{"id":3497,"date":"2025-05-23T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=3497"},"modified":"2025-05-28T21:34:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T21:34:17","slug":"i-thought-it-was-a-hangover-but-then-my-headache-didnt-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/23\/i-thought-it-was-a-hangover-but-then-my-headache-didnt-stop\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I thought it was a hangover \u2013 but then my headache didn\u2019t stop\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s a common misconception that strokes only affect older people (Picture: Owner supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following a Friday night out with friends, Alex Bowles woke up the next morning with a dull headache. The group had enjoyed a few drinks with their dinner, so it wasn’t completely unexpected.<\/p>\n

\u2018I just thought it was a hangover<\/a>. It felt like half my head was missing, very airy,\u2019 remembers Alex, who was 23 at the time. <\/p>\n

Never one for taking painkillers, she soldiered on despite her pounding head<\/a>, even when it was accompanied by nausea. <\/p>\n

\u2018I went shopping but felt so bad I had to sit down,\u2019 Alex tells Metro<\/strong>. \u2018I assumed I also felt sick because of a hangover – I didn\u2019t think anything suspicious was going on.\u2019<\/p>\n

By Sunday, Alex was still reeling from a bad headache and wasn’t so sure her suffering was down to alcohol. She wondered if she might have picked up a virus<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n

Two days later – on a Tuesday in October 2014 – her headache remained steadfast and she’d started to be sick, too. <\/p>\n

As Alex ran to the toilet to be sick for a second time that morning, she saw her family\u2019s cleaner, who knew the family of four well. The cleaner quickly realised Alex’s speech was slurred and she was talking nonsensically. <\/p>\n

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By Tuesday morning, Alex was incomprehensible (Picture: Owner supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I wasn\u2019t making any sense,<\/a>\u2019 the now 34-year-old explains. \u2018She knew something was wrong, so she called my mum, who rang the ambulance.’<\/p>\n

By the time the paramedics arrived, Alex was lying on the sofa and was quick to tell her to go straight to Queen\u2019s in Essex, as the hospital had the best neurological department.<\/p>\n

\u2018When they said that, my mum knew it was something serious. She was really worried, but very matter-of-fact. She knew I was going to the best place.\u2019<\/p>\n

While Alex doesn’t remember much of that day, one of the details she can recall is lying on the floor of A&E in her pyjamas. <\/p>\n

\u2018Someone told my mum I wasn\u2019t allowed to lie on the floor, and she said I could barely sit up, so unless there was a bed, there wasn\u2019t much else I could do,’ she recalls.<\/p>\n

However, no one seemed in a rush to see Alex, except for one doctor. <\/p>\n

\u2018He thought something bad was going on, as he didn\u2019t think a girl of my age would just be lying on the floor with a headache,’ she explains. ‘He pushed for me to have a CT scan, and they found I had a huge clot and bleed in the left side of my brain.’<\/p>\n

Alex was told she’d had a stroke, and it was later suspected by doctors, but never confirmed, that it could have been caused by a combination of simultaneously using a birth control pill<\/a>, steroids and having just returned from a long-haul flight. <\/p>\n

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Alex’s mum didn’t leave her side in the hospital (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, following the diagnosis, doctors said they couldn\u2019t treat the clot and the bleed at the same time, as if they treated one, it would have made the other worse.<\/p>\n

\u2018Doctors hoped the bleed would stop by itself, so they could treat the clot. They told my family they’d give it until Friday, otherwise it would be brain surgery,’ remembers Alex.  <\/p>\n

Thankfully, the bleeding stopped, and doctors started her on blood thinners to treat the clot. But the stroke had left Alex unable to read, write or speak properly.<\/p>\n

\u2018I couldn\u2019t understand what people were telling me. It was like my brain shut off completely, but I was completely unaware of it. Physically, I was fine \u2013 it was all cognitive,’ she explains. <\/p>\n

As she was unable to understand what the doctors were saying,  Alex didn\u2019t feel afraid of the grim prognosis, but her mother never left her side. <\/p>\n

\u2018I used to walk around the hospital walls with Mum and shout out any random words I could read on posters,\u2019 Alex remembers.<\/p>\n

Over two weeks, her writing, reading, and speaking abilities started to return, and eventually she was allowed to go home, where each day, \u2018got a little bit easier\u2019. \u2018It came back naturally,\u2019 she added.<\/p>\n

Alex had previously been working at a horse sanctuary and children\u2019s nursery doing admin, but needed to take a year off.<\/p>\n

