NEW YORK, Jun 27 (Reuters Health) - If you want something done well, do it
yourself, according to the popular saying. This may ring especially true for
migraine sufferers who need to act on their own behalf to help prevent the
debilitating headaches, as well as receive the best care for their pain, experts
reported at the recent American Headache Society meeting in Montreal, Canada.
Migraine sufferers may be able to do just that by following 10 simple
guidelines developed by the US Headache Consortium, a group that includes the
American Headache Society, the National Headache Foundation, the American
Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Emergency Physicians,
among others.
The guidelines are "designed to help patients be their own advocates in
seeking...care," Dr. Stephen D. Silberstein, director of the Headache Center at
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said in a
statement issued by the American Headache Society.
"More than 3 years in the making, these guidelines include assigning a grade
to all of the medications available and are designed to help physicians best
treat their patients with migraine," he added.
Almost 30 million Americans are affected by migraines, yet less than half
have been medically diagnosed with the condition. The release of these
guidelines therefore represent "the first national effort to provide a unified,
recommended approach to care for a condition that is significantly
undertreated."
The Consortium recommends that migraine sufferers:
-- Become aware of how often headaches occur as well as the factors that
trigger them, such as certain foods or sleeping habits;
-- Avoid such triggers, once you become aware of them;
-- Locate an experienced, understanding physician, who is willing to work
with you to find the best treatment;
-- Inform your doctor of the extent to which the headaches affect daily
life;
-- Treat your migraines with appropriate medications--over-the-counter for
less severe attacks, or prescription drugs for moderate to severe migraines;
-- Use pain medication in moderation--overuse can trigger "rebound"
headaches;
-- Have a backup "rescue" medication, in case your regular medication
doesn't work;
-- Find the treatment that works best for you--if a drug provides no relief
after three subsequent attacks, ask for a new prescription;
-- Consider approaching your physician about preventive drugs for recurrent
headaches;
-- And, consider alternative therapies such as biofeedback or relaxation
training, both of which have shown beneficial effects for migraine sufferers,
particularly if your are opposed to medication or unable to use medications.
