When to Call the Doctor About Your Migraines or Headaches
Any kind of pain is your body’s way of warning you about an injury or illness. Although migraines and headaches are rarely the symptoms of a serious illness, occasionally they may indicate a serious medical condition such as a tumor or aneurysm (blood vessel rupture). It is important for you to become familiar with your personal headache symptoms, and those that require immediate medical attention.
If you or a loved one has any of the following headache symptoms seek medical care immediately:
- A sudden, new severe headache
- A headache that is associated with neurological (nerve) symptoms such as weakness, dizziness, sudden loss of balance or falling, numbness or tingling, paralysis, speech difficulties, mental confusion, seizures, personality changes/inappropriate behavior, or vision changes (blurry vision, double vision or blind spots)
- Headache with a fever, shortness of breath, stiff neck, or rash
- Headache pain that awakens you at night
- Headaches with severe nausea and vomiting
- Headaches that occur after a head injury or accident
- Getting a new type of headache after age 55
The following migraine or headache symptoms do not require urgent care, but you should contact your doctor if you, or your loved one, have any of these symptoms.
- Have three or more headaches per week
- Have headaches that keep getting worse and won’t go away
- Need to take a pain reliever every day or almost every day for your headaches
- Need more than 2-3 doses of over-the-counter medications per week to relieve headache symptoms
- Have headaches that are triggered by exertion, coughing, bending, or strenuous activity
- Have a history of headaches, but have noticed a recent change in your headache symptoms
Tags: doctor, headache, medication, migraine
Low Back Pain - Medications
Low Back Pain - Medications
Medicine can decrease low back pain and reduce muscle spasms in some people. But medicine alone is not an effective treatment for low back pain. It should be used along with other treatments, such as exercise and physical therapy.
Medication Choices
There are several medicines your doctor may recommend, depending on how long you have had pain, what other symptoms you have, and your medical history. The medicines recommended most often are:
- Acetaminophen.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- Muscle relaxants.
- Opiates.
- Antidepressants.
Anesthetic or corticosteroid injections have all been prescribed for chronic low back pain, but they have not been researched enough to know whether they are effective for most people.
You may also hear of people having facet joint injections of anesthetic or corticosteroid for low back pain, but research has shown this to be ineffective or even harmful.
What To Think About
When making treatment decisions, bear in mind that medicines that work for some people don’t work for others. Let your doctor know if the medicine you are taking is not effective. There may be another option to help control your back pain.
Anticonvulsants are sometimes used to treat low back pain, even though there isn’t strong evidence that they help.
Botulinum toxin A (Botox) injection into the back muscles for chronic low back pain is an experimental treatment.
Tags: Acetaminophen, back pain, drug, medication, muscle
