Is Your Headache Treatment Not Working?

Dr. Lawrence Newman, director of the Headache Institute at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City gives 6 reasons why you might still be suffering

Wrong Diagnosis

The patient may be labeled by their practitioner as an anxious person who has tension headaches if the migraine is precipitated by stressful situations, even though the problem may be a real migraine caused by an overly sensitive brain. If this happens, the treatment prescribed will not be the right medication.

There are other ways problems may be incorrectly diagnosed. Many times a patient will tell his or her doctor that they get migraines when it rains and automatically the doctor labels the person as having allergies or sinus headaches, Newman said.

Right Diagnosis, Wrong Treatment

Dr Newman advises

“If you have a migraine and are nauseous, an over-the-counter medicine like Tylenol is not going to be strong enough,” he added. “You are more likely to respond to an anti-inflammatory like Aleve, but the overwhelming majority needs a prescription for a medicine that will treat the associated symptoms (light sensitivity, nausea).”

Right Medication, But Wrong Dose

Dr Newman believes that patients should be started at the highest dose, since this is often how the most successful treatments work best. Only if there's side effects should you consider lowering the dose. Studies have shown low doses are unlikely to solve the problem.

Right Dose, Right Medication, Wrong Formulation

If you're struggling keeping an oral medication because of vomiting, a nasal spray for instance, may be a better way of delivering the medication instead.

Delaying Treatment

Often, migraine sufferers think they can wait and see if the symptoms develop into a full blown migraine. They attempt to ride it out, altogether or delay taking the medicine for as long as possible. Dr Newman thinks this is dangerous for 2 reasons.

I) The drug might work for a short period of time, but then the headache will come back.

II) You run the risk of the drug not working at all.

Newman sags always treat your migraine within the first 40 minutes of onset.

Over-reliance on Medication

It can actually cause more headaches if you are taking acute medication for migraines or tension headaches more than two times a week.

This can easily turn into a long-running period of constant pain because certain drugs, including those that treat migraines, can actually trigger rebound headaches.

If you think this is happening to you, consider talking to your health care provider about taking a preventative medication.

Is Being Unemployed and Looking for a New Job Causing Tension Headaches For You?

This week, CNN.com reported that was precisely what was happening to Lucille Jaesson.

In the article, Lucille described the pain as starting near her temples and radiating down the back of her neck into the shoulders. "Your muscles feel like a taut rubber band and then it feels like a vise, like someone is pressing inward," Jaesson said.

Lasting around half an hour, with women suffering more than men, doctors estimate around 80 percent of the population will suffer from a tension headache at some point in their lifetime.

The article goes on to describe some non-drug remedies proposed by Dr. Noshir Mehta, chairman of the Craniofacial Pain Center at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

Mehta recommends his patients try everything from acupuncture to exercise and good nutrition to wearing mouth guards during sleep, as over time, some medical experts believe the effectiveness of a drug based treatment can wear off.

View the full cnn.com article

Three Tips for Reducing Tension Headaches

It's believed by many doctors that tension headaches are the second most common types of headaches, right behind migraines. While you can take headache relief, sometimes it's best to consider how to treat tension headaches at the source. That is, you may want to think about addressing the actual tension itself rather than simply trying to get rid of the resultant headache.

Here are some headache tips and pointers to consider.

Time for a New Perspective on Problems?

Sometimes an attitude adjustment can also be in order. It's very easy to dwell on things that we wish were different about our life, our partner, our job, our looks, or anything else. This obsession with so-called imperfections can be bringing on those tension headaches as we get upset and irritated at what we want to be different. This isn't meant to chastise anyone, but sometimes we all need to work on accepting the things in our life that aren't going to be different and to develop that "attitude of gratitude" that's often talked about. Dwelling on the negative is just going to cause more tension headaches as we get locked in that eternal struggle over what we want to change; and when it doesn't change, we get even more upset and irritated. But learning to accept certain things and learning how to be appreciative of the positive can cut down on those tension headaches and bring about a more positive outlook overall.

Exercising Regularly

Of course there are times when none of these things will work to ease those tension headaches. In some cases it's good to consider regular exercise, taking care of one's health, and doing things like volunteer work to help encourage a better attitude overall.

In a recent study article on http://www.sciencedaily.com/ said that exercise was helpful for migraine sufferers.

The report stated:

"We could see that those who participated in the study were much fitter after the training period, since their ability to absorb oxygen increased considerably," says physiotherapist Emma Varkey, one of the researchers behind the study.

"Only one of the patients suffered a migraine attack that was directly linked to the training session. "Now that we've been able to show that the risk of increased frequency of attacks in connection with this type of exercise is extremely small, we can study whether exercise can be used to prevent or alleviate migraine attacks. "We have already initiated a new study in which we plan to compare the results against a control group," says Mattias Linde, neurologist at Cephalea Headache Centre and researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy."

How We React To Problems

Everyone has problems and stresses but not everyone gets tension headaches; ask yourself why your concerns may be creating such pain for you above your neck. Often it's not just the problems themselves but how we react and respond to them that causes headaches and specifically tension headaches. One such reaction is the feeling of being helpless against these problems. What can help in this regard is to take the time to sit down and come up with a "plan of attack" for how the stresses or concerns can be addressed. If you're job is suffering, make a plan for how you can change it or learn a new skill. If you're afraid for your finances, it's time to work up a budget and to start recording every dollar you spend. Sometimes doing this won't actually solve your problem, at least not right away, but just attacking your problems can make you feel less helpless and therefore ease your tension headaches as well.

Still Suffering After Trying This

And if all these things don't work, it might be time to see a doctor about your tension headaches. He or she can recommend certain medications or other treatment options that are available.