Headaches and migraine

Some people with migraine experience temporary changes in vision, sensation or speech before or during an attack. Visual aura may involve flashing lights or zigzag patterns. Symptoms often develop gradually over minutes and usually last less than an hour. Aura can happen without a headache, and many people with migraine never have aura.

First-time visual or sensory symptoms need urgent local assessment; do not label them as aura yourself. Call 000 for new weakness or numbness, facial drooping, difficulty speaking, sudden loss of vision or other possible stroke signs, even if they pass. If you have diagnosed aura, follow your agreed plan for a familiar episode and seek urgent assessment for symptoms that differ from that pattern.

Triggers vary between people and may act together. Changes in sleep, missed meals, dehydration, stress, alcohol, bright light or strong smells can be relevant. A possible trigger does not prove what caused a headache, and migraine is not simply a result of stress or poor habits.

For some people, attacks relate to periods or changing hormones during perimenopause. Sleep problems can also make headache management harder. Mention these patterns, but do not assume a new or different headache is hormonal.

Look for repeated patterns rather than cutting out long lists of foods. A short record of sleep, meals, symptoms and medicines can be more useful than trying to avoid every possible trigger.

A HerDoc GP can assess the headache pattern, review what you have tried and agree a plan for relief, prevention and follow-up. You can discuss a previous diagnosis or ask for help working out what is happening. HerDoc offers phone GP consultations.

Diagnosis usually relies on the history and, where needed, a physical examination. A local doctor may need to check your blood pressure, eyes, strength, sensation or coordination. A phone conversation cannot replace those checks.

Not every headache needs blood tests or a scan. Investigations help when the history or examination raises concern about another cause; they are not a routine way to confirm migraine. A HerDoc GP can provide a specialist referral when symptoms are difficult to control or the diagnosis needs further assessment. The HerDoc appointment is GP care, not a specialist neurology consultation.

For a familiar headache, follow the treatment plan you have agreed with your GP. Migraine care aims to relieve pain and associated symptoms early enough to help you recover and return to ordinary activities. The best approach depends on the diagnosis, previous response, other medicines and health conditions.

A GP can prescribe treatment when needed and help plan what to do if the first approach does not work. Mention nausea or vomiting: these can affect your ability to drink or take treatment, and may change the plan. For an occasional familiar headache, a pharmacist can advise on suitable symptom relief and check product ingredients and interactions.

Use medicines according to the label and your clinician’s advice. Avoid combining products without checking their ingredients, as different brands may contain the same medicine. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, check treatment choices with your doctor or pharmacist.

If headaches are frequent, disrupt daily life or require repeated relief medicines, ask about prevention. Preventive care aims to reduce how often attacks happen, their severity and their impact. It is different from treatment used during an attack and does not promise that every headache will stop.

Your GP can review whether your current approach is enough, discuss preventive treatment and agree how to assess benefit and side effects. Some preventive treatments are used regularly between attacks rather than as extra relief when pain starts. They may need time to work, so agree a review date rather than judging the plan after one episode. A specialist opinion may help if symptoms remain difficult to manage.

Regular sleep and meals, enough fluids, manageable physical activity between attacks and ways to reduce stress can support prevention. Choose practical changes that fit your life. Treatment and everyday routines can work together.

Keep track of headache days, days using relief medicine and activities missed. Fewer attacks, less disabling symptoms or less need for relief may show progress. Arrange review if attacks become more frequent, last longer or change character. If another HerDoc consultation is needed, it is booked and charged separately.

Yes. Frequent use of some medicines taken for headache relief can contribute to medication-overuse headache. Headaches may become more frequent and the usual relief may help less, creating a cycle of taking more medicine. This can happen with pharmacy products as well as prescribed treatment.

Risk depends on the medicine and the number of days you use it, not only the dose. If you need headache relief more than twice a week, or increasingly often, arrange a GP review. This is a reason to review the plan, not a diagnosis of medication-overuse headache.

Bring an accurate list or the packets. Your GP can help you adjust treatment and plan prevention. Do not abruptly stop, switch or increase regular medicines on your own; the right approach depends on what you take.

A few notes can make the conversation easier. You do not need to complete a diary or identify the headache type before seeking help. If you already have a diary or previous results, you can upload them during intake for the GP to review.

Many familiar recurring headaches can be managed with an agreed care plan and routine GP review. A previous migraine diagnosis does not explain every new headache. Do not wait for an online appointment if you have warning signs.

The guide draws on Australian health information and specialist headache guidance. These sources support the information; they have not reviewed or endorsed HerDoc.