Hello - I had coiling for a 20mm PCOMM aneurysm the end of August 2025. I am still suffering with headaches and with some pain shooting over to my ear. Tylenol does help but I’m wondering if it is bad to continue taking it for so long? Any others have advice on continuing pain meds after coiling? Thank you!
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Welcome @lisajs ! We are glad to have you here.
Check with your care provider, but we can get stuck in a cycle of Tylenol rebound headaches if we take it too often.
Myself and others here did have headaches for a long time post coiling so you are not alone.
Physical therapy, cool therapy, hydrotherapy, guided meditation helped mine.
Others will chime in, but I hope you find some relief.
Sincerely @Shinykai
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Thank you @Shinykai I appreciate the advice. I saw a neurologist who said the headaches were not related to my aneurysm and he recommended physical therapy for tension/ arthritis in my neck. I have been calling but so far have been unsuccessful in getting an appointment for PT. Can you tell me a little bit more about the PT you did as well as the cool therapy & other things? I’m not familiar with them. Thank you so much for your help! Lisa
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Hi @lisajs - I hope you get scheduled with PT soon.
My physical therapist figured out where I was clenching/tense and/or weak and then gave me a series of exercises to strengthen some muscles and to relax some others. I went once every two weeks for three months (when I “graduated”) and he would add or adjust exercises based on my progress.
Now I still do the final core group of stretches and exercise every day for the last two years.
I don’t want to recommend anything specific because I might be giving you an exercise that would tighten a muscle you needed loosened or loosen a muscle you needed stronger.
In the meantime, you could try guided meditation that walks you through clenching and relaxing different areas of your body. I use the Calm app, but other folks here have other recommendations.
Wishing you to be free of headache and pain,
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Welcome again! Thank you so much for starting a topic kudos! Yes to headaches after coiling. But I also would get headaches after any angiogram.
I’m a big fan of PT. I went to my first back in the early ‘80’s for carpal tunnel as I didn’t want surgery like many of my coworkers did. Then off and on since the ‘90’s for plantar fasciitis and spinal issues. One of my doctors had to send in the order so ask your Neurologist to do send it in. If your in the Western Piedmont area of NC, I can recommend two of the three places I have been to.
For me, the Physical Therapist receives the order from the physician who tells them what to work on, which is their starting point. The PT does their initial assessment with their measurement tools basically for range of motion, a bit of poking and prodding with no intent to hurt, just assessing where you may be tight, always have had to do something -walk, turn my head in multiple directions, hold out my arms, etc and lets the insurance company know. PT makes the recommendation on how long they think it will take based on what they find. I’ve not had a problem ever with private pay insurance nor now on Medicare with PT.
PT for me has had different times,plantar fasciitis was 3 days/week for 8 weeks and then to the surgeon; back surgery required me to go every day for several months and then less days but longer sessions, rupture had me start out at 3 days/week and worked down to 1 for a couple of months. I had problems walking and a lot of fine motor issues. Mr. Lou recommended an extension so Dr. Q-W my neurosurgeon wrote the order. The PCP I had when I ruptured didn’t know what to do for me except to recommend that I get another neurosurgeon. Fortunately, Dr. Q-W stepped in and said anything I wanted she’d write the order for me. Last year, I ripped some places in my shoulder and aggravated a pinched nerve and went 1 day/week for two months and that followed with the PT getting a couple of extensions. One of the PCPs at the family practice I go to sent me to an Ortho, my PCP referred me back to my Neurosurgeon but I think because of the ways of insurance, I had to get a nerve conduction study done first and then could get the referral to PT.
The PT always taught me stretches and worked on core strengthening. They gave me handouts for what to do at home. It’s very important to do the homework and follow what they tell you to do or you’re just wasting your time and theirs. I had to be reminded a lot not to overdo things and how much weight I could pick up. They don’t want you to be in pain. And just like @Shinykai you have to continue what they teach you after they’re done.
So call your Neurologist and ask for him to send the order in. Don’t forget to hydrate! If you’ve been reading different topics then you already know I’m a big advocate of proper hydration and protein intake (ask a doctor how much)
Let us know how it goes, don’t be surprised if it takes awhile to get into PT especially if you live in a more rural area.
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Thank you and @Shinykai so much for the info. I will call again today and try to get in with a PT. I stayed on hold a long time yesterday and finally left my call back # but they never called back! Hopefully I can get through today. I really appreciate both of you & this forum for helping me to feel like I am not alone.
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Did your Neuologist already send in the referral? Sometimes I just have to wait for them to call me. I have called to see if they’ve gotten the referral, there’s been a hiccup or two with the wrong secure fax number.
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The first one he referred me to called right away but was out of network for me. So they said they sent a new referral and I’ve been trying to call the new place with no luck so far 
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That’s a bit aggravating. I know with some of my providers if I call after a certain time, I won’t get a call back until the next day. Sometimes the place where I go now for PT gets a little slow because it’s a smaller place and there’s not always the two ladies in the office part to handle the call volume. There’s also been a hiccup with my Medicare approval. One time for my shoulder, I was sent to the deny pile. The PT had down her initial check and sent in the paperwork. I had to call my insurance carrier to find out what the holdup was. The guy said he didn’t know why it was sent to the deny pile, it took him awhile to find it and he put me back in the accept pile. So if you can’t get through to PT today, call your insurance carrier, it might help. At least you’ll know if they approved it.
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I called again today & was finally able to get an appt mid December. I’m not sleeping well & have been trying to refrain from taking a Tylenol PM at bedtime. However, I know that sleep is important. The Tylenol helps but I don’t want to have rebound headaches. I just want to feel better!
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That’s great! So glad you were able to get an appointment “relatively” soon. Certainly that is something I have learned from the experience: how to be a better advocate for myself, so I am so glad to hear followed up! 
Since I slept quite poorly myself last night, I am not convinced that my advice on that front will be helpful! 
I tried meditation, sleep stories, breathing techniques, nothing seemed to work. Typically though, they do! I just found the below article that may help both of us, as it gives a variety of breathing exercises to experiment with. 
I have also learned that for me, some of the typical advice does not apply, medicine being an art, not a science, right? Specifically you know how you should NOT exercise at night? Well, I can and do frequently, as it takes away the stress of the day, so it works for me. Of course, I need to have some time before going to sleep (plus a hot shower helps), but don’t be afraid to try break the rules to see if that works better for you.
Hoping you are able to get some rest!
Fin Whale Fan 
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Thank you @FinWhaleFan for this article and these suggestions! I will try them tonight and hope it’s better than last night. I think the relaxation techniques will be useful. It really is about figuring out what will work for our new normal! Next week I’ll fly internationally for the first time since the coiling and hopefully that will go well. I appreciate your help!
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I have found that eating walnuts helps tremendously with headaches. I can’t remember the article that I read right after my rupture 5 years ago, but it mentioned how walnuts were really good for the brain.
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Welcome and thank you for posting a reply! Makes me wonder why walnuts help! I think anything that can help with headaches and not have nasty side effects is a great thing!
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