Anyone else have a loved one experiencing extreme headaches?

Check dentures fit
Could be food allergy
Eye exam
May be needed
Tylenol always good unless she's allergic
Maybe a new bed pillow will
Help.

Check all of her meds. Do any of them list headache as a side effect? Can she show you what part of her head hurts?

Is her doctor a geriatrician? They are often much better at figuring out these seemingly impossible issues.

Can she take tramadol? Helps my mom with pain.

I think you should go to the doctor and explain your concern in the same or more depth as you have here. He should engage you in a way that provides you with more information and gathers more information from you. If he does offer real testing and concrete solutions find a new doctor. I would think a CT scan at minimum is in order. Also looking for medicine interactions would be important. Too much Tylenol can cause liver failure too. It sounds like you should be pushing the doctor and not accepting the status quo.

She likely needs a CT scan to determine if she is having any vascular incidents.

Oh, and find her a new doctor...

The when you're taking her to is a schlub if s/he is ONLY following your direction !!!

Although this might not be her problem, please see her doctor immediately, just in case. My mother (87 years old) had very similar symptoms (headaches and nightmares) which sent her to the hospital several times.

No one could figure it out, and they thought she was having anxiety attacks. One Another symptom she developed with jaw pain (she wasn't eating well because of it). Her dentist referred her to an oral surgeon, who asked to have a blood test to rule out "something" before he went forward.

That something was "Giant Cell Arteritis" (Aka Temporal Arterites). I won't go into details, but the blood test checks "SED rate" and one other item. If positive, it indicates an inflammation in her system. It is not definitive, but if the doctor suspects GCL, he will immediately start her on Predinsone.

This condition caused inflammation of the arteries, generally in the head (temples and optic nerve). It is very serious, because it can cause irreversible blindness or double vision and to a lesser extent, stroke or aortic aneurysm.

For a more definitive diagnosis, a temporal artery biopsy is done. Unfortunately GCL is not always detected in the biopsy either. My mother had a "bilateral temporal biopsy" and it was positive for both!

GCL is more prevalent in elderly females, and for some unknown reason, people of northern European descent (My mother had grandparents from Norway).

Migraines I know something about unfortunately. I never had a headache before going into menopause. Then Imitrex self injections were invented and they have been saving my life for 23 years! When I know one is coming on I will take a Zomig 2.5 mg tablet to see if that will stop it. Imitrex tablets made me really ill, so I switched. Imitrex injections will stop a migraine in about 15 minutes. One needs a prescription. The other latest migraine treatment is Botox (if one suffers 15 days or more per month). Medicare covers that treatment and you have to have a neurologist inject the 14 + injections in the neck, forehead, depending on your symptoms. Because these treatments are about $2,000 every three months you need insurance unless you have the funds. I tried 3 treatments, but found the side effects too great and went back to Imitrex. The injector "pen" is simple to use, but most doctors do not know how to work it or have seen it. So, get to a neurologist who specializes in migraines/headaches. My best to your grandmother.

Wow, what wonderful information!

Time to dr swap. I'm a firm believer that they often get to a point where they don't look at the problem with fresh eyes especially with difficult elderly people. Yes it can be hard to persuade your gma to swap, but tough love needs to kick in from you. Great suggestions from others but you need a dr who can tell YOU the diagnosis. Good luck

My ex-hub has giant cell arteritis -- he's 77 and lives in Norway (I'm in Canada). Mrl3ill's advice is good.

Just for your information--a side effect of Tylenol is rebound headaches. I've experienced them. They are horrible. Maybe a change to another medication is needed. I empathize with you about the doctor. I have gotten the same response from several. Please do ask him/her about the rebound headaches.

Wow my mom who is 87 is going through the same thing. She has dementia and is complaining of headaches everyday which makes her dizzy. She has confusion, etc. and she just had an EEG and a CT scan and will be getting the results today!

Newyorker: Isn't that Tylenol *with codeine*? The caffeine in it can give you headaches if you try to withdraw from it. It's like going from five cups of coffee a day for a month and suddenly stopping. (They put caffeine in Tylenol/acetaminophen w/codeine b/c it's a mild painkiller.)

The horrible headaches, and vision problems all came at same time as the diagnosis of the Alzheimer's. He not only has memory problems, but part of brain does not understand what eyes see, I was told at KU that headaches do not normally go with Alzheimers, Well, they are not living with it! Finally he was put on a med that is for nerve pain. Helped right away, but having to increase dosage, He complains of eyes hurting also. Look up CPA (Posterior Cortical Atrophy) or Benson's syndrome. Exactly what we experience. So rare, they are doing nothing for it in the US, but info comes from Great Britain.

well my mom complained of headaches but unfortunately we didn't pursue that because we were more concerned over changes in her behavior. I would strongly recommend that regardless of what you may think it is, get an MRI. You never know. We didn't, and by the time we did that my mom was stage 4 glioblastoma. Heartbreaking. Had we insisted on an MRI early on, she might have been saved. Don't fool around with headaches, get them checked out early and thoroughly.

my husband has had several MRIs and nothing shows up. For us, it has to be associated with the Alzheimer;s. They are more interested in preventing now and not so much being done to help those with it.

