) One thing you need a HUGE amount of during pregnancy is protein--good quality protein in small quantities many times throughout the day. Too little or too sporadic and you could end up with headaches. Make sure you keep high quality protein snacks around you ALL the time. Nuts, nut butters, boiled eggs, soy milk (the aseptic packaging allows you to have this unopened anywhere--it doesn't need refrigeration until you open it, and you can probably drink an entire container at once when you are pregnant, I did.), organic protein bars, edamame, all of these are excellent snacks to keep with you anywhere you go.
3) There are some excellent herbal headache remedies that are completely safe in pregnancy. You can purchase them in tincture form (the tiny amount of alcohol in alcohol based tinctures is not a worry, but you can add the tincture to hot tea or boiling water and the alcohol will evaporate off). Try Passion Flower (Passiflora)--it is a vasodilator (opens the blood vessels) which really helps with migraine like headaches. It was my best helper when I was pregnant and got headaches. Others are Valerian Root and Skullcap, though each of these can make you ever so slightly drowsy--they are best at bedtime but you can try them other times as well.

Again, please take the liver thing seriously. In pregnancy, the most common truly dangerous problem that can arise is pre-eclampsia, which is very much related to liver function. It tends to happen later in pregnancy, but you want to support your liver as much as possible. High protein snacks are one of the most effective ways to do that in pregnancy.

I am not pregnant but orange juice and banana's will sometimes help me when I get a headache. Maybe a low blood sugar thing.

Not sure if it works but I once read that smelling newspaper will make headaches go away. If all else fails, it's worth a try. ? :) Good luck! and Congratulations!

I started getting headaches w/my pregnancies & they have gotten worse w/each one. I think mine are allergy related. I have done what you do....tylenol, lots of water, eat frequently (that was some of mine too) and I also get those patches you put on your forehead. Be Cool or something like that. You look a little silly (don't go out!) but it is a cool blue patch that sticks right on your forehead. They are marketed for kids but I use them on myself. Sometimes I drink a cold coke (that may just be in my mind but it helps sometimes) or some Spark from Advocare. It's bad, I know you are suffering. I'm 24 weeks and still had a couple of bad ones a couple of weeks ago. Hope you find some help. I assume you've talked to your dr or midwife, but if not, talk to them too.

have you had your eyes checked? A lot of women's eye site changes during pregnancy. A friend never wore glasses until she was pregnant and then did not need them after wards and another had to change her perscription but it went back after the baby was born. Good luck.

Not sure how long it has been since you had your vision checked, but that is the first thing I would do. Then I would wait a couple of more weeks to see if it subsides. It could just be the fluctuation of hormones in the first trimester causing the headaches.

If you are interested in learning about doula services or childbirth classes, please give me a call or see my website www.wholeheartbirth.com. I might be able to help you further.

K. Voigtsberger
Certified Birth Doula (DONA)
Certified Bradley Method® Educator
Breastfeeding Educator

I had a constant headache for the first 3 months in my second pregnancy. Tylenol is all you can take. My chiro said that when that happens while looking at a screen for too long, to take breaks and look out a window at a long distance. They will go away with time. Good luck!

Could be caffeine withdrawals. When I was pregnant I had headaches really bad and found out from my OB that they were from a lack of protein (hated meat when I was preggers). I would drink a glass of chocolate milk or eat a boiled egg and almost instantly the headache was gone.

From what I have experienced and what I have learned is that headaches and pregnancy go hand in hand. With my first pregnancy (son is now 18 months) I had constant headaches from day 1. They got worse the farther along I got. Hopefully yours go away soon. If you get headaches that do not go away with tylenol, you could have high blood pressure. That is what I was diagnosed with when I was pregnant. I was actually induced early cause of HBP. Make sure you keep track of your blood pressure, since its a big factor in pregnancy and can cause problems and preterm labor if not taken care of.

i suffer from them and did occassionally in my pregnancy. i didnt want to take anything for them so i made sure i drank enough water and ate freqeuntly. i also used a really cold coke can at the base of my neck or on my temple when laying down and that really helped. when the can got cool i would put it in the freezer. try it.

Are you sure the headaches are caused by being pregnant? You might need to have your eyes checked. I use a muscle rub on my neck and it helps with headaches.I also would mention this to my Dr.Could be BP problems or sugar levels.

I haven't read through all of your responses, but I had the same problem with my pregnancy. I did not take any medications though because I refused to take anything at all during my pregnancy. I just wanted to let you know that my headaches subsided around 14 weeks. I figured that it was probably hormonal. Your hormone levels do change throughout your pregnancy. Perhaps you are having the same type of issue. Hopefully yours will subside soon as well.

If you drank a lot of caffeine before pregnancy and have cut it out, it could be that you're having withdrawal headaches. I've heard that some people find massaging peppermint or lavender oil onto your temples to be relieving. It's probably just related to the hormonal flux but you might check with your OB to see what they can recommend. Hang in there!

Well, you definitely got a lot of different answers on here already. As a migraine sufferer for 20 years, I of course got headaches as well when I was prego. There are many factors that can be causing your headaches. At first when you said that it was when you read or looked at the computer I would have suggested getting your vision checked, but if you are getting them after taking a nap, that sounds more hormonal than anything. There are plenty of SAFE meds that you can get from your OB. I would go in and talk to him first before you take anything different. Herbal or whatever. Keep a log of when you are getting them, what you ate, etc. Maybe it is anemia or your BP however at just 8 weeks that seems unlikely. Tylenol does cause liver problems if you do take a lot of it, but right now I wouldn't worry too much about that. Call your doctor and make an appt. to see him or her. You don't need to suffer! This is a happy time!!!!
Good luck with everything and I hope it all gets better soon!

Magnesium has been show to help with headaches and migranes. I would recommend trying a Calcium Magnesium supplement. This will benefit you anyways and if it helps with your headaches then it is a real plus for you.

A couple suggestions: prenatal massage. Accupuncture. A little bit of coffee (caffeine naturally reduces headaches, even if you aren't a coffee drinker normally - that's why it's in excedrin. There is no proven harm in 1/2 cup coffee per day). Also, try sleeping propped up a little more. Being pregnant, your blood pressure is probably up a little, and I wonder if lying down is just putting pressure in the wrong spots. If you don't have one already, get a massaging head for your shower, and alternate hot and cold water, standing right under the showerhead. Finally, do you wear contacts? Because sometimes women's eyes change shape a little during pregnancy, and contacts don't fit as well. I know I couldn't wear mine all through my first pregnancy. That would probably exacerbate headaches too.

Best of luck. Headaches are the worst.

I also get migraines & extreme headaches during pregnancy. My dr always prescribes me something for migraines that is safe & it really does help. Just talk to your on/ gyn.

I always get headaches in my first trimester of pregnancy. Mine were directly related to hormones. Fortunately, mine only lasted the first twelve weeks, but I have had friends that battled them the whole pregnancy. Hoping yours goes away soon.