Treating and managing headache involves getting to know the whole person—not just focusing on the head and headache type. It involves learning about the person’s medical history, stressors, goals of treatment and their goals in life. It also involves conversations with all members of the patient’s family, particularly for pediatric and young adult patients. These details about a person’s life can directly affect the treatment options that I can provide and may also suggest including other therapies, including treatment for anxiety and depression.

Headache is an exciting field with potential for helping patients in the clinic with procedures done the same day as well as procedures and medications with longer lasting, sustained effects. It is an area of medicine where research and innovations are happening all the time.

I spend time carefully helping my patients understand what we know about headache through research, but there are still a lot of unknowns. Although my primary goal is to completely eliminate headaches my patients’ headaches, the more realistic goal is often to manage their headaches to improve their daily function. We discuss how to use the tools we have to help the patient meet their goals in life and make their headaches have the smallest footprint possible in their life.

I consider my care successful when I see my patients resume their lives and so that they can do the things they need and love to do. I love to see a grandmother interacting with her grandchildren instead of hiding in a dark quiet room. I find great joy in watching my younger patients transition from being dependents to independent people who are well versed in their disorder and the medications and actions they need to take to lead successful and functional lives.

In the end, my goal is to empower my patients to be their own advocate: to learn about their condition and how to manage it so that their headache no longer gets in the way of the life they want to lead.

Neurology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock
The Department of Neurology aims to provide you with compassionate and expert neurological care. We work collaboratively within our specialties and across disciplines in order to provide an evidence-based practice approach. Whether your neurological issues are cognitive/behavioral, epilepsy, headache, movement, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular, stroke/cerebrovascular or general, we will work with you and your family to provide the best possible medical outcomes.