The more you know about what influences headaches and migraines, the better you can attend to your own and let you doctor know what is important for your type of headaches and migraines.
It’s amazing what one can do for headaches of all types once you have fully described what you are experiencing and have determined the core cause and the best treatments for them. This is the worksheet I have developed over the years that has helped countless clients in my own practice. I hope you see things on this page that will help you. If you’d like additional help, feel free to call or email me and schedule an appointment. (Tell me you specifically want to work on your headache issue.)
Table of Contents
Headaches and Migraines:
The worksheet is divided into several categories:
- What causes your headache to come on?
- When does the headache happen?
- Where does the pain start and extend to?
- Characterization of the pain.
- Things or experiences that happen with my headache.
- When does the pain seem worse?
- When does it feel better?
- Types of headaches I usually experience are:
- Common causes of headaches.
- Foods and chemicals commonly associated with headaches.
- Treatments for headaches including natural and allopathic forms.
- Supplements that may be useful for your headache treatment.
- Herbs that help headaches.
- Aromatherapies that help headaches.
- Homeopathics that help headaches.
- Other alternative therapies for headaches.
- “Real” drugs used in the treatment of headaches/pain.
Types of headaches include:
- Cluster (Vascular)
- Migraines
- Pinpoint
- Sinus
- Stress and Tension
- Other:
What causes your headache to come on?
- Altitude, High
- Bathing
- Beer
- Bright’ Disease
- Candy/Sweets
- Catarrh (mucous)
- Catarrh, suppressed
- Coffee
- Constipation
- Dancing
- Diarrhea
- Exhaustion
- Eye Strain
- Fasting
- Gastro-Intest. Probs
- Haircuts
- Hard Liquor
- Hat Pressure
- Hemorrhage
- Hemorrhoids
- Ice Cream
- Ice Water
- Influenza
- Ironing
- Lemonade/Wine
- Liver Disease
- Loss of Sleep
- Lumbago-Back pain
- Malaria
- Mental Exertion
- Mercury Fumes
- Narcotics Abuse
- Nervous Exhaustion
- Over Lifting
- Riding Against Wind
- Riding in Cars
- Sexual Excitement
- Sleeping in Dampness
- Spinal Disease
- Stomach Pain
- Sunlight or Heat
- Suppressed Breathing
- Suppressed Emotions/Eruptions
- Syphilis
- Tea
- Tobacco
- Trauma
- Uremia (Kidney)
- Uterine Disease
- Vaccinations
- Weather Changes
- Other:
When does the headache happen?
- Are you in school?
- Are you over the age of 65?
- Are your headaches associated with weather changes?
- Are your headaches chronic?
- Associated with gouty arthritis?
- Do they happen when you feel congested?
- Do you have a history of having kidney problems?
- Does emotional upset bring a headache on?
- Does the headache come on gradually?
- Does the headache come on, peak then gradually go?
- If female, do they cycle with your periods?
- If female, have you had a hysterectomy?
- If female, when you have your period?
- When the barometer changes quickly?
- When you are anemic?
- When you are nervous?
- When you have stomach problems?
- Would you consider yourself a sedentary person?
Where does the pain start and extend to?
- Along the sutures of the head
- Back and neck
- Back of head (base of head or occiput)
- Behind the eyes Left Right or Both?
