Treatment for Chronic Headaches
Headache disorders, characterized by recurrent or constant headaches, are painful and disabling. It’s difficult to focus on everyday tasks when the pain in your head never seems to go away. While headache disorders are among the most common disorders of the nervous system, they’re also rarely diagnosed by a healthcare provider because many people think they should simply “suffer through them” or seek severe headache treatment on their own through traditional methods like over-the-counter medications.
The World Health Organization states that “in the United States and the United Kingdom, only half of those identified with a migraine had seen a doctor for headache-related reasons in the previous 12 months, and only two-thirds had been correctly diagnosed. Most were solely reliant on over-the-counter medications.”
This doesn’t have to be you. You can learn the reasons for your chronic headaches and break the cycle of pain from headaches every day. The first step is to better understand which type of chronic/constant headaches you may have.
There are four main types of headaches:
Migraines
A migraine usually consists of symptoms such as a moderate or severe headache that is one-sided, pulsating, aggravated by routine physical activity, and lasts anywhere from hours to two to three days. They’re most common in women and can occur as often as once a year or once a week.
Tension headache
A Tention-Type Headache (TTH) is the most common type of headache. Most people suffer from episodic TTH, which occurs on fewer than 15 days per month, but some people suffer from chronic TTH, which occurs more than 15 days per month. These headaches often last a few hours, but can persist for several days, and are usually accompanied by pressure or tightness in the head, which can feel as though it’s spreading into or from the neck area.
Cluster headache
These headaches are somewhat rare and affect men more often than women. They are characterized by brief but extremely severe headaches, usually focused around one eye. They may cause tearing and redness of the eye, nose congestion or runniness, and a droopy eyelid.
Medication-overuse headache
If a medication is overused to treat headache, it can actually lead to what’s called a medication-overuse headache, which often affects women more than men. This type of headache can be worse upon awakening from sleep, is persistent, and often occurs on more days than not.
Is it normal to have a headache every day?
When to see a doctor for chronic headaches
We know you want to understand the reasons for your chronic headaches. How do you know if you should continue with traditional headache remedies such as over-the-counter medications and hot/cold compresses, or seek help from a pain management specialist?
Do you:
- Have more than the occasional headache, like a headache every day?
- Have headaches that are severe or come on quickly?
- Have constant headaches that persist or continue to get worse?
- Have a headache that interferes with your normal daily activities?
- Take pain relievers for headaches more than two days per week?
- Take over-the-counter medications for headache treatment but find no relief?
- Find that coughing, sneezing, bending over, exercising or participating in sexual activity causes headaches?
- Find that the characteristics of your headaches have changed?
- Find that the symptoms of your migraine attacks have changed?
Advanced headache clinic
Break your cycle of headache pain today
Call Dr Zaky at 419-557-6161
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions above, you may want to consider severe headache treatment from Dr. Sherif Zaky at the Advanced Headache Clinic. No one should have to suffer from a headache every day.
Pain management treatments offered at Dr. Zaky’s Advanced Headache Clinic include interventional options like Botox for migraines, radiofrequency ablation, and nerve blocks – all of which have the ability to eliminate the constant and debilitating pain associated with headaches and migraines.
By scheduling an appointment with Dr. Zaky, you can work directly with him to come up with an advanced headache treatment plan that fits your individual needs. Depending on your severe headache treatment plan, some procedures may be able to be done in the office the same day of your appointment, meaning you can expect relief from your chronic/constant headaches even sooner.
Dr. Zaky’s Advanced Headache Clinic can be found at three convenient locations: the Firelands Spine Center at 703 Tyler St., Suite 352 in Sandusky; 1605 Route 60 in Vermilion; and 348 Milan Ave., Suite 2, in Norwalk. To schedule an appointment at any of the three locations, call 419-557-6161 and break your cycle of headache pain today.
