headache mgt for a pain specialist

[neutro]

Greetings.

I am an anesthesia trained interventional pain physician. I am seeing a lot of headache patients as second opinion from our neurologist for interventions.
I need to brush up on basic headache disorders and their medications, etc.

Are there any quick reference charts available for headache dx/ mgt that I can keep in my clinic?

Thanks.

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[kchan99]

I know of any quick reference charts, but if you have access to journals through an academic appointment, you may wish to read the issue of Continuum on headache that was published in August 2015. Treatment of primary headaches frequently requires a holistic, or multidisciplinary approach.

 

[SeniorWrangler]

Get "Headache and Facial Pain (What Do I Do Now)" by Lawrence C Newman MD, it's a short clinically focused book that will tell you a lot of what you need to know in a small package.

 

[neglect]

Headache is one of those things that takes a few months to learn, a lifetime to master. You have to develop a personal style that takes into account many hard and soft factors of the person in front of you. I no longer see headache as part of my outpatient practice. I've learned HA, not mastered it. In the rare cases where I have to deal (usually inpatient), my practice is to start triptans and sensible preventatives. You can easily do this. What I recommend is to have lunch with this neurologist and tell him what role you want to play. Headache patients who end up in headache centers essentially have a neuropsychiatric disorder with terrible feedback loops, affecting and being affected by habits, sleep, emotions, and interpersonal/social aspects. They are bottomless pits of need. This is horrible, draining, and will create burnout unless you find reward in the few you help.