SHANDS NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE

SHANDS NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE

4555 Emerson Street

Jacksonville, Florida 32207

To schedule and appointment call

(904) 383-1022

...the Science of Hope

Headaches are the #1 reason patients go to

the doctor. It is

estimated that 6% of

men and 18% of women

in the United States

suffer from headaches.

Sometimes the symptoms are so bad the pa-

tient is unable to perform the basic activities of

daily living and/or keep a job.

Physicians at the Neuroscience Institute at

Shands Jacksonville specialize in providing

treatments, therapies and state of the art pro-

cedures that will

1) Reduce the frequency and severity of

headaches,

2) Reduce disability from headaches and

3) Improve the patient’s overall quality of

life!

CHRONIC HEADACHES HEADACHE FACTS

Migraines affect approximately 36

million Americans annually, including

25% of middle aged women and 19%

of Iraqi war veterans.

Cluster Headaches are as prevalent as

Multiple Sclerosis and these attacks are

one of the most painful conditions

known.

The direct and indirect economic cost of

headaches in the U.S. exceeds $31 bil-

lion dollars annually.

Migraine sufferers are

3 times as likely to experience ma-jor depression,

6 times more likely to have a pan-ic disorder, and

5 times as likely to have a

generalized anxiety and/or a

bipolar disorder.

THE UF HEADACHE CENTER

RESOURCES

American Headache Society

Committee for Headache Education

(ACHE)

www.achenet.org

National Headache Foundation

www.headaches.org

Migraine Awareness Group

www.migraines.org

SINUS HEADACHES are caused by pressure within the

sinus cavities. Typi-cal symptoms are fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a green or yellow nasal dis-charge. Most people who “self-diagnose” sinus headaches are actually having “migraines”

CLUSTER HEADACHES are characterized by severe pain in the eye or temple and tends to recur in a series. The pain is so sharp and sudden it awakens the patient from sleep... and this usually happens at the same time every night.

TENSION HEADACHES are dull and steady. Contractions of the scalp, neck and shoulder muscles accompany an attack.

MIGRAINES WITHOUT AURA Migraines without aura are painfully debilitating and

can last for hours to days. Patients become nause-ous, start vomiting and develop sensitivity to light, smell and sounds.

MIGRAINES WITH AURA Migraines with aura cause the patient to have

visuals disturbances. Patients report seeing forms of zigzag lines, bright shimmering lights around objects, wavy images, hallucinations and some experience temporary loss of vision.

Patients can also have a migraine attack with non-visual auras that cause abnormalities in speech, mo-tor weakness, tingling or numbness on the face, dizzi-ness and vertigo .

TYPES OF HEADACHES

HEADACHE

PREVENTION

FIND THE TRIGGER

Identify factors that may cause or worsen your headaches. It could be certain foods, certain people, certain situations, certain medications, and/or a stressful environ-

ment.

KEEP A JOURNAL

Keeping a headache journal can help identify your triggers. Keep a log of when the headache starts and ends. Doc-ument what you were doing when the pain started. Also write down the strate-

gies you used to stop the pain.

EAT HEALTHY

Blood sugar that is too low, or that drops

too fast, can cause headaches. To avoid

this, you should eat well balanced meals

full of protein, complex carbs, fresh vege-

tables and fruits.

LIMIT CAFFEINE & ALCOHOLS

Limit caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine is a stimu-lant, and when levels in the blood decrease, the accompanying caffeine withdrawal causes

headaches to increase.

RELAX & SLEEP WELL

Stress can cause muscle tension of the shoulders, neck and scalp, which causes the blood vessels in the brain to constrict, which could trigger headaches. Deep breathing, stretching your muscles , and establishing a good sleeping pat-tern, can aide in preventing and reducing head-

ache frequency and intensity .

1. How many days in the last 3 months did

you miss work or school because of your

headaches?

2. How many days in the last 3 months was

your productivity at work or school re-

duced by half or more because of your

headaches? Do not include days you

counted in question one (1 ) where you

missed work or school).

3. How many days in the last 3 months did

you not do household work because of

your headaches.

4. How many days in the last 3 months was

your productivity in household work re-

duced by half or more because of your

headaches? (Do not include days you

counted in question 3 where you did not

do household work. )

5. How many days in the last 3 months did

you miss family, social or leisure activities

because of your headaches?

TOTAL

HEADACHE SURVEY

Instructions: Please answer the following questions

about ALL your headaches you have had over the

last 3 months. Write your answer in the box next to

each question. Write zero if you did not do the ac-

tivity in the last 3 months.

Once you have filled in the questionnaire, add up the

total number of days from questions 1-5.

Grade Definition Score

I Little or no disability 0-5

II Mild disability 6-10

III Moderate disability 11-20

IV Severe disability 21+

HEADACHE MANAGEMENT

TREATMENT PLAN

It is important that you and your physician work as a team to effectively treat your symptoms. Your unique treatment plan will encompass medication management, pain management, alternative therapies and behavioral changes.

MEDICATION MANAGEMENT Beta Blockers, Antidepressants, and Anticonvulsants are the most commonly prescribed medications for headache management. It is important to understand that taking these drugs does not mean that you have high blood pressure, are depressed or have seizures. These medica-tion work on your brain’s chemistry to prevent artery constrictions that can trigger headaches.

PAIN MANAGEMENT

Shands Pain Management center offers a full range of services for the evaluation, diagnosis and management of acute and chronic head-ache pain. Treatments include patient education, biofeed-back therapy, physical thera-py, and psychological coun-seling. UF physicians are committed to providing these state of the are therapies in a caring, comfortable, and patient-focused setting.

BOTOX THERAPY

Botox is used as a preventive measure. The primary action of Botox is to “paralyze”. When strategically injected into muscles of the scalp and neck, it relaxes muscles that are constricted and patients report a drastic reduction in headaches lasting 3-4 months.

DIETARY CONSULTATIONS

Eating certain foods along with skipping meals and not drinking enough water, can trigger a headache. A Regis-tered Nutritionist will work with you to identify triggers in your current diet, and to offer a healthier alternative that will prevent and/or reduce headaches.