William B. Young | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

Alternative Therapies for Headache.

Although alternative therapies are widely used for the treatment of headache disorders, physicians often know little about the available options or about the risks and benefits of the treatments their patients may already be using. Alternative treatments or complementary medicine can provide significant benefit for the headache sufferers, be neutral, distract the headache patient from using more effective therapies, or be harmful. Physicians should take a rational, open-minded approach to the use of alternative and complementary headache treatments.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Medication Overuse Headache.

Medication overuse headache is common and affects 2% of the United States population. Simple analgesics, caffeine-containing analgesics, butalbital-containing analgesics, opioids, ergotamine, and triptans may cause medication overuse headache. The recidivism rate is higher after detoxification from butalbital and opioids than after detoxification from other substances. Treatment venues have included the patient's home, an infusion center, or a hospital setting. No consensus exists to determine the setting that is most appropriate. Patients with analgesic overuse headache have a different psychologic substrate than psychiatric substance abusers. Most should not be treated in psychiatric detoxification facilities, although, psychiatric assessment and support may be beneficial.

Journal Article↗