- Ear to ear in line with the temples
- Front extending to eyes, root of nose, or face
- Frontal
- Frontal extending to back of head, neck or spine
- On one side only Left Right (Circle which one)
- On the crown of the head
- On the temples
- Other:
Characterization of the pain:
- Alternating days
- Boring, digging
- Bruised, battered, sore
- Burning, hot
- Bursting, splitting
- Constrictive, band-like
- Distensive, full
- Drawing
- Dull, aching
- Electric like stabbing
- Every 6 weeks
- Every 7th day
- Every 8th day
- Every third day
- Every two to three weeks
- Every week or two
- Excruciating, violent
- Heaviness
- Last days with pain flux
- Periodic and intermittent:
- Piercing as from a nail
- Pressing
- Pressing in small spots
- Pressing like a vice
- Shifting
- Shooting
- Stinging
- Stitching or sticking
- Stupefying
- Throbbing, pulsating, hammering or pulsating
- Other:
Things or experiences that happen with my headaches include:
- Abdominal Pain
- Alternating Back Pain
- Anguish
- Anxiety
- Arteries Throb
- Back of Head is Sore
- Bad Breath
- Blindness
- Bowel Problems
- Can’t Hear
- Cold Hands/Feet
- Coldness in Back of Head
- Colic
- Constipation
- Cough
- Delirium
- Depression
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness or Vertigo
- Ears Burn
- Emotional Excitement
- Empty Feeling in Stomach
- Exhaustion
- Eyelids Feel Heavy
- Eyes Feel Big
- Eyes Feel Heavy
- Eyes Feel Injected
- Face Feels Flushed/Hot
- Face is Pale
- Faintness
- Fever
- Flatulence
- Gouty nodules on Scalp
- Hair Falls Out
- Head is Retracted
- Head Nods
- Heart Beats Harder
- Heart Palpitations (define)
- Hemorrhoids
- Hunger
- Irritability
- Liver Problems
- Muscles Sore
- Nausea
- Nose is Dry
- Nosebleeds
- Not Thinking Straight
- Numbness
- Overly Sensitive
- Pain in Low Back
- Pain in the Limbs
- Profuse Sweating
- Respiratory Problems
- Restlessness
- Roaring in the Ears
- Salivating Excessively
- Scalp Feels Bruised
- Scotoma (Dark Vision Areas)
- Sexual Excitement
- Sharp Low Rib Pain Rt. Side
- Sleeplessness
- Sore, Painful Eyes
- Spine Burns
- Stitching Pain in Ears
- Stomach Pain
- Symptoms vary or not there
- Talking Excessively
- Tearing of Eyes
- Temporal Veins Engorged
- Thirst Increases
- Tingling Lips, Tongue or Nose
- Tongue is Coated
- Toothaches
- Urinate w/ Increased Freq.
- Vision Returns Afterward
- Visual Disturbances
- Vomiting
- Yawning
- Other:
When does the pain seem worse?
- After Sleep
- At Night
- At Noon
- Certain times of day:
- During a Bowel Movement
- During Menses
- In the Morning
- In the Open Air
- In the Winter Months
- Laying on Back of Head
- Laying on Left Side
- Laying on Pained Side
- Laying on Right Side
- Walking to a Higher Place
- When Angry
- When Bending Head Back
- When Closing Teeth
- When Concentrating Hard
- When Coughing
- When Drinking Coffee
- When Drinking Milk
- When Drinking Wine
- When Eating
- When Hearing Clocks
- When in Warm Areas
- When Laying Down
- When Moving Eyes
- When Riding in Cars
- When Rising Up in Bed
- When Sitting
- When Stooping Over
- When Talking
- When Waking + Opening Eyes
- When Walking
- With Bright Objects
- With Certain Drugs
- With Certain Odors
- With Drafty Cold Air
- With Jarring Motions
- With Light
- With Mental Exertion
- With Motion
- With Muscular Strain
- With Narcotics
- With Noise
- With Nosebleeds
- With Over Heating
- With Physical Exertion
- With Pressure
- With Stimulant Abuse
- With Sunshine
- With the Sight of Water
- With Touch
- With Weather Changes
- Working in the Dark
- Other:
When does your headache feel better?
- After Rising
- Bandaging/Wrapping Head
- Bending my Head Back
- Bending my Head Forward
- During Menses
- During Mental Exertion
- In the Open Air
- Laying down + Head Elevated
- Laying down + Head Lowered
- Partially Closing My Eyes
- Turning Head Forward
- Uncovering the Head
- Upon Raising the Head
- When Closing my Eyes
- When Eating
- When in a Dark Room
- When Lying Down
- When Lying on Painful Side
- When Perspiring
- When Smoking
- When Stooping
- When Talking
- When Thinking of Pain
- When Urinating
- With a Bowel Movement
- With Coffee/Stimulants
- With Colder Environments
- With Gentle Motion
- With Hands on/near Head
- With Hard Continued Motion
- With Nose Bleeds
- With Pressure
- With Quiet Rest
- With Rubbing
- With Semi-Erect Posture
- With Sleep
- With Tea
- With Warmth in General
- Other:
Common causes of headaches.
- Aneurism
- Anxiety
- Barometric Changes
- Birth Control Pills
- Bladder Problems
- Brain Tumors
- Control Issues
- Dehydration
- Emotional Changes
- Emotional Let Down
- Exhaustion
- Exposure to Fumes/Chem.
