by Nesreen Suwan, M.D. 

 

When headache medication fails and other treatment modalities no longer alleviate pain, how does a headache sufferer know what to do and when to visit a local emergency room? Patients may take different approaches to dealing with intractable headaches, ranging from ignoring them to overreacting.

 

While it's tempting for some to ignore headaches, put on a brave face, juggle household chores, handle work responsibilities, and take care of everybody except yourself, it's important to remember the key warning signs. If you would describe your headache as worst headache in your life, seek medical care immediately. It may be a bad migraine or a cluster. However, it could be something far more serious, like a ruptured brain aneurysm that may lead to dangerous bleeding in the brain. As such, ignoring headaches is not recommended. An ER visit is recommended for those types of headaches.

 

On the other hand, going to the ER for every treatment-resistant headache or migraine to seek pain relief is not a good idea. In the ER order of priorities, headache/migraine sufferers are the last to receive treatment because most headaches are not related to serious conditions, in contrast to significant life-threatening conditions that a local ER faces, including stroke, heart attack, and traumatic injuries.  It is also an unfortunate and known fact that ER staff may view headache/migraine patients as drug seekers. After a long wait time in the ER, you may end up with strong pain medication that will wear off in few hours, leaving you with either a rebound headache or hangover-type symptoms, not to mention the huge expense of an ER visit.  As such, visiting emergency room for pain relief is not recommended.

 

Intractable headaches may be difficult to treat in a busy general practice setting, as well. Considering the fact that there are so many types of headaches, and that some may potentially be serious, an extensive and specialized neurological evaluation, follow up, and management is clinically warranted.  Additionally, the field of headache medicine is rapidly growing, with many evolving treatment options that are available in specialty headache clinics. A specialty headache clinic may be the best solution for headache management. 

 

Dr. Nesreen Suwan is a Loyola-trained board-certified neurologist who specializes in the treatment of headaches, migraine and fibromyalgia.

Please call (630) 420 8080 or visit http://controlchicagopain.com to schedule an appointment.