UHAM035

18 * UNDERSTANDING HEADACHES AND M IG RAI N ES

One particular problem in people in their later years is temporal arteritis, sometimes known as giant celi arteritis. It affects morę women than men and tends to start after the age of 50, but is most common when people are in their seventies. It involves inflammation of the arteries aroundthe head, and doctors are not surę why this happens.

Medical history and headaches

If you visit your doctor with a complaint about headaches, he or she will look at your medical records to find any reasons as to why you are experiencing them. If the doctor does not do so, he or she mightmiss some important information. For instance, if you are diabetic or hypertensive, then this could explain the problem. Of course, if you have had many health problems over the years, your records could be extensive. In fact, any doctor will tell you that some patients have records that contain hundreds of pages. If this is the case, your doctor may find it very difficult to check all of them and may miss some important information. This is why some self-research may help. No one knows your medical history better than you. Therefore, spend some time thinking about the health problems you have no w, or have had in the past, and do some reading about headaches. If your doctor is unable to explain your complaint, then you should suggest anything that your own research has uncovered. This is not telling your doctor how to do his or her job but is helping your doctor to solve your problem. We have moved far away from the days when the doctor was seen as an absolute expert and the patient a complete novice. Most models of health care today strongly incorporate the view that diagnosis and treatment are part of a process of negotiation and cooperation between health-care professionals and their patients. If you car breaks down, you tell the mechanic what happened, rather than expecting him to simply work out