Why Every Severe Headache in Diabetes Could Signal an Emergency

No one, least of all people with diabetes, should ignore pain. Neither bearing the discomfort nor suppressing sensations with self-medicated pain-killers, are the best ways to deal with sudden and severe episodes.

Headaches-the literal variety-are never a good sign. Unbearable pain is a part of migraine, which is a chronic condition. However, a splitting headache all of a sudden, could signal an emergency in diabetes, and needs immediate medical attention. Hopefully, the doctor will find that all is well, leaving you feeling a bit foolish about making a fuss over nothing and wasting time and money to boot. However, it could also save your life if the pain is due to damage to cranial nerves, or the start of an aneurysm burst. A history of poorly controlled diabetes or high blood pressure would add to the probabilities that a headache has serious origins. Nerves tend to decay if blood glucose is not controlled. An aneurysm is like a blister along the length of a blood vessel, and can lead to the formation of a clot or to heavy internal bleeding.

Keeping diabetes and blood pressure under control is always the best course to avoid serious health problems, but taking every sudden and severe headache seriously should be a part of your plan.