Kgopedi Lilokoe – Our first guest is here, Dr Elliot Shevel, he has published more that 30 scientific studies in both national and international pier reviewed medical journals on migraines and tension headaches. Dr Shevel has been the medical director at the Headache clinic since it’s inception in 1992 and in his capacity he heads a team of practitioners, specialists, researchers including neurologists, surgeons, physio therapists, radiologists, Gp’s, psychologists, dental specialist, researchers and so on and so fourth and of course this teams is dedicated to uncovering headache causes so that treatment is based on sound identification of the headache causes in each individual patient. Good evening and welcome to Metro FM talk Dr Shevel.

Dr Shevel – Good evening Kgopedi and thank you so much for having me on your program.

Kgopedi – I have a headache must be one of the commonist aliments in the history of mankind.

Dr Shevel – It is the commonist aliment in the history of mankind and womankind.

Kgobedi – Naah. We not going down that route. Take us through and summerley Doctor. Take us through the variety of head aches and what triggers them.

Dr Shevel – Ok, First of all there are primary and secondary headaches. Secondary headaches are caused by some other disease, so that we not talking about because then you have got to treat the disease. Primary headache are headaches which are their own illness not caused by something else and the vast majority, 99% of people with headaches have primary headaches. So the main types of primary headaches are tension headache, Migraine and whats called cluster or suicide headache.

Kgobedi – Ok

Dr Shevel – Now these are not conditions they are just different intensities of the same thing. So you know we might call somebodies a tension headache, somebodies a cluster, somebodies a migraine but the underlying causes are the same in each one. Its just that each person has got their own map of pain, and they react differently to the pain. And that’s why they have got these artificial names and boundaries but basically we have to find out. Where the pain is coming from? What is causing the pain? That’s the bottom line.

Gareth -Who gets headaches? Who get’s really bad headaches? I get a migraine every now and then and its debilitating. But there is a big difference and well talk to the gentleman who is on his way into our studios now about this difference between headaches and migraines. We will also talk to him about some interesting things you may or may not know about headaches. He is among other things one of the founders and the medical director of The Headache Clinic and they have published more than 30 scientific studies in national and international medical journals. So Dr Elliot Shevel is South Africa’s pioneer in the field of migraine surgery and what an interesting guy to have here in the studio with us this morning. Good morning Doc. How are you?

Dr Shevel – Good moring, Very well thanks and thank you for having me on your program.

Gareth – What an absolute pleasure to have you here, and the work you do is spectacular and it’s very very important and we are grateful to have someone in South Africa of your caliber working on these issues. Because I think headaches effect more people then we even know about.