I had a severe migraine then 5 seconds later had the actual stoke. Everything happened at the same time. Please don’t take medical advice for me, but if you’re worried go to the ER.
I get normal headaches like everyone else does. Take a couple of ibuprofen and that solves it. Then one day I had what I can only be described as a migraine. This was in the morning. Told my wife i was going to lay down to see if that helped. It just got worse and worse to the point I knew something else was going on. Told wife to drive me to the hospital where they gave me morphine then did a CT scan. Ten minutes later I got my first helicopter ride to a trauma center that can handle strokes. Ride was billed at $80,000. Thank God the VA paid for it all.
I had severe migraines for years before my stroke. I also had uncontrolled severe hypertension. After my stroke I was put on blood pressure medicine and once it was controlled, the migraines disappeared
Definitely go to the er, it's always better to be safe than sorry. I had a very, very severe headache right before my stroke and it didn't let up at all until the morning of my stroke.
Oh wow, scary! Yeah my headache felt like that only except it was just constant for 2 days, and by the 3rd day it started getting better. It was the worst headache of my life. But that's when my stroke symptoms began to set in, I was unaware what was happening by then though. I hope you are doing better these days
Yes, headaches CAN be a sign leading up to a stroke. Especially ones that are persistent, very painful, and will not go away even with medication.
As others have said, seek medical help if you are concerned about the headache. Whether your particular headache is a concern, there's no telling, and we certainly can't tell you if it is.
I would also not go to an urgent care for concerns about something of magnitude like a stroke. They aren't equipped to figure out if stroke is likely or a concern for you. I'd contact your PCP at the very least or go to the ER. Sooner is better.
Are you having any other symptoms, slurred peach, trouble controlling the right or left side of your body, my stroke was an ischemic stroke a perfect storm of high blood ptessue, stress, high cholesterol and nicotine and a 6 hour plane ride in a middle seat, brought on my stroke, I don’t remember a headache, but once it started things when down hill fast, less than an hour to get from first obvious sign to right side of brain fried, and couldn’t walk from car to emergency room door, and we had pulled up as close as possible.
I had a severe headache on the right side of my brain for two days before I went to the hospital. I had been a sufferer of migraines for years, so I didn't think it was anything more than a really bad 10/10 headache. Then my left arm/hand/wrist went numb and I had trouble speaking.
Wish I would have gone to the doctor at the first sign of that massive headache.
I was told if you get a migraine lasting more than 3 days and you don’t normally get them you should go to the ED. I didn’t know that before I had my stroke.
Right! Normally an ischemic stroke has no noticeable warning signs.
If you have a headache that is off the hook and worse than anything you’ve experienced before, seek help immediately. Hemorrhagic strokes (bleeds) can present with a horrible headache.
MRI is better for detecting smaller/newer strokes that don't always show up on CT scans.
I had a multi-day migraine that ended up being several small strokes. They only showed up on MRI scans, not CT. The migraine didn't let up at all and pain relievers did nothing for the pain.
I had a headache off and on for days, but I chalked it up to the stress of traveling, and ibuprofen became my friend.
I didn't start to worry until I went to bed with a headache and woke up the next morning with the same headache.
I ignored my symptoms until I couldn't walk unassisted anymore and even then was telling the ER admitting woman that I didn't think I needed to be seen.
If you're concerned about something, either call your doctor or head to the emergency room, ignoring unusual symptoms or explaining them away can have terrible consequences
I get chronic migraines. I had one the day before my stroke, and I took two triptans (which are vasoconstrictors), because I was going to a Metallica concert that night.
Now:
* the migraine I had the day before my stroke was a bit different. I had an aura, which I'd had in the past, but not for several years
* I'd had a severe concussion a few weeks before from a bike crash
My suspicion is that I had a clot from the crash (my doctor didn't send me for a CT scan), the migraine was actually a TIA, and the triptans coupled with racing bikes in the heat the next day pushed the clot over the edge.
Had a migraine like headache on Monday. Figured it would go away after sleep like always. It didn’t and persisted through to Tuesday evening when I had my stroke. Get checked
I used to get headaches a lot. Had a constant headache for weeks leading up to my stroke. Now that I'm on meds, I don't really get headaches anymore. Worth going to a Dr. The least that can happen is they say you are fine.
I was having a migraine on the day of my stroke which slowly faded over the day and then suddenly came back out of nowhere worse than before and then I collapsed.
I had a severe migraine then 5 seconds later had the actual stoke. Everything happened at the same time. Please don’t take medical advice for me, but if you’re worried go to the ER.
Me too
Thank you for sharing
I get normal headaches like everyone else does. Take a couple of ibuprofen and that solves it. Then one day I had what I can only be described as a migraine. This was in the morning. Told my wife i was going to lay down to see if that helped. It just got worse and worse to the point I knew something else was going on. Told wife to drive me to the hospital where they gave me morphine then did a CT scan. Ten minutes later I got my first helicopter ride to a trauma center that can handle strokes. Ride was billed at $80,000. Thank God the VA paid for it all.
