If headaches are getting the best of you and you ’ re at the end of your rope , it might be time to see a specialist
If headaches are getting the best of you and you ’ re at the end of your rope , it might be time to see a specialist
BY JESSICA ROYER OCKEN
Lorel Brown was a teenager when she started having migraines . For years , she handled them on her own . The problem was , nothing she tried was very successful .
“ I always managed them with over-the-counter medications — lots of ibuprofen , Excedrin Migraine , ice packs and a dark room ,” she recalls . “ Mostly I suffered through . I used to get them about once a month .”
About five years ago , when Brown was in her early 30s , her migraines became more frequent , more severe and longer lasting . This finally drove her to see a doctor . But after
OPINION
visiting a general practitioner who suggested medications that created more side effects than relief , she got a referral to a neurologist who specialized in headaches . Only then , after several months of treatment , did Brown ’ s chronic migraines begin to recede .
“ Most people don ’ t have to spend three days in a dark room or feel like that ’ s normal ,” she says . “ Your quality of life is compromised by even one or two [ migraines ] a month . You ’ re functioning at 60 percent and don ’ t even realize it .”
When you ’ re overwhelmed by pounding head pain , it can be hard to get motivated to seek care or find a new provider — especially if previous treatment has been unsuccessful . But as Brown ’ s experience illustrates , your current doctor isn ’ t all that ’ s out there .
“ People just assume , ‘ Well , I entered the health care system ,’ and they think [ their first experience is ] all there is ,” says Roger Cady , MD , associate executive chairman of the National Headache Foundation . “ They may give up , and of course their migraines rage on until later when they ’ re experiencing disability .”
WHEN TO SEE A SPECIALIST “ In most cases , primary care does a good job taking care of migraine patients ,” says Dawn A . Marcus , MD , co-author of The Woman ’ s Migraine Toolkit . But in some cases , migraine and headache sufferers need more focused , specialized care .
Richard B . Lipton , MD , an advisory board member of the National Headache Foundation