I am suggesting the same thing as 3rdtime.....time to change doctors if he hasn't already asked for a CT scan OR the fact that he just agrees with what you think means you need a new doctor......otherwise take her to the ER and they will do a scan if you insist and tell them how bad it is. good luck
**did she hit her head recently or anything like that?**

I say find a different doctor

I agree with most of the others, new severe headaches deserve an investigation into the cause, regardless of how old the patient is.

If you think they are from tension or arthritic vertebrae my mom gets some relief from her headaches with OTC creams used for muscle and joint pain.

Stregalina, sorry about the missed diagnosis, but glioblastoma is terribly fast growing and the long term prognosis is not good no matter how soon you find it. I hope they were able to keep her comfortable to the end. ((hugs))

Oh my gosh.... Please take her to the ER immediately!!!! She is experiencing symptoms of Giant Cell Arteritis and she will need to be on high dosage of prednisone to keep her from going blind! If you don't trust this answer, take her to her eye doc right now who will tell you the same thing or if she has a Rheumatologist, he will tell you to get her to the hospital so as to get an IV started to arrest her Arteritis! Good luck. This is an awful disease that is rare but seen in elderly women. Please take her now!

Why don't you allow a professional PCP to determine what is going on?

My aunt had a terrible headache that started late one night and the next morning she couldn't see out of one eye, took her to wills eye hosp and she was diagnosed with GCA, lost the sight in one eye but they were able to save the sight in the other eye. The other suggestion about a CAT is also a must. Taking grandma to the ER gets you immediate attention and saves you from running all over to different doctors. It ihis was my grandmom, I would go to the hospital immediately even if it meant promising that you would never leave her side. My grandmom was of the generation that you only went to the hospital to die and was very afraid to go. This was the only way she agreed. I kept my promise and never left her side. Please get her treatment immediately. Wishing you the best .

I would also put the issue of changing doctors on the back burner for the moment and just handle one thing at a time.

take her to the doctor!! i know 3 people that had severe headaches and wound up with brain tumors!

My mother also developed Temporal Arteritis. It's very painful and caused much pain in her head. Her SED rate should be checked, and the doctor would have to do a biopsy to confirm that she actually has it. The treatment is a rather large dosage of prednisone. Another cause for headaches is high blood pressure, so ensure that she is on the proper dosage of her meds for that. Wishing you much luck. I know it's very difficult and frustrating.

Could she have diabetes?...need blood test for that-that's a 12 hour fast i believe, usually it means poor circulation, is it possible to get her walking w/you around the block?(don't know if this is possible for you or her?), sounds like she has had a stroke before because of blood thinners, get an x-ray of her skull to check for lesions, tumours, blood clots, ect...just some suggestions, advil works great/poor circulation-low oxygen in the blood

Tramadol should notbe given to the elderly. Gives them hallucinations. Glocoma will give a person headaches. Call her eye doctor.

Please make an appointment. My mother has the same thing. Headaches, neck aches, constantly. I took her to the hospital. They did a cat scan and numerous other tests. Thankfully nothing showed up, but then again her headache/neck ache continues on a daily basis. I bought one of those wraps you warm up in the microwave, which helps and also Aleve. I wish I could ease her pain, but am at a loss now.

My mother is 85 and had a stroke a year ago. Before that, she says she "never" had headaches, and now she has them several times a week. We just went to see a neurologist, fearing the worst. His diagnosis, however, was that her severe osteoarthritis in her neck is causing nerve pinches and aggravation, and these are the causes of her headaches. We're very reassured to hear it isn't something more serious, and also that this is something we can deal with relatively easily.

First how many meds is she on, is she polypharma, how is she sleeping does she get sleep apnoea, that can cause headaches,. if she is on 'blood thinners' I presume she has vascular problems,is she having vascular insufficiency headaches, what is her B/p during a headache, What does relieve it, a hot drink, a cold drink, something sweet, does she feel hot or cold, does she complain of heat or chill. Are her specatacles freshly tested for eyesight? when did she last go out for a pleasant walk. Does she have arthritis of the neck causing triggers.. so many possibilities................ OR that they are not a headache as such but that the stress of living is upon her