Working with Your Healthcare Provider
Your healthcare provider will take your health history. He or she will also examine you and may do some tests. Be ready to describe your headaches clearly and in detail.
Gathering Information
To learn more about your headaches, you and your healthcare provider will gather information. This will help determine the best way to manage your headaches.
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Health history. Your healthcare provider will ask about your symptoms, when you started having headaches, how often they happen, and how long they last. He or she may also ask whether other family members have headaches, and about your sleep and work patterns, diet, and other aspects of your lifestyle.
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Your headache diary. Your healthcare provider may ask you to keep a headache diary or calendar.
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Physical exam and tests. Migraine and tension-type headaches can't be detected through tests or an exam. But an exam and tests can help rule out other causes of your headaches.
Signs of a More Serious Health Problem
If you have any of the following, see your healthcare provider right away:
"Keeping a calendar helped me realize that I always get headaches after sales meetings."
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- High fever
- Stiff neck
- Pain following a head injury
- Loss of vision, especially if it persists for several hours or outlasts the headache
- Sudden, severe headache that is different from your usual pain
- Convulsions or seizures
- Numbness or muscle weakness that lasts more than an hour
- Changes in mental awareness
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This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care.
Only your doctor can diagnose and treat a medical problem.
©2001 The StayWell Company, 1100 Grundy Lane, San Bruno, CA 94066-3030.
www.staywell.com 800 333-3032. All rights reserved.
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