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Alex also had to come to terms with the fact that who she was had changed forever (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once Alex started to understand what had happened, she began feeling frustrated that she couldn\u2019t communicate how she wanted. <\/p>\n

\u2018I was realising what had changed, and would get upset as I couldn\u2019t get across how my brain was feeling,\u2019 she remembers. \u2018It was easier when I couldn\u2019t understand.\u2019<\/p>\n

Alex also had to come to terms with parts of who she was changing forever. <\/p>\n

\u2018Anyone who has had a stroke will understand. My sense of humour went, I don\u2019t understand sarcasm, or when someone is joking. For a long time, I hated being around crowds and too much noise.\u2019<\/p>\n

Alex also admits that being completely dependent on family and friends sometimes felt very \u2018isolating’.<\/p>\n

\u2018I went from driving and having my own life to being stuck indoors unless someone could pick me up and take me out,\u2019 she explains. <\/p>\n

Ten months after the stroke, Alex started receiving counselling to work through her anger and frustration, as she found it easier talking to someone who didn’t know her, or could tell how she’d changed.<\/p>\n

A year after her stroke, Alex could have full conversations and began playing netball again. A decade on, Alex, who will remain on blood thinners for life, works in her family’s tea room.<\/p>\n

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Alex has run the London Marathon since her stroke (Picture: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although her risk of having another stroke is much lower, Alex says she\u2019d \u2018just have to get on with it’ if she did have one.<\/p>\n

\u2018There have been two times I\u2019ve been in the hospital as I’ve had a headache that wouldn’t shift, but I\u2019m checked pretty quickly due to my history,’ she adds.<\/p>\n

Alex has also set up a stroke support group to help people like her.<\/p>\n

\u2018I started it to help other people, but it helped me. I was speaking with people who completely understood me, my feelings, and what I had experienced. I realised I wasn\u2019t on my own. We call it the best club to be in that no one wants to be in.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m very lucky I\u2019m still here,’ says Alex. ‘I don\u2019t think of the stroke as a negative thing, as I appreciate stuff more.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m feeling positive about my future, and I’m now pregnant, so a lot of change is about to happen again.<\/p>\n

‘It\u2019s scary after everything that has happened, but I\u2019m taking each day as it comes.’<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tWhat you need to know about strokes\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Even though the chances of having a stroke increases with age (around 70% of all strokes occur in people over 65), one in four strokes happens in people of working age. <\/p>\n

\u2018It is a common misconception that strokes only affect older people \u2013 in fact, anyone of any age can have a stroke, including babies and children,\u2019 Juliet Bouverie OBE, CEO of the Stroke Association, tells Metro. <\/p>\n

\u2018A lot of people also think that stroke is solely a killer but for 240 people in the UK every day, stroke is the start of a long and gruelling journey to recover both physically and mentally from the impact of this life-changing condition.\u2019<\/p>\n

Around half of all strokes are due to high blood pressure<\/a>, which might be elevated due to lifestyle choices like smoking, irregular exercise, an unhealthy diet, and drinking a lot of alcohol, but other risk factors include gender, ethnicity, and other medical conditions, such as diabetes. <\/p>\n

\u2018There are some risk factors which are specific to women, including the combined contraceptive pill, which is linked to a small increased risk of stroke and blood clots for some people,\u2019 adds Bouverie. \u2018While it is still rare, pregnancy and childbirth also increase the risk of stroke, which is monitored with regular blood pressure checks.\u2019<\/p>\n

There are several types of stroke: <\/p>\n

Ischaemic – caused by a blockage or clot in the brain<\/p>\n

Haemorrhagic – caused by a burst blood vessel<\/p>\n

Transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) – these are known as \u2018mini strokes\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Stroke is a medical emergency as it can cause huge and long-lasting damage to a person\u2019s brain quickly \u2013 1.9 million brain cells die every minute after a stroke hits,\u2019 explains Bouverie. \u2018Speedy treatment is essential to minimise the damage caused and the impact on a person\u2019s physical and mental recovery as well as long-term side-effects.\u2019<\/p>\n

For more information, contact the Stroke Association here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s a common misconception that strokes only affect older people (Picture: Owner supplied) Following a Friday night out with friends, Alex Bowles woke up the next morning with a dull headache. The group had enjoyed a few drinks with their dinner, so it wasn’t completely unexpected. \u2018I just thought it was a hangover. It felt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3497"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3505,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497\/revisions\/3505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}