The diagnosis of headache can be challenging especially since multiple different headache types can coexist.  These are questions you might expect your doctor to ask about your headaches:

How many different headache types do you experience?
How old where you when you started having headaches?
Why are you coming to the doctor now?
How frequent are your headaches and how long do they typically last? 
What triggers the headache?
Where in your head is the pain and what is its character?
Do you have any preceding symptoms or do you get a warning prior to the headache?
Is the headache associated with nausea, vomiting, photophobia or sonophobia?
What makes it worse and what makes it better? 
Is your inability to function compromised by the pain?
Is there anybody else in the family who has headaches?
What medications have used or are you using to treat the pain?

Based on your answers to these questions your doctor will be able to characterize your headache. 

Migraine headaches can occur with and without an aura. A typical aura lasts from five to 60 minutes before the headache starts. It consists of transient visual, sensory, and speech disturbances. Visual symptoms are the most common manifestation of an aura and consist of flickering lights, spots or lines, or blind spots.

Headaches that are associated with nausea, photophobia, sonophobia, and are exacerbated by physical activity are most suggestive of migraine headaches.  About one third of all people who present to their doctor with headaches have migraines.  If the headache is associated with nausea the likelihood of this being a migraine is about 90%.

If you have questions or comments regarding this topic that you would like for us to address here in the future please don’t hesitate to email us at Headache@Wisedoctors.com.