When should I see a doctor for migraine?
At least 50% of people with migraine are undiagnosed and undertreated and fewer than half of all people with migraine actually see a doctor for migraine. Some believe they just have headaches, which aren’t important enough to mention to their doctors or otherwise seek medical attention for migraines. Others think there are no treatments beyond OTC painkillers, so they keep quiet. Still others have mentioned their pain to doctors in the past and been ignored, so they stop telling new doctors about their symptoms. Not only does this mean people remain without diagnosis and have inadequate treatment, lack of treatment can cause episodic migraine to transform to chronic migraine.
It’s important to see a doctor for headaches or migraine in these situations:
If you have headaches that are interfering with your life. Headaches are often dismissed as no big deal, but they can be painful and disruptive. Migraines, with their myriad symptoms, can be even more of a burden. If the doctor dismisses your complaint, it’s an indication that he or she doesn’t know much about headache or migraine, not that your symptoms aren’t important or disruptive. See another doctor.
If you believe you have migraine, but have not been diagnosed. This will both ensure that you don’t have a type of headache other than migraine and lead you to a treatment that is most effective for you.
If your migraine attacks become more frequent. Untreated or undertreated episodic migraine can progress to chronic migraine, so it’s important to see a doctor as soon as you notice an increase in frequency. People’s migraine attacks tend to cycle through higher and lower levels of frequency, so an increase doesn’t necessarily mean you are moving from episodic to chronic migraine. Still, it’s good to check with your doctor and try to find a more effective treatment.
If your migraine symptoms change. It’s common for migraine symptoms to change throughout a person’s life, but it’s good to check with a doctor when they do. The symptoms could be caused by something other than migraine that you need to have treated. Even if it’s just a change to your migraine symptoms, seeing a doctor could help you find a more effective treatment.
If you’d like to try a migraine preventive. When we think of treating migraine, we tend to think of treating individual attacks. But the best treatment is to prevent them from happening at all. If your migraine attacks interfere with your life, talk to your doctor about preventive treatments. These could be prescription drugs, but supplements (magnesium is a favorite among the migraineurs of TheraSpecs) and lifestyle changes can also be effective preventives as well as tinted glasses for migraines.
Contrary to what you may have been told in the past, migraine is a real and serious health condition. It is far more than “just a headache” and OTC painkillers are not the best treatment for migraine attacks.
REFERENCES
Pavone, E., Banfi, R., Vaiani, M., & Panconesi, A. (2007). Patterns of Triptans Use: A Study Based on the Records of a Community Pharmaceutical Department. Cephalalgia, 27(9), 1000-1004.
American Headache Society press release. Suboptimal Treatment of Episodic Migraine May Mean Progression to Chronic Migraine. June 26, 2013. Retrieved on September 16, 2015.
TheraSpecs Glasses for Light Management
Try our light-filtering glasses and stay protected against harsh light from screens, fluorescents, LEDs, unwanted blue light, bright sunlight, flashing lights, and more.
