More than 45 million Americans suffer from headaches that disrupt their daily routine. Therapeutic Solutions International has developed a Headache Impact Test and Score Sheet to discover the intensity of your headaches.  You can find this on their website, www.nti-tss.com or view it as the attached PDF here. Do you think your headaches disrupt your daily routines?

There has been a lot of talk about “migraine triggers,” including diet, exercise and sleeping habits.  The most controversial is the idea of food triggers. “Although many people believe that some foods may trigger a migraine, the evidence remains a bit fuzzy,” says Elizabeth Loder, MD, MPH, the chief of the Division of Headache and Pain at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Loder points out that it is difficult to track food triggers because different foods may affect people in different ways. There’s also no consensus about how long it might take a dietary culprit to set off a headache so it’s difficult to pin down which foods are the real trouble makers.

Are your painful headaches actually migraines? A simple self-administered test devised by neurologist, Dr. Richard Lipton, MD and a team of researchers at Albert Einstein University has been shown to be a very effective screening tool. It's used by physicians and dentists around the world as a tool to diagnose migraines. The three question ID Migraine screener can be taken at home but your results should be shared with a health care professional.

1.) Has Headache limited your activities for a day or more in the last three months?
YES / NO

2.) Are you nauseated or sick to your stomach when you have a headache?
YES / NO

3.) Does light bother you when you have a headache?
YES / NO

An answer of "YES" to any 2 of the questions above suggests that your headache is a migraine. The questions are intended to determine if your headaches are debilitating, nausea-inducing and if you suffer from sensitivity from light, known as photophobia. Many options are available for migraine treatment and prevention. One often overlooked option is the NTI-tss Plus. In a clinical trial submitted for FDA approval, 82% of medically diagnosed migraine sufferers experienced a 77% reduction in migraine events. Ask your dentist about it. The NTI may change your life.
 
^{1 Lipton RB, Dodick D, Sadovsky R, et al. A self-administered screener for migraine in primary care: the ID Migraine™ validation study, Neurology 2003;61:375}