Consider Hemicrania Continua

Hemicrania Continua

Hemicrania continua (HC) is a strictly one-sided headache that is continuous but generally waxes and wanes in intensity during any 24 hour period. It is generally defined as mild to moderate in severity, but with more severe exacerbations there may be accompanying same-sided cranial autonomic symptoms as seen in CH and other TACs. These exacerbations can last from 20 minutes up to several days.

If this brief description does not match your headache type, consider Tension Type Headache and/or Cluster Headache.

Treatment

By definition, hemicrania continua (HC) shows a complete response to a medication called indomethacin. This can be used orally as a diagnostic test; however, intramuscular indomethacin (the “Indotest”) has the advantage of much more rapid diagnosis.