The A to Z of Headaches

You are here:
Directory | Headaches | Migraine

The Importance Of Knowing Your Migraine History
By Wendy Simons

The information you give to your doctor is crucial in the diagnosis of migraine. You need to be able to tell him what your headaches are like, when they began, and whether they have changed over time. What has and has not helped you in the past is a very important information for your doctor in making his diagnosis.

If you are seeing a new doctor about your headaches, he will want to know your complete medical history. Sometimes patients find going through the process of answering questions about their past and current medical history to be tedious, even annoying, because they have already given this information to previous doctors. But the fact is that each physician needs to obtain his own record of history rather than rely on your medical records.

Your story may have changed since the last entry in your chart. Maybe you saw a different doctor two years ago when your headaches were intermittent, and now they are more frequent. You've changed; your medications have changed; and your new doctor will bring in a perspective that no other doctor has considered.

Probably the most important reason that your physician needs to take a new history is to uncover the material on his own. The mystery of your painful headache is the puzzle that you and he will work together to solve. Your doctor will probably consider the two or three most likely possibilities, while digging for clues in your history that will allow him to discount the least likely of them.

You can help your doctor reach an accurate diagnosis by answering his questions and adding any information you think may be relevant. A good doctor cannot come up with the right solution if he lacks crucial pieces of the puzzle. The information that you provide will give your doctor important clues to lead to the conclusion on why you're experiencing these headaches.

While about 85% of all medical diagnoses are based on a patient's medical history (along with other factors such as physical examination and lab and X-ray testing contributing to the other 15%), with migraine, physicians place even more stock in medical history. This is because no definitive laboratory, X ray, or blood tests exist to "prove" that your underlying problem is migraine.

However, with a thorough and exhaustive medical history, your doctor can help make an accurate diagnosis of migraine. He will be able to identify the probable cause of the headache; eliminate other serious diseases; begin to determine any headache triggers you may have; consider the possible impact of pregnancy, menstruation, or menopause; determine contributions of lifestyle or genetic factors; and begin forming a treatment plan.

Author Details:
Wendy Simons, writes for various websites, mainly about skin care, microdermabrasion and other health matters. If you are looking for further information try these migraine articles from Simply Top

Source: The A to Z of Headaches

NOTE: This article may be reproduced ONLY if this note, the article source, the author details with all links remaining active and in place.

Related Headache Articles:

Straight to the point short articles about the headache:

Older Articles About Headaches:

You are here:
Directory | Headaches |