Andrea F. Bonenfant, MSN, APRN

A major part of my job is to educate patients and families about headache medicine. When I first meet a patient, I spend a lot of time getting to know them. We discuss their history of headaches, factors that contribute to worsening pain, as well as what they have tried and not tried previously. I let them know that there are many causes of headaches, and many treatments.

I strive to treat the whole person, not just their headaches. Learning the details about a person's sleep patterns, stressors and moods can directly affect the treatments I use for headache management. I explain that migraines can be frustrating for all parties involved, but, through a multidisciplinary and team-based approach, I hope to assist my patients to manage their pain more appropriately.

I consider my care successful when my patients can start living their lives again. Migraines can be quite debilitating, so when patients can go about their day and not miss important events because of their headaches, I know what we are doing is helping.