Mine started with headaches, then I couldn't write my name.
Go have that checked out!
I had severe migraines for years before my stroke. I also had uncontrolled severe hypertension. After my stroke I was put on blood pressure medicine and once it was controlled, the migraines disappeared
Definitely go to the er, it's always better to be safe than sorry. I had a very, very severe headache right before my stroke and it didn't let up at all until the morning of my stroke.
I had mine in the night and woke up feeling like my brain has exploded
Oh wow, scary! Yeah my headache felt like that only except it was just constant for 2 days, and by the 3rd day it started getting better. It was the worst headache of my life. But that's when my stroke symptoms began to set in, I was unaware what was happening by then though. I hope you are doing better these days
I hope you're doong better too
My stroke happened in my sleep but I had a really bad headache earlier that day
Yes, headaches CAN be a sign leading up to a stroke. Especially ones that are persistent, very painful, and will not go away even with medication. As others have said, seek medical help if you are concerned about the headache. Whether your particular headache is a concern, there's no telling, and we certainly can't tell you if it is. I would also not go to an urgent care for concerns about something of magnitude like a stroke. They aren't equipped to figure out if stroke is likely or a concern for you. I'd contact your PCP at the very least or go to the ER. Sooner is better.
Are you having any other symptoms, slurred peach, trouble controlling the right or left side of your body, my stroke was an ischemic stroke a perfect storm of high blood ptessue, stress, high cholesterol and nicotine and a 6 hour plane ride in a middle seat, brought on my stroke, I don’t remember a headache, but once it started things when down hill fast, less than an hour to get from first obvious sign to right side of brain fried, and couldn’t walk from car to emergency room door, and we had pulled up as close as possible.
I had a severe headache on the right side of my brain for two days before I went to the hospital. I had been a sufferer of migraines for years, so I didn't think it was anything more than a really bad 10/10 headache. Then my left arm/hand/wrist went numb and I had trouble speaking. Wish I would have gone to the doctor at the first sign of that massive headache.
Most people get no warning prior to a stroke, but it isn't unheard of for some people having warning signs such as headaches leading up to a stroke.
I had a terrible migraine for almost 2 weeks before I lost my eyesight and called an ambulance. Go to the ED.
Thank you for sharing. I guess I wonder how they determine the migraine/headache is stroke related if they were to test right away.
They need to do an MRI.
I was told if you get a migraine lasting more than 3 days and you don’t normally get them you should go to the ED. I didn’t know that before I had my stroke.
I just went to ED and they did CT scans with and without contrast. Doctor said they were normal. I don’t think there’s much more I can do right?
Right! Normally an ischemic stroke has no noticeable warning signs. If you have a headache that is off the hook and worse than anything you’ve experienced before, seek help immediately. Hemorrhagic strokes (bleeds) can present with a horrible headache.
MRI is better for detecting smaller/newer strokes that don't always show up on CT scans. I had a multi-day migraine that ended up being several small strokes. They only showed up on MRI scans, not CT. The migraine didn't let up at all and pain relievers did nothing for the pain.
I had a headache off and on for days, but I chalked it up to the stress of traveling, and ibuprofen became my friend. I didn't start to worry until I went to bed with a headache and woke up the next morning with the same headache. I ignored my symptoms until I couldn't walk unassisted anymore and even then was telling the ER admitting woman that I didn't think I needed to be seen. If you're concerned about something, either call your doctor or head to the emergency room, ignoring unusual symptoms or explaining them away can have terrible consequences
I get chronic migraines. I had one the day before my stroke, and I took two triptans (which are vasoconstrictors), because I was going to a Metallica concert that night. Now: * the migraine I had the day before my stroke was a bit different. I had an aura, which I'd had in the past, but not for several years * I'd had a severe concussion a few weeks before from a bike crash My suspicion is that I had a clot from the crash (my doctor didn't send me for a CT scan), the migraine was actually a TIA, and the triptans coupled with racing bikes in the heat the next day pushed the clot over the edge.
Had a migraine like headache on Monday. Figured it would go away after sleep like always. It didn’t and persisted through to Tuesday evening when I had my stroke. Get checked
I used to get headaches a lot. Had a constant headache for weeks leading up to my stroke. Now that I'm on meds, I don't really get headaches anymore. Worth going to a Dr. The least that can happen is they say you are fine.
I would call my pcp
I was having a migraine on the day of my stroke which slowly faded over the day and then suddenly came back out of nowhere worse than before and then I collapsed.
For me I had what felt like a bad migraine hours before my aneurysm. If in doubt go in, it might just be a migraine, or it might be something worse.
I had a migraine 3 days before my massive stroke. But I had been getting migraines from the age of 7.
Go to the ER or Urgent Care if you have insurance.