Current Issue
Headache News and Views
May 14, 2006
Welcome to Headache News and Views for May 14, 2006!
Headache Views
IMHO 5/14/2006
Increasingly in our HMO, insurance-governed health care system, headache sufferers are finding we must be our own health care advocates. Frequently, our conditions can be complicated, and headache patients can unwittingly end up victims of a rushed and only marginally caring system.
Knowledge can be one of the keys to breaking out of that cycle and becoming an effective advocate for yourself. Until you become aware of peripheral issues that may impact your condition, including the attitude and degree of expertize of your doctor, you are at the mercy of those attitudes and skills.
If your doctor is unwilling to explore further measures to eliminate the cause of your pain, rather than medicating you to the nth degree, you are either:
- Shopping for a Headache Specialist
- On your own
- Out of luck
Why is knowledge only ONE of the keys. Because knowledge without action is useless.
- There is no use knowing that your physician is out of ideas, unless you are willing to bring him ideas or trade him in for a more specialized doctor with more advanced ideas. (Somebody has to graduate in the bottom quarter of every med school class. Or maybe Doc was in the top 25%, but doesn't hear a word you say about what is or is not working. You are not stuck with the doctor you have. Fire them if you need to!)
- There is no use knowing that 40% of migraines spring from food triggers, if you are unwilling to go on an elimination diet to identify these triggers. (If your Doctor is unwilling or unable to guide you in this, see the previous entry regarding trading up.)
Knowledge with action is power.
- A Headache or migraine specialist will recognize that he is looking for a cause for you headaches, not just a "miracle drug." He actually looks at your headache journal AND hears your feed back about the latest Rx having awful side effects and not helping reduce your headaches, but also actually takes you OFF the Rx!
- Knowing that 40% of migraines spring from food triggers, you go on an elimination diet and learn your food triggers. Life may not be the same without Chocolate, Soy Sauce, or Fast food, it may be a WHOLE LOT better!
So by all means drink deeply here at the well of knowledge, just make sure you break out your assertiveness during your next doctors visit.
And remember, a headache is only a symptom. The ONLY cure is to fix the PROBLEM.
In My Humble Opinion,
Renee Morales
Need to discover the cause of your headache?
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Headache News
Recent Articles of Interest to Headache Sufferers:
Is your pain killer causing more than just rebound headaches?
New Study Links Painkillers To Erectile Disorders Click here to read
Do perfumes trigger your migraine attacks?
How you can have your magazines and stay migraine free too. Click here to read
Do you suspect that your cycle is bring on your head pain?
Get the low down on Menstrual migraines. Click here to read
Tired of hearing your primary care physician say:
- It can't be a Migraine if you don't have an aura."
- A Migraine can't last for five days."
- "Young children don't have Migraines."
- "A hysterectomy will stop those Migraines."
Find out more about resources for educating your doctor. Click here to read
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