Participants:
Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP000084B
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00:01 Welcome back to the program.
00:02 I'm Nick Evenson here with Dr. James Marcum. 00:04 And on today's program, we are talking about 00:05 different types of pain, specifically headaches. 00:08 Lot of people experience headaches 00:10 and for a lot of different reasons. 00:12 And so today, Dr. Marcum, we are talking about 00:14 some of those reasons, 00:15 but specifically we want to focus on prevention 00:18 and how to treat headaches when we experience them. 00:20 Yeah, and as we've talked about pain, 00:23 you notice that there are some themes 00:24 in all the pain, you know. 00:26 There are headaches, you know, or any type of pain mean that 00:29 there is something not right in the body. 00:31 And sometimes it can be dangerous 00:33 but for sure, it's a sign 00:35 that something we had stress on our body 00:37 that's triggering this. 00:38 Where that stress might come from? 00:40 It might come from bleeding, it might come from a toxin, 00:43 it might come from an infection 00:45 and all that can infect different body parts. 00:48 So when the brain is not right, for acute pain, 00:51 that's when you need modern medicine, 00:53 the worst headache in their life, a fever. 00:55 That's where modern medicine helps you get over hump. 00:58 But for chronic pain, or any chronic pain 01:01 whether be headache, you want to find out the reason why. 01:05 And the way a doctor evaluates the pain, 01:08 the first thing a neurologist would do 01:11 is he'll give, do a good history. 01:13 A lot of the time just by talking to the patient, 01:16 figuring out simple things, they can figure out 01:18 what the pain is caused by. 01:20 And that's very rewarding 'cause it's very rewarding 01:23 when you tell patients to drink more water, 01:24 all of the sudden, their pain goes away. 01:26 Yeah, I really likes to have an answer 01:27 for what's going on. 01:29 Or getting into a little more rest, it goes away. 01:31 Or bringing down the blood pressure, the pain goes away. 01:35 Everyone-- that's very rewarding. 01:37 But sometimes it's more complicated than that. 01:40 And we can do some tests. And we have CAT scans and MRIs. 01:44 Those are very good tests 01:46 for looking at the structure of the brain. 01:48 Okay. 01:49 It looks for aneurysms, it looks for... 01:51 It can look at the sinuses, for infections. 01:54 It can do those type of things. 01:56 We can also look at the eyes to see if we think 01:58 we have eye problems, things of that nature. 02:01 It can give us indirect evidence 02:03 of whether we've had problems with concussions, 02:06 things of that nature. 02:08 Sometimes the blood work will give us diablo clues. 02:11 We can conclude if there's inflammation in the body, 02:15 if there might be an infection in the body, 02:17 things of that nature. 02:19 We can look at it, the blood sugar is too high or too low. 02:22 Blood work can be very helpful for that. 02:24 Certain types of infections. We can actually measure... 02:28 We can actually examine the fluid that base the brain. 02:31 We call that cerebral brain spinal fluid 02:35 that literally flows. 02:37 It has a circulation. It goes around the brain. 02:39 It helps absorb damage to the brain, cushions it, 02:44 goes around the spinal cord, helps protect that. 02:47 Well, we can actually put a needle 02:48 into the spine and drain that, that fluid out. 02:52 We can look at it under a microscope 02:54 to see if there might be an infection, 02:56 certain types of cells which might clue us in 02:59 to what might be causing the symptom 03:01 which chronic headache infections, 03:03 things of that nature, that's very useful. 03:06 But I would say the most common ones we do are the history 03:09 then if we want to look at the structural a CT or MRI. 03:14 Now understand we've had some questions 03:16 that come into our Heart Wise Ministry's website. 03:18 And just we were talking about was our first question actually 03:22 and that was, how does a doctor evaluate a headache. 03:24 So let's just recap that. 03:26 If I come into you with a headache, 03:27 you are going to ask me a bunch of questions 03:29 about my health history. 