Dr. Haendiges' Daily Dose Medical Weight Loss Newsletter

I have a tremendous amount of feedback about the headache topic!

Thank you to everyone! Tension headaches . . . who has not had one?  Actually, over 80% of all adults have had a tension headache. The fast paced, stressed, short on time society and electronic dependent society has put most of us at risk for tension headaches. There is no genetic predisposition or vascular connection at all. The best researchers believe that it is do to poor rest and relaxation hygiene. What does that mean?

Cluster headaches are often described as the worst type of headache, lasting from a few days to months. The pain is usually located on one side of the head. Sometimes this type of headache will last for quite some time and then it may disappear for months, if not years. Thankfully, this type of headache is pretty rare and is often managed by a neurologist. Only about 0.4% of headaches are of this variety.
 
There is a family history of cluster headaches in that 7% of the sufferers will have a relative that has this type of headache. Seasonal association has also been noted. Many people only get them at certain times of the year. There is some thought that the mid portion of the brain, the hypothalamus, is the center of these types of headaches. Often the pain is described as vascular in that this type of headache can actually cause swelling in the blood vessels of the head.

Continuing from this week, there are three stages of a typical migraine headache.  The initiation phase is usually brought on when multiple events or stressors accumulate over time. In this economy, there is little wonder why there is such an increase in migraines. In fact, the emergencies rooms are loaded, unfortunately, with migraine sufferers.  Another leading reason for headaches is sleep deprivation.  Many physicians that I know of do suffer from migraines. This leads to a lot of frustration because there is a lot of times that they cannot only help themselves but they cannot always help their patients. Fortunately, for me I have only had the one that was so severe.  I do have great empathy for those patients that suffer with migraine headaches. 

Migraines traumatize all ages and both sexes. In many ways, a migraine is an equal opportunity menace. More than 28 million Americans suffer from this particular type of headache. That is over 18% of all women and over 6% of all men. Women, therefore, are three times more likely to have a migraine. This is a truly a miserable physical event in a person's life that can affect their productivity, the sense of wellness and their self-esteem. The symptoms are quite variable and are variable also in their intensity. I had a migraine once in which I lost the left side of my vision. After this I had the worst pain of my life. I was actually a sophomore in medical school. I knew just enough to be dangerous. I thought I was having a stroke. I can tell you that I was more afraid for my health at that point than anytime since. I was luckily sitting in a lecture by an internist and I was made a "teaching case" for the class. Anything for education!