- Exposure to Sunshine
- Fear
- Feeling Something’s Wrong
- Foods (See Below Category)
- Food Additives (like Guar Gum)
- Glare or Eye Strain
- Head Trauma
- High Blood Pressure
- Hormonal Changes
- Hurt Feelings Unexpressed
- Inability to Face an Issue
- Injury to the Tail Bone
- Intense Anger
- Liver Disease
- Menstruation
- Muscle Tension
- Not Going w/ Flow of Life
- Not on God Path
- Not Validating the Self
- Over Work
- Ovulation
- Perfectionist Attitude
- Poor Posture
- Pounding Heart
- Sinus Problems
- Spinal Tap Anesthesia Injury
- Stress
- TMJ Disease/Bruxism
- Too Little/Too Much Sleep
- Weather Changes
- Whiplash
- Other:
Histamine Releasing Foods that can cause headaches:
- Beer
- Cheese
- Chocolate
- Tomatoes
- Walnuts
- Wheat
Foods and chemicals commonly associated with headaches.
- Alcohol (Esp. Beer/Wine which are high in sulfites)
- Apples
- Aspartame/Nutrasweet
- Bananas
- Beef
- Benzoic Acid
- Cane Sugar
- Carrots
- Cheese (Yellow or Smelly)
- Chicken
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Corn
- Cow’s Milk
- Eggs
- Fish
- Goat’s Milk
- Grapes
- Low Serotonin Levels
- Melon
- Mono Sodium Glutamate
- Nitrates
- Nitroglycerin
- Nuts
- Oats
- Onions
- Oranges
- Peaches
- Peanuts
- Pork
- Potatoes
- Rice
- Rye
- Soy, Soy Sauce, Miso
- Strawberries
- Tartrazine
- Tea
- Wine
- Withdrawal from Coffee
- Yeast
- Other:
Note: Detection of food allergies depends on whether your body is allergic, intolerant and what time it was eaten. Some symptoms can show up within minutes, other symptoms within 36 hours (these are the trickiest allergies because you can think of things you’ve eaten within 24 hrs but you don’t think about what you ate the day before that). Muscle-testing will pick up those foods that are a problem for you lately, but not always from way back in the past. I can muscle-test out an approximate time period when the headache will come on after you eat a specific food.
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If you know what foods are causing your headaches, you can rotate your diet appropriately and be your own Sherlock Holmes in knowing what you ate that triggers pain. After you get used to this identification process, you will know what you can get away with and what you can’t. That helps a lot, say my clients.
Treatments for headaches including natural and allopathic forms are listed below under supplements, herbs, aroma therapies, homeopathics, alternative therapies and “real drugs”:
Supplements that may be useful for your headache treatment
- 5-HTP
- Brewer’s Yeast
- Bromelain
- Cal Mag Zinc
- Calcium
- Calcium Carbonate
- Calcium Citrate
- Calcium Hydroxyapatite
- Calcium w/ Boron
- Calcium, Microcrystalline Form
- Cal-Ma Plus
- Charcoal
- DLPA
- GABA
- Ionic Minerals
- L-Glutamine
- L-Tyrosine
- Magnesium
- Magnesium Asparate
- Magnesium Citrate
- Magnesium Glycinate
- Magnesium Malate (MalicAcid)
- Magnesium Oxide
- Melatonin
- Potassium
- Primrose Oil
- Quercetin
- Rutin
- Vitamin B Complex
- Vitamin B-3
- Vitamin B-5 (Pantothenic Acid)
- Vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine)
- Vitamin B-12
- Vitamin B-15 (Pangamic Acid)
- Vitamin E
- Other:
Herbs that Help Headaches and Migraines:
- Burdock Root
- Ephedra
- Fenugreek
- Fever Few(if pregnant, No)
- Germanium
- Ginger
- Ginkgo biloba
- Goldenseal
- Green Tea
- Horsetail
- Kava Kava
- Lavender
- Lobelia (short term only)
- Marshmallow
- Mint
- Parsley
- Skullcap
- Thyme
- Valerian
- Wild Lettuce
- Other
Aromatherapies Used in Headache and Migraine Treatment:
- Basil
- Benzoin
- Clove
- Coriander
- Eucalyptus
- Geranium
- Juniper Berry
- Lavender Flower
- Marjoram
- Neroli
- Oregano
- Peppermint
- Pine
- Roman Chamomile
- Rose, Absolute
- Rosemary
- Tea Tree
- Thyme
- Other:
Homeopathics Used in Headache and Migraine Treatments:
- Aconitum Nap.
