Are headaches and migraines slowing you down and affecting work, family time, and your overall quality of life?
Relief is in sight!
Come meet with our experienced and compassionate providers at The Headache Lab and let them develop a custom and tailored treatment plan that will help get you back to feeling like yourself again.
Want to learn more about headaches and migraines?
Primary vs. Secondary
There are many different types of headaches that are separated into two different categories, primary vs secondary headaches.
Primary headaches, the most common category, are headaches that occur for no identifiable reason. Migraines and tension type headaches fall within the primary headache category.
Secondary headaches are headaches that are caused by another medical condition, such as high blood pressure, aneurysms, brain tumors, chronic sinus issues, etc.
But what is the difference between a headache and a migraine?
Many patients suffer from both migraines and tension type headaches. While their migraines might be their primary concern because they can prove debilitating, frequent tension type headaches can be just as concerning because consuming too much over the counter headache medications such as tylenol or ibuprofen can cause serious side effects on your body.
Chronic migraines are defined as experiencing 15 or more headache days per month. This means that the patient either suffers from a migraine OR a headache for at least some part of the day on at least 15 days out of the month.
What triggers my headaches?
Ok, I get it, Headaches are complicated, but how can I treat my headaches?
Just like how all headaches are different, treatments are not one size fits all either.
Successful treatments for chronic migraines include both preventive and abortive therapy. Preventive therapies are treatments that are done to prevent a migraine or headache from even starting such as:
- Daily oral medications
- Subcutaneous medication injections
- Therapeutic botox injections
Abortive therapies are treatments that are meant to be used after a headache or migraine starts to get rid of a current headache. We always say, the more tools in your toolbox the better! It is better to treat a migraine as soon as it starts as opposed to waiting until it is severe and harder to break out of the pain pathway! Abortive therapies include:
- Oral medications
- Subcutaneous injections
- Sublingual medications
- Therapeutic nasal sprays