Section I Diagnosis of Headaches Chapter 1 What is a Headache Anyway? Chapter 2 Is Headache Common? Chapter 3 Headache Characteristics Chapter 4 Name That Headache Chapter 5 Migraine Headaches Chapter 6 Migraine Triggers Chapter 7 Other Conditions assoc. w/ Migraine Chapter 8 Tension Type & Other Headaches Chapter 9 Cluster Headaches Chapter 10 Laboratory Testing Chapter 11 What Causes Headache? Section II Conventional Treatment of Headache Chapter 12 Basics of Treatment Chapter 13 Tips to Stop the Pain of Headache Chapter 14 Conventional Approach to Headache Treatment: Acute Treatment Chapter 15 Conventional Approach to Headache Treatment: Prophylactic or Preventative Treatment Section III Non-Pharmacologic Treatment of Headache Chapter 16 Non-pharmacologic therapy Chapter 17 Laws of Nature Chapter 18 Effect of Mind on Health Chapter 19 Chinese Medicine and Headaches Chapter 20 Allergy Elimination Chapter 21 Stress: Negative Mind Over Matter Chapter 22 Stress Mgmt: Positive Mind Over Matter Chapter 23 Exercise and Headache Management Chapter 24 Diet and Headache Chapter 25 Herbal and Supplement Approaches Chapter 26 Homeopathy Section IV Special Situations Chapter 27 Headache in Women Chapter 28 Headaches in Children and Adolescents Chapter 29 Chronic Daily Headaches Section V Stress and Headache Reduction Program (SHARP) Chapter 30 The SHARP Approach Chapter 31 Lifestyle Management Appendix 1 Life-threatening Causes of Secondary Headaches Appendix 2 Common OTC medications Appendix 3 Non-specific prescription headache medications Appendix 4 Common triptans in use for acute treatment Appendix 5 Results of the 20-year study on Stress management Appendix 6 Diet Modification and Migraine Recurrence Appendix 7 Types of fats

Now that we have established a basic understanding of headaches, it is time to put it all together to see what we can do about your pain and suffering. There are many headache treatments, including conventional medical treatments as well as alternative therapies. It is ironic that treatments that have been successfully in use for hundreds, if not thousands of years, such as natural, herbal treatments, acupuncture, ayurvedic treatments and lifestyle changes, have been termed “alternative”, while modern, medical treatments, which have been in vogue for not even a century, are considered “conventional” or “traditional”, when it should be the other way around. When we talk about secondary headaches, the conventional treatments are concerned with treating the underlying cause of the headache, such as infection or tumor in the brain. For primary headache disorders, most conventional treatment is aimed at symptomatic relief, i.e., pain control, and does not address the cause of the pain. There are many drugs that address the symptoms of the pain, as well as the associated symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, depression, mood changes and the like. There is, as yet, no perfect treatment for headache. But this statement is true only for conventional medicine. Conventional assumption that there is no identifiable cause does not mean that there is no cause. It just means that our current diagnostic acumen is not able to identify the cause. According to medical textbooks, headaches, especially migraines, are chronic conditions that cannot be prevented or cured, but can be only managed by our current approaches. But alternative medicine can provide help in diagnosing the causes and recommending a cure. As we know in the case of migraine, the symptoms are due to the brain’s increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli. This increased sensitivity of the brain can be addressed in many different ways. In cases where excess emotion triggers a headache, a patient might prefer to hide the condition, as in many cultures it is considered a sign of weakness to succumb to emotions. However, this results in suppressing the very nature of your true self, your self-esteem, your vitality. This is equally dangerous as it will eventually lead to more serious problems. By avoiding the vicissitudes of life, you avoid experiencing the joy of living. Optimal treatment strategy includes understanding emotion and its role in the cause of the problem. You are not completely healthy until you are healthy in body, mind and spirit. It is important to note that living entails full self-expression. If you curtail the expression of your true self, and are continually limiting your activities so that you are not able to fully express yourself, you are not truly healthy. This leads us to the approach to true headache freedom. Combining medical treatment with natural and alternative methods is the optimal approach. Both the approaches complement each other. But before we get into that, let us discuss some of the conventional approaches. As practitioners of Integrative Medicine, a field which combines the best of both modern technological and alternative approaches, we would be remiss in our duty if we did not address the conventional medical approaches, because these treatments do have a role in the optimal treatment of a patient, if used judiciously. According to this approach, the mainstay of treating migraine and TTH is medications. A vast majority of the patients who see a physician for their headache will be prescribed some type of medication, whether it is over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers or prescription medications. Using the medications carefully can be extremely effective in relieving the suffering. All people suffering from migraine need acute relief. Some of you may even need medications for prevention, especially those of you suffering from chronic repeated headaches. Let us examine each of these conventional approaches.