- Belladonna
- Bryonia Alba
- Calcarea Phosphorica
- Ferrum Phosphoricum
- Gelsemium
- Ignatia
- Natrum Mur. (Cell Salt)
- Nux Vomica
- Ruta Graveolens
- Veratrum Album
- Other:
Alternative Therapies for Headaches and Migraines
- Acupressure
- Acupuncture
- Aromatherapy
- Avoid Certain Foods
- Biofeedback
- Chiropractic
- Color Cleansing
- Counseling
- Cranio Sacral Work
- Dehydration/Drink Water
- Determining Triggers
- Dietary Changes
- Emotional Clearing
- Exercise and Fresh Air
- Glandulars
- Herbs
- High Fiber Diets
- Homeopathics
- Hormone Therapy
- Hydrotherapy
- Isometric Presses
- Juice Fast, Short (4 days)
- Magnets
- Massage
- Masturbation (Early Onset)
- Meditation/Breathing
- Ophthalmologist (Eye Exam)
- Osteopathy
- Real Drugs
- Reflexology
- Reiki
- Relaxation Techniques
- Shiatsu
- Spiritual Guidance
- Spiritual Lessons Learned
- Supplements
- Support Groups
- Vitamins
- Yoga
- Other:
“Real” Drugs Used for Headache and Migraine Pain.
- Acetominophen (Tylenol)
- Actron (Orudis)
- Advil
- Aleve
- Amerge
- Amitryptyline
- Anacin
- Anaprox (AKA’s)
- Anexsia (Vicodin)
- Anolor (Fioricet or Esgic)
- Ansaid
- Ascriptin (Buff/Enteric)
- Aspirin
- Bayer
- Botox
- Butalbital
- Cafergot
- Caffeine
- Calcium Channel Blockers
- Cataflam (Voltaren)
- Choline Mag. Trisalicylate
- Ciclofenac (Voltaren)
- Clinoril
- Clonidine
- Codeine
- Co-Gesic (Vicodin)
- Cyproheptadine
- Darvocet-N
- Darvon
- Decongestants
- Demeral
- Diflunisal (Dolobid)
- Dihydrocodeine Bitartrate
- Dihydroergotamine mesylate (Migranal)
- Dilaudid
- Diltiazem
- Dolbid
- Ecotrin (Enteric coated)
- Empirin (Buffered)
- Ergonovine maleate
- Ergotamine
- Etodolac (Lodine)
- Excederin
- Feldane
- Fiorinal
- Fiorinal + Codeine
- Fluoxetine
- Flurbiprofen (Ansaid)
- Hydrocet (Vicodin)
- Hydrocodone + Acetmnph
- Hydrocodone + Iboprofen
- Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
- Ibuprophin (Motrin)
- Imitrex (Sumatriptan)
- Imixpramine
- Inderal (Propranolol)
- Indocin (Indomethacin)
- Kadian (M Contin)
- Ketoprofen (Orudis)
- Ketorolac (Toraxdol)
- Lodine
- Lorcet (Vicodin)
- Lortab (Vicodin)
- Maxalt (Rizatriptan)
- Meperidine (Demerol)
- Methysergide
- Midrin
- Morphone (MS Contin)
- Motrin
- Naprelan
- Naprosyn (Naproxen)
- Naproxen Sodium
- Naratriptan
- Nifedipine
- Orudis or Orudis KT
- Pamprin
- Panadol (Tylenol)
- Pentazocine/Asprn(Talwin)
- Percocet
- Phenaphen + Codeine
- Piroxicam (Feldane)
- Propoxyphene (Darvocet N)
- Propranolol
- Roxicet (Percocet)
- Sertaline
- Sulindac (Clinoril)
- Synalogos-DC
- Tolectin (Tolmetin)
- Toradol
- Tramadol HCl (Ultram)
- Trylox (Percocet)
- Tylenol
- Tylenol + Codeine
- Ultram
- Varapamil
- Vicodin (AKA’s)
- Vicoprofen
- Zomig (Zomitriptan)
- Zydone (Vicodin)
- Other:
Holy Smokes! I hope that’s all of them. It appears to me I have not been up to speed for a couple of years on all the pain killers on the market!
Hope this worksheet helps in giving you some clues for YOUR headache and migraine challenges.