Headache
Getting Help
By: Jerome Goldstein, MD
What are the first questions your health care provider will want to know?
1. Is this a new headache problem?
2. If this is a recurrent headache problem, do you have any new medical and/or neurological complaints?
3. If this is a recurrent headache problem, is your headache changing in character – such as location, type of pain, accompanying symptoms with the headache?
2. If this is a recurrent headache problem, do you have any new medical and/or neurological complaints?
3. If this is a recurrent headache problem, is your headache changing in character – such as location, type of pain, accompanying symptoms with the headache?
If the headache problem is new and has not been properly evaluated, visit a health care provider who can give you a correct headache diagnosis. He or she can usually identify the cause of your headache by asking detailed questions about your headache and by doing a physical examination. In some cases, your health care provider may need to order blood tests or a CT scan of the head.
How Can I Make Sure my Needs are Met?
1. Know who to contact when you have questions or concerns. Make sure you can discuss your headache problem comfortably with your health care provider or the other helpers in the office. Often the office nurse, physician's assistant or nursing assistant can answer your questions about medications, dietary changes and headache diaries. The ability of the office as a medical care facility to answer questions promptly and efficiently often makes the difference between success and failure of a treatment plan. Ask your provider who you should contact when questions or concerns arise.
2. Ask questions about your provider’s availability. Be proactive. Ask about hours of operation and emergency phone numbers. Find out who will be available nights and weekends and if they are required to return phone calls within a certain time frame. Communication about concerns ahead of time will improve your satisfaction with treatment when and if problems occur.
3. Understand how to treat your headaches at home. Be certain that you have the tools at your disposal to deal with your headache as much as possible at home. Make sure your health care provider gives you clear instructions on how to prevent headaches, how to treat headaches that do occur and what steps to take to reduce pain when headache treatment is not working. Ask your health care provider about rescue medications to take when the usual medications don’t work. Pain relievers and sleep medications are sometimes used for severe migraines that don’t respond to your usual treatments. Having some rescue therapies available can allow you to manage your own headache without making unnecessary emergency visits.
4. Use your medication responsibly. Know your medicines and their side effects. Always keep an adequate supply on hand. Try your best not to call for prescription refills on weekends or holidays. Most health care providers are reasonable people. However, losing medication repeatedly; requesting refills before the appropriate interval and requesting inordinate amounts of pain medicine will jeopardize your relationship with any health care provider, especially a pain or headache specialist.
5. Be familiar with your provider’s office rules. Talk to your health care provider about the office’s expectations if you miss an appointment or are late to an appointment. Make sure you are comfortable with their requirements. Your health provider should be viewed as an advocate not an adversary. If you are not comfortable with your health care provider’s office regulations, consider seeking care elsewhere.
6. Keep abreast of new advances in headache. When you find new or useful information, bring it with you to your medical appointment. Always bring an internet link or reference to your new information. Nothing will do more to damage an ongoing relationship with your health care provider than to say, "I heard it through the grapevine." Quite simply, unless your health care provider can reference and validate the information, it is totally useless.
7. Prepare for each medical appointment. Your health care provider will have a limited amount of time scheduled for your visit. Try to use your time efficiently during each visit by bringing the following:
2. Ask questions about your provider’s availability. Be proactive. Ask about hours of operation and emergency phone numbers. Find out who will be available nights and weekends and if they are required to return phone calls within a certain time frame. Communication about concerns ahead of time will improve your satisfaction with treatment when and if problems occur.
3. Understand how to treat your headaches at home. Be certain that you have the tools at your disposal to deal with your headache as much as possible at home. Make sure your health care provider gives you clear instructions on how to prevent headaches, how to treat headaches that do occur and what steps to take to reduce pain when headache treatment is not working. Ask your health care provider about rescue medications to take when the usual medications don’t work. Pain relievers and sleep medications are sometimes used for severe migraines that don’t respond to your usual treatments. Having some rescue therapies available can allow you to manage your own headache without making unnecessary emergency visits.
4. Use your medication responsibly. Know your medicines and their side effects. Always keep an adequate supply on hand. Try your best not to call for prescription refills on weekends or holidays. Most health care providers are reasonable people. However, losing medication repeatedly; requesting refills before the appropriate interval and requesting inordinate amounts of pain medicine will jeopardize your relationship with any health care provider, especially a pain or headache specialist.
5. Be familiar with your provider’s office rules. Talk to your health care provider about the office’s expectations if you miss an appointment or are late to an appointment. Make sure you are comfortable with their requirements. Your health provider should be viewed as an advocate not an adversary. If you are not comfortable with your health care provider’s office regulations, consider seeking care elsewhere.
6. Keep abreast of new advances in headache. When you find new or useful information, bring it with you to your medical appointment. Always bring an internet link or reference to your new information. Nothing will do more to damage an ongoing relationship with your health care provider than to say, "I heard it through the grapevine." Quite simply, unless your health care provider can reference and validate the information, it is totally useless.
7. Prepare for each medical appointment. Your health care provider will have a limited amount of time scheduled for your visit. Try to use your time efficiently during each visit by bringing the following:
• A completed headache diary
• An updated list of all of your medications and current treatments
• A list of your questions written out so there will not be any unanswered problems when you leave the office
• An updated list of all of your medications and current treatments
• A list of your questions written out so there will not be any unanswered problems when you leave the office
8. Find the best provider for your needs. The National Headache Foundation and the American Headache Society have extensive information services and can direct you to a facility in your location.