Tracey, I'm so sorry you're having such terrible headaches , I know how awful they are, as I still get them myself. I'm surprised that your CSF wasn't measured, especially if you've got all the typical symptoms.

Whether your weight helps it or not does not need to be continually thrown in your face. You're already aware of it and doing something about it. The main thing the doctor should be addressing is your symptoms, not reminding you of what you are already aware of. Anyway, that said, I hope that your appointment next week is more helpful.

In the meantime all I can suggest is what works for me. I take my regular pain medication, and I also have what they call top up pain medication which helps keep on top of the pain, I don't know if you are on any that you can take on top of what you're on to ease the pain. Is tramadol the only thing you are on for the pain, if so it might be worth asking your doctor if it's possible to have something as well as the Tramadol.

I also use a cold wet flannel on my forehead when I lay down, which actually helps quite a bit

Until they look at your pressure there isn't going to be any longterm relief if it is high, until they bring the pressure down.

I'm afraid any pain medication that has codeine in, has the downside of bringing on rebound headaches. It might be worth asking your GP or Neurologist about it, because if that is the problem, they may be able to swap you to something that wont cause this problem.