NOT JUST A HEADACHE


Tom Zeller Jr., a former reporter, recently wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times. *
A headache sufferer himself, he describes his bouts of intense pain, and the clinical and cultural ignorance that persists around primary headaches. While Mr. Zeller is grateful for the recent advances in treatment with CGRP inhibitors, he discusses how funding for research into headache disorders remain incommensurate with their enormous social costs, and how far too few young doctors enter in this specialty.

“In a world troubled by all manner of disease and unrest, it can seem absurd to complain about headaches. But this, too, is what makes the path of a chronic headache sufferer . . . a uniquely lonely one. The pain won’t kill us, sure, but we can receive prolonged physical beatings, without explanation, at any moment . . . Ask any people who suffer from migraines or similar headaches about the months spent being dismissed or misdiagnosed by unenlightened doctors . . . They are in your family. Or you work with them. No, they won’t die. But they are very often experiencing inscrutable, exhausting bouts of pain — or living in fear that it’s just around the corner, again.”

At The Manhattan Center for Headache and Neurology, we understand. Come in for a consultation. We can help.

–Alice Wong, NP