Headache Help
“Not now, I have a headache!” Dismissive words tossed off to deflect a paramour’s overture. An age-old excuse for sidestepping something undesired. Often characterized as mere nuisance, headache pain takes many forms and attacks sufferers with various levels of severity. An estimated 40 million Americans are afflicted. The result can be nauseating, excruciating, and debilitating. It can also be misunderstood and misdiagnosed.
From the Roman Empire to the Origin of the Species, historical figures such as Julius Caesar and Charles Darwin are known to have been plagued by this neurological condition. In his personal letters, Thomas Jefferson referred to his recurrent attacks as “periodical head-achs.” Treatments through the centuries range from the medieval application of drug-soaked poultices with opium and vinegar solutions to boring a hole in the skull to release evil spirits. By the late 18th century, the theory that headaches were caused by vasodilatation led to spinning the patient around in a centrifuge to force the blood from the head to the feet.
Modern medical research and pharmaceutical development have yielded a myriad of new options with varying levels of effectiveness. From the introduction (and eventual banning) of ergotamine, to the discovery of triptans and the eventual breakthrough of anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies, advances in relieving headache disease have given new hope to millions who habitually lose days of their lives to the condition. That is, if they are among those who learn of such options from a qualified primary care provider and carry insurance to supplement the cost of the new drugs. Untold populations continue to be underserved in communities that lack access to care and resources or are distrustful of the practioners. Sadly, they are no better off than those who submitted to the primitive drilling into their head.
“I hear there’s something new for headache,” a family member tells me. “I saw a story in the news about migraines,” a colleague at work reports. A lifelong chronic sufferer, I remain skeptical that whatever it is, it won’t work for me.
One Father’s Day, as my children played in the backyard and my family gathered for a barbecue, I lay in bed with shades drawn to keep out light and sound. I could hear my wife setting up the grill for a holiday party in my honor that I would not attend. My calendar is blotted with such occasions. My son’s birthday, an autumn outing to an apple orchard, the anniversary I held tickets to a show, all lost in the haze of headache agony.
One painfully sweet memory is that of my five-year-old daughter tiptoeing into my bedroom with her toy doctor bag while I am stricken and asking where my head hurt. I pointed to my throbbing temple. She kissed it and applied a band-aid. “If this doesn’t help, maybe you should see a doctor.” While her bedside manner was more comforting than any medication, her advice was even more potent.
I eventually found my way through the morass of failed attempts with generic drugs developed for other maladies before I would prove eligible for a prescription to the monthly injectable that has proven to be my magic bullet. A year and a half since commencing this treatment, I have not had a single migraine after a lifetime in which I never went a month without one, let alone a week without a lesser headache, not to mention the daily ingest of various analgesics and narcotics.
This extraordinary result coincides with my discovery of the National Headache Foundation and has fueled my resolve to be an advocate for this nonprofit organization whose mission is to cure headache and end its pain and suffering through research, advocacy, education and awareness. For more about the NHF, go to https://headaches.org.