Gyles Brandreth's Diary: Appointment with death

After 30 years of double vision and headaches, I finally visited a neurologist and learnt the truth...

Are you having headaches, too?

Mine started last July, in the first break between lockdowns. I had had them before, in the 1990s when I was an MP, but those were simply mild migraines – a bit of double vision and a light throbbing on the right side of the head. And they were quick to cure: 20 minutes with my eyes shut in one of the leather armchairs in the Quiet Room of the House of Commons Library and I’d be as right as rain again. These new headaches wouldn’t go away.

And they got worse. As summer turned to autumn, the occasional thumping head turned into a daily horror story. I would wake with pulsing pains in my temples.

Every time I coughed or sneezed or strained, there were sharp, lancing pains on either side of my skull. They had me yelping out loud. Standing up wasn’t too bad, but bending over, even slightly, brought on a dull, foggy pain all over my head. At night, I lay in bed as still as I could, willing the throbbing to go away. It didn’t.

I saw the GP three times. Was it my posture? It’s never been good. Was it my diet? I do overdo the chocolates and cheese. Was it the way I sit at the computer screen, head pushed forward, eyes straining at the print? I have been writing a book and sitting at the desk eight hours a day.

I varied my diet, got my eyes tested and took more exercise. Still the headaches persisted: bad in the morning, worse in the evening and worst of all, off and on, in the night.