Hi,
I had my first AN surgery in 1988 and a major post-op issue has been intense, chronic and debilitating headaches which doctors refused to acknowledge. They diminished in strength, frequency and intensity after 7 years and went away completely after 10 years. I feel they "ate" the most energetic and productive time in my life - from 25 to 35. They were mostly in the morning, very early, upon waking up or before that. It was very hard to treat them but somewhat easier to prevent them or abort them as early as possible. I learned to avoid strenuous activity, sleep on elevation and, when the headache hit, take Indocin suppositories because all my headaches were accompanied by vomiting. So, any pill would come right out. Acupuncture, done in a certain spot, by any acupuncturist who could see me right away, relieved the pain, too.
That was years ago and now there are new medications on the market and specialized pain clinics. My advice is not to wait until the headaches will go away because it might be quite some time but take an active role, learn what triggers those headaches, where they are located and try a number of therapies to see if anything aborts them. Some members of this forum even had surgeries for occipital nerve entrapment which relieved their headaches. Best of luck to you. I hope something helps and, please, let us know what.
Eve
