Neck/head pain and no relief 😥

Morning all and happy bank holiday.

About a week ago I had a sudden pain in the top of my neck/base of skull and since then have had a head ache and it's quite debilitating . I reckon it's a trapped nerve or something like that. Trouble is, I can only take paracetamol (spoke to pharmacist and she said that even this will effect INR but my next test is Tuesday so she wasn't worried). She also advised a rub which does help a bit. I know that a couple of ibuprofen would help so much more. Does anyone know why we're not allowed to take them with mechanical valves/warfarin?

I rarely get headaches and it's really making me miserable now. Will try to get Gp appointment tomorrow but I imagine I will need chiropractic/osteopathic treatment?

Also, while I'm here, I have started to lose hair 😔 Thought I'd got away with it but it started to be noticeable about a month ago, 10'weeks after surgery. I just hope it doesn't get too bad as it's clogging up the hoover 😂😂

Claire x

[Fredders]

Hi Claire

I am on warfarin and take paracetamol and codeine, which I have on prescription due to back and shoulder problems. My cardiologist knows this and is fine with it, just have to be careful if I need to take full dose for more than a day, but I rarely take them during the day, just one dose at night.

They don’t recommend taking ibuprofen because it can increase the risk of bleeding, but my cardiologist said an occasional dose is okay if my back goes into a really bad spasm, as long as I take it with food.

I would go to your gp as it has gone on for a while.

Not sure why you have started to lose your hair now, again might be worth checking with your gp. I started losing my hair when I got very anemic. I used a L’Oreal shampoo called Serioxyl which worked really well.

Hope you get everything sorted.

Wendy x

[Hidden in reply to Fredders]

Thank you Wendy. The hair loss is a side effect of warfarin so I believe. I have bought the Serioxyl as I saw you recommended it on a previous post, so thank you. Yep, I have inr in the morning at my surgery so will ask for an appointment. I do think it’s just a trapped nerve or minor muscle injury as it came on suddenly, probably due to dual screen computer work 🙄. I’m a DSE assessor at work so should know better!

Claire x

[CharlesL in reply to Fredders]

Claire Hopefully all will go well and you will be able to move on. C

[MKB38]

Hi Claire, sorry to hear you are having this problem. I can't comment on pain relief as I'm not on Warfarin, however, I do have experience of going to a chiropractor. I was feeling disorientated before my op, and the surgeon said it probably wasn't a symptom of my Aortic Stenosis, so I consulted a chiropractor who was recommended to me. I had about 10 sessions, and improved a little each time until, eventually, I felt much better. So it's probably worth having an initial consultation. I hope you get sorted soon, love Margaret xx

[Hidden]

Thank you Margaret. Well I've waited all day for a call back from the GP. Suppose they will be super busy after the long weekend. I'll call a chiropractor tomorrow I think.

Claire x

[Mary_Janet]

Hi Claire,

Sorry to hear about your neck pain. I had bad shoulder/neck pain which I eventually had treated by a private physio. He pointed out that my posture was bad which was a real shock as have previously had excellent posture. The physio recommended a heat pad and I also used a deep freeze rub. My understanding is that we can't have anti inflammatory meds like brufen due to the risk of internal bleeding. I was also told not to use brufen cream either.

I too lost over half my hair, luckily I had very thick hair but now it is thin and limp. I had long thick hair but now have shorter thinner hair which on the positive takes less time to wash and dry.Hopefully your hair loss will slow down soon but it is hard...

My GP did a battery of blood tests to check all was well and they were fine. With best wishes and hope everything else is going well.