03:30 Yeah, and first of all, I'm going to make sure 03:32 it's not a dangerous headache, okay? 03:34 How do you find if it is? 03:35 Yeah, like I said, if you say it's the worst headache 03:37 that's ever happened in my life, 03:39 I would say, well, that could be 03:40 a subarachnoid hemorrhage bleeding in the brain. 03:43 We need to send you to emergency room 03:44 and get a scan right now. 03:46 Now what would cause a bleeding in the brain? 03:47 Can't wait. 03:48 Well, it could be a weak blood vessel. 03:51 It could be, you might have banged your head, 03:52 had some trauma. 03:54 Okay. Okay. 03:55 Those are some of the more common ones. 03:57 If your headaches aggravated by a certain action 04:01 like every time I cough, I get a headache. 04:04 Or every time I have relationship with my wife, 04:06 I get a headache. 04:07 Those are a little bit more concerning. 04:10 Or if the headache won't go away, 04:12 that's associated with nausea and vomiting, 04:15 that's more of a concern. 04:17 Or a headache that's associated with a fever 04:19 and a stiff neck and a rash. 04:23 Bad headache after banging the head in trauma. 04:25 Or headache that leads to a seizure. 04:28 Or let say, you have a change of vision, you can't see right. 04:32 Those are all more serious types of headaches. 04:35 Or headache, it's not so bad 04:37 but it gets worse and worse and worse, 04:38 I can't even survive. 04:40 So I would say, Nick, that headache, 04:42 we need to go to emergency room right now 04:45 and make sure it's not a structural problem. 04:47 And if it is, we need to deal with that. 04:49 Then if it's not those, I say, well, 04:51 it's probably a primary headache. 04:53 And that's a headache that's either due to tension. 04:56 It might have characteristics of a cluster headache 04:59 or migraine headache 05:01 or you might have a toxin related headache, 05:04 something that you've done that's triggered it. 05:06 You are around obnoxious gas or something, 05:09 just get away from that environmental issue. 05:12 And I can do that with the history. 05:14 And then if I thought it might needed 05:15 a short term course of medication, 05:17 we might give it over short term. 05:20 Frequently migraine headaches, 05:21 they have a shot called Imitrex. 05:24 They don't usually give pills a lot 05:25 because you are sick at your stomach, 05:27 you might throw it up. 05:28 But there's also some studies that show ginger might be 05:31 very effective in the treatment of migraine headaches as well. 05:35 But I think if you can find what's causing the headache, 05:38 that might be the best treatment. 05:40 If there's a trigger that's causing, 05:41 but sometimes, Nick, it's just genetics. 05:45 No matter what, you have your cluster headache, 05:47 your migraine headache, it's just genetics. 05:49 We can't really figure out. It just happens. 05:52 Then we treat that the best we can with medications. 05:54 And remember, these medications for headaches 05:56 are usually just short term. 05:59 Short term headaches... 06:00 Short term treatment with medications 06:01 don't usually carry the risk 06:04 that taking it day in and day out 06:05 over years and years and years. 06:07 And this is a great use of modern medicine 06:09 to get you over the hump 06:10 because chronic pain in itself 06:12 is not good for the body either, 06:14 as we've discussed many times. 06:16 So that sort of a general approach to headaches 06:19 and most doctors do it pretty much similar to that. 06:22 They make sure it's not serious. 06:24 If it's a primary type headache, 06:25 then they work it dealing with the cause. 06:28 So what are one of the most common sources of headache 06:30 that you see? 06:31 Well, the most common headache, you know, I'm a heart doctor, 06:34 so I don't really see many headaches. 06:35 Sure, yeah. 06:37 But the most common headache in the world is tension headaches. 06:40 Stress induced headaches. 06:43 Our world is under stress like never before. 06:46 People are watching things. 06:48 You know, they see all sorts of things in the media. 06:51 People are spending up to 12 hours on the media a day. 06:54 And they stay up late at night. 