Brooks Memorial Hospital - The Observer

Medical Directory 2011(ARA) - Americans are alltoo familiar with theheadaches caused by dailylife, but nearly 30 millionAmericans experience morethan “just a bad headache.”Migraines are different fromthe everyday headache andare characterized by throbbinghead pain, usually locatedon one side of the head,often accompanied by nauseaor vomiting and sensitivity tolight or sound.Typically, migraine suffererswork with a doctor totreat their condition, and discussionsduring these officevisits play an important rolein developing a patient’smigraine management plan.Findings from a new nationalsurvey released by theNational HeadacheFoundationandGlaxoSmithKline suggestthat migraine patients couldbe doing more to make themost out of their medical visits.The survey of 1,218migraine patients and 533doctors found that patientssaw their doctor an averageof six times in the past year,but 70 percent of these visitswere related to other healthconditions. Despite this,nearly two-thirds (63 percent)of patients reportedmigraines were discussedduring visits where migrainewas not the primary reasonfor the visit.“The survey results showpatients and doctors are havingimportant conversationsabout migraine management;however, these conversationsare not always robust or theprimary purpose of apatient’s visit, making discussionpoints unclear,” saysRobert Dalton, executivedirector of the NationalHeadache Foundation. “Bygiving patients and doctorstools to guide conversations,we can help patients and doc-you must talk to your doctor.tors make the most of thelimited time they have to talkabout migraines.”Here are some stepspatients can take to helphave better conversationswith their doctor aboutmigraines:¯ Prepare for a conversationwith your doctor so youget everything out of it thatyou want. Keep a migrainediary. Be organized, specific,direct and ready to talkdetails. Be prepared to provideinformation on yourmigraine history and generalmedical history. Track yourattacks and how you treatthem. Note the date, lengthof each migraine, severity,symptoms, triggers andimpact on your life. Trackmedication taken, when, forhow long and how effective itwas in relieving pain andsymptoms.According to the survey,almost all doctors (96 percent)agreed that tools suchas a migraine diary, medicationusage tracker, painseverity scale or symptomschecklist would help themPage 29Talk to your doctor about migraine managementSubmitted PhotoThere are options to deal with migraines, but firsthave more meaningful conversationswith their patientsabout migraines. Likewise,70 percent of patients saidthey would find such toolshelpful when talking withtheir healthcare providerabout migraines.¯ If you are taking medicationto treat your migraineattacks and are still experiencingmigraine pain, youowe it to yourself to let yourdoctor know. Sometimessolving the problem startswith asking the right questions:Do you want morerelief from your migrainemedicine? Do you ever takemore than one medicine totreat a single migraineattack? Do you ever needmore than one dose of yourprescription migraine medicineto treat a single migraineattack? If you answered yesto any of these questions, tellyour doctor.Absolut Care of Dunkirk447 Lake Shore Drive West, Dunkirk, New York 14048Serving Chautauqua County with special focusfor the residents of Dunkirk and Fredonia.Returning the favor...Rehabilitation back tohome or skilled long term nursing care, ifneeded, in a small personal facility.• Full Time Physical Therapy• Full Time OccupationalTherapy• Full Time CertifiedOccupational TherapyAssistant• Full Time RecreationPrograms• Speech Therapy• Nutritional Therapy• 24-hour Skilled NursingCare• Short-term Vacation Stay• Medical Directo rDr. Amy SeversonCall 366-6710 to schedule a private tour.