How Patients View Their Headaches

Patients with chronic daily headache may view their situation in black and white terms; on a return visit to the doctor, they will state, “Well, I still have a daily headache.” They need to accept that going from moderate or severe headaches (7 on a scale of 1-10) to mild or moderate headaches (4 on a scale of 1-10), is a greatly improved situation. It means the medications are working, and should not all be changed. If patients keep a headache chart or calendar, this helps to raise their awareness. Because headaches are not usually curable, patients must accept that treatment is limited to a substantial improvement in frequency and/or severity.