06:56 They worry about things, you know. 06:58 They were eating things that we shouldn't eat. 07:00 There's this stress from every different avenue. 07:03 There's relationship stress. 07:05 We are living lives 07:07 that sort of go against our original design. 07:10 And whenever we do that, 07:11 that puts stress on our body including our brains. 07:14 And our brain might say, 07:16 "I just can't deal with this anymore. 07:18 I'm going to have a headache." 07:20 And when the body has a headache, 07:22 the brain can't think very well. 07:23 We do a process called down shifting. 07:26 We go into the "let's stay alive" 07:27 part of the brain, 07:29 not the higher thinking part of the brain. 07:30 And we just do things that make us feel good. 07:32 What can I do right now to take away the headache? 07:35 I'll do anything. 07:36 Some people turn to drugs and alcohol. 07:38 Some poor people turn into narcotics and painkillers. 07:41 Some people turn to other things, okay? 07:44 Well, I want to try to get our audience to say, 07:46 "Well, what's causing it? 07:48 What can we do to get at the cause?" 07:49 Because if we get the cause, 07:51 we are going to find the safest solution. 07:53 That's why I've recently developed 07:54 the Bible study series 07:55 that helps people to do this overtime 07:57 called Biblical Prescriptions for Life. 08:00 And this is a seven-week or seven-part Bible study 08:03 that teaches people 08:05 what's causing the stress in our lives 08:07 and how we can one step at a time get back 08:09 to the way God made us. 08:11 And if people want more information, 08:13 they go to our website. 08:14 That's biblicalprescriptions.com 08:17 or they can go to heartwiseministries.org. 08:21 So that's the most common, tension. 08:23 And those are some solutions for that getting back to it. 08:25 And the second most is migraine headaches. 08:27 These dangerous headaches are actually very rare, Nick. 08:31 It sounds like the most common ones 08:32 are basically chemical imbalances 08:35 that are stress induced. 08:36 Lifestyle induced, right. 08:38 Lifestyle induced and any of those, 08:40 you know, the stress, 08:41 the tension headaches and migraine. 08:43 And these serious types are rather rare. 08:45 But when they happen, they are life threatening. 08:47 They cannot be missed. 08:49 So that's why you have to get on it right away. 08:51 I'm afraid a lot of times, 08:53 some of these biblical prescriptions 08:54 that God's given us in the Bible, 08:56 like drinking water, getting rest, 08:57 things that we just overlook, they are simple to implement. 09:01 If we can just break our regular cycle 09:03 and focus on doing what God asks us to do. 09:05 And that gives people a sort of sense. 09:08 If they are having symptoms that can't really be explained. 09:11 You know, you look at everything and there's no... 09:13 No matter where whether this be headaches 09:15 or pains that you can't explain. 09:17 You might say, "Well, what am I doing 09:19 that could be stressing the body? 09:20 What am I doing 09:22 that's sort of against the way I was created? 09:23 And what are some simple things I can do to get back that, 09:27 'cause remember, a little bit of stress from here, 09:29 bad relationship, not sleeping well, 09:31 not enough breathing well, not enough water, 09:34 maybe there are wrong foods. 09:35 It all turns on the same chemistry. 09:38 And when that chemistry of inflammation 09:40 and epinephrine and adrenaline 09:42 and then cortisol gets turned on, 09:44 it creates symptoms. 09:46 And then guess what? 09:47 We go to the doctor and we want modern medicine. 09:50 Well, that might not always be the best thing. 09:53 Yeah. 09:54 So let's say that I am a healthy person 09:57 that hasn't had a history of headaches. 10:00 I drink plenty of water. Haven't had issues like this. 10:02 All of a sudden, I get a really severe pounding headache 10:06 unlike anything I've ever experienced. 10:07 Is that a time to be of serious concern? 