Does anyone get a headache, after lying flat in bed, since their stent insertion?

[Katydl]

Good Morning everyone,

I hope you are all safe and well. My question is today is :

Does anyone wake up with a stinking headache after lying flat all night, ( and asleep) since their stents have been inserted?

My husband tells me I am an a active sleeper , in my defence I start off at the top of the bed supported by pillows., by the time the morning arrives I am at the bottom of the bed ..no recollection of how.

I remember after having my stents fitted, the cardiac nurse saying not to lie flat,

I do not know if that was because at that time they were new or it was indefinite.

I just know I can be sleeping and feel this headache come on suddenly, which wakes me up. It’s very draining because I end up being more tired, than when I went to bed.

I have been exercising and feel generally well, so I am not sure where this is coming from.

[Andyman]

Could be that during you sleep you now clench you teeth tightly or you grind your teeth. This will give you head aches. Or could be stress.

[Katydl in reply to Andyman]

Thanks Andy,

I think I do clench my teeth during sleep.

My dentist told me sometime ago that he suspects that I do, he said I needed a mouth guard. He said we could tackle this later.

I did not make the connection. I need to make an appointment to see him.

Thanks again .

[Maisie2014]

I don’t sleep flat and wake up with headache. I’m also constantly on the move during sleep and my Fitbit tells me my sleep quality is fair. I’ve put this down to the medication. I was particularly bad on statins and have recently noticed the bad headaches whilst on Ezetemibe.

[Katydl in reply to Maisie2014]

Thanks Maisie. I too am on statins, Atorvastatin 80 mg.

But it is true, I clench my teeth and have one tooth in particular that is giving me grief.

I have just spoken to my dentists, who agrees this could be the cause of my headache and feels I could possibly have a tooth infection, I have lots of movement from that tooth,quiet honest we think it needs extracting.

I have been hanging on to it for six ,months the dentist confirms ,,I now think it’s time to go, when all settles with the pandemic .

Thanks again, stay safe.

[Katydl]

My headaches became increasingly worse. The GP identified it was my statin. I am on a new treatment which is injected.

The first injection is given, then three months after the second injection is given and then every six months. It is called Inclisiran 284mg/ 1.5ml, instead of the usual statins.

It is relatively new, so all side effects have not be established. I just hope it works for me.

I have also had chest tightness on exertion, on gradient or just the flat. I have thyroid problems and had a partial thyroidectomy in 2003. Although I have regular blood tests, I have never had a review with an endocrinologist, I will try and discuss this with my GP.

[Heather1957]

I can't say I have ever had a headache after sleeping flat at night.

I am not an active sleeper, I don't mean I don't move about because I do but I never end up at the bottom of the bed nor do I end up on the other side of the bed (I am single and sleep alone in a double bed)

I do not ever recall being told by anyone not to lie flat, that said for digestive reasons I usually lie on 2 pillows or I find myself getting/feeling sick. This is nothing to do with my bypass or my stents but as I said digestive reasons.

It is a strange one and if I were you I would ask the GP or cardiac nurse as an ongoing headache after sleep (rather than the odd one) would make me wonder if something was going on.

I hope you manage to get to the bottom of the problem.

[Katydl in reply to Heather1957]

Hi there,

I am a very active sleeper, I start off upright with quiet a few pillows and have no recollection of how I end up at the bottom. I now use my pillows to wedge me into position, which works well, but there are times when I do end up flat.

My headaches are strange, the pain wakes me up, it feels like my head is in a vice. I even recalled a blue/ purple flash ( whilst I was asleep ) then very suddenly the pain came. I really have no answers for this. The statin I was taking, was identified as the offender, so I have recently had those changed.

As for the tightness in my chest, I have had an angiogram one week ago, all appeared to be fine. The Dr did say something appreciated to be abnormal, he didn’t articulate but he said he would suggest an MRI to my Cardiologist.

[Heather1957 in reply to Katydl]

If it wasn't the statins then they need to have a look inside your head to see what is going on.

I am NOT saying this is the same but 3 days after my first angiogram I had a stroke, very very mild so I was lucky.

As I said your problem does NOT sound the same but I haven't read of anyone suffering in the same way after stents being fitted (Of course I don't read every post)

Sometimes a heart problem can be responsible for other problems as in my case.

Do you ever wake up pain free or is this a constant problem also have you always been an active sleeper?

Please feel free to tell me I am asking too many questions I won't be offended, I am just curious. 😀😜

[Katydl in reply to Heather1957]

Thank you for your reply. I do wake up pain free now.

When I was first taking statins daily , to begin with it was fine. I was on maximum dose, this was okay for the first three years.

Then I noticed that every time I took my statin at night, I would start getting headaches, this became the norm until I mentioned it to my GP.

He then lowered the dose, by this time it made no difference, the headaches just kept plaguing me (at night )We kept lowering the dose with no avail, my GP wrote to the lipid specialist for input.

I am not sure if I have always been an active sleeper, my husband told me at first, that I was and I genuinely thought he was messing about, then I started to notice I was at the bottom of the bed in the morning and he was were I’d left him the night before.

I am okay with your questions, I am curious about me too. This all started after my heart attack, I am not sure if I am comfortable, I have suffered with slip discs in my lower back region for sometime now.

[Heather1957 in reply to Katydl]

Sadly the NHS is under a huge strain or I would suggest a full physical MOT to get to the bottom of things.

I would find the headaches quite debilitating but thank goodness they seem to have eased.

I take 80 mgs of Atorvastatin plus 10mgs of Ezetimibe daily for cholesterol. My Cholesterol levels (stand alone) are quite low but when I had 2 stents fitted last October (21) they had to drill through the arteries to fit them as there was a build up of plaque. I am not aware of any specific side effects of the statins but I am so tired most of the time.

Keep pushing for some kind of result, I believe there is a clinic that deal with sleep issues, primarily I think it is more about sleep apnea but surely it isn't healthy to be quite so active during sleep, it certainly doesn't sound restful.

Good luck in finding a solution, it certainly is an interesting one.

[Katydl in reply to Heather1957]

Thanks Heather, me too. Stay well, stay safe.