10:10 Well, what I would do 10:12 is associate it with some of these other findings, 10:14 okay? 10:15 I would always be concerned about a symptom, okay? 10:18 If it affected your vision, if you were throwing up, 10:21 if you had a fever, 10:23 if it didn't get better fairly quick 10:26 with the things you usually do, yes, I would get it evaluated. 10:29 Because remember, even if it's not serious, 10:32 okay, it's still causing you pain 10:34 which is damaging your body. 10:36 So let's say the worse scenario. 10:37 You go to a doctor 10:39 and he evaluates you and it's not serious. 10:41 Well, thank goodness. 10:42 Well, they can give you a shot of painkiller 10:44 or whatever you need to take away the symptom 10:47 until you can back up and say, 10:49 "Well, what could have triggered it? 10:50 And sometimes, the body is so complicated, Nick. 10:53 Sometimes we never find out what's wrong. 10:56 We say, "It happened. I don't really know." 10:59 But, you know, usually 11:00 if I spend enough time with somebody 11:02 and ask enough questions, 11:03 usually something will come up 11:05 and I'll say, "Yeah, maybe, maybe that triggered it. 11:07 Maybe that triggered it. 11:08 You know, maybe you drink a lot of caffeine every day 11:11 and you missed that. 11:13 Maybe your body needed that." 11:15 Maybe, you know, something will usually show up. 11:18 Something will show up. 11:19 We've got another question that's coming from viewer, 11:20 and they ask, "What are some natural things 11:22 that I can do for a headache?" 11:23 Well, that's a great question. 11:25 I think we addressed some of them already. 11:27 Is getting back to the way God made you, okay? 11:30 That's the best thing that I can do, 11:34 whether that be getting enough sleep and rest, 11:36 drink enough water, moving the body parts, worship. 11:40 But other things that will help, 11:41 if the headache might be due to inflammation, 11:44 ginger might help that, okay? 11:46 If it's due to blood pressure, hibiscus might help that. 11:50 Sometimes if it's due to tension, 11:53 just deep breathing in itself. 11:56 Take a deep breath. Hold it, blow it out slow. 11:58 That helps more oxygen comes. 12:01 It turns on the parasympathetic system 12:03 which turns off some of these stress hormones in the body. 12:06 Sometimes that alone might help. 12:07 Sometimes getting outside, 12:09 breathing fresh air, going for a walk might help. 12:12 Sometimes getting some sleep and rest, 12:14 maybe you are overtired, 12:16 so if you can understand the cause, Nick, 12:19 that is your best bet to treating this. 12:21 So headaches is one like chest pain. 12:23 You need to sort of have some smarts about it 12:25 because it could be life threatening 12:27 even though it's usually not. 12:28 But you want to get at the cause. 12:30 What I would say, 12:31 the key thing I would say to all the people out there is, 12:34 if you can understand the cause 12:36 and get back to the owner's manual, 12:37 that's going to be your best bet 12:39 not to have headaches chronically. 12:43 Dr. Marcum, thanks for all those pointers on headaches. 12:45 And if you are at home 12:46 and you still have more questions about headaches, 12:48 please visit our website at heartwiseministries.org 12:50 where you can ask your question 12:52 and you can also send me your prayer requests. 12:54 We invite you to stay with us 12:55 as Dr. Marcum closes with prayer. 13:06 I like to spend a few moments with you in prayer. 13:09 There might be someone out there 13:11 that needs special prayer for their health. 13:13 Let's all bow our heads 13:14 and pray for each other right now. 13:17 Father in Heaven, we want to pray for each other, 13:21 that we all have better health 13:23 and that you come into our lives 13:24 to be our ultimate physician. 13:26 And there's someone out there, Father, 13:28 that needs a special prayer, special encouragement. 13:31 We want to pray for them 'cause we believe 13:33 and understand the power of prayer in lives. 13:35 You can do things 13:36 that we cannot do or even understand, Father. 13:39 And thank You for loving us 13:41 and giving us this day is our prayer. 13:43 Amen. 13:45 Well, I want to thank you for joining us. 13:48 And if you have any questions, feel free to go to the website, 13:51 heartwiseministries.org. 13:53 Wishing you the best of health. |
Revised 2016-04-21