You should see a headache neurologist if headaches disrupt your life–period. Headaches are complex, with many possible causes and treatments. They are associated with sleep disorders, and neck pain, in ways we’re just not beginning to appreciate. These complicated associations and treatment plans are beyond the scope of Primary Care doctors. Primary Care
Locations in Lenexa KS and in Los Angeles
Headaches are complex, with many possible causes and treatments. They are associated with sleep disorders, and neck pain, in ways we’re just not beginning to appreciate. These complicated associations and treatment plans are beyond the scope of Primary Care doctors. Primary Care Doctors are not specialists in the fields of headache, sleep, and musculoskeletal disorders (like neck pain) due to the fact that they see such a wide variety of illnesses.
Specialist treatment, including that by a headache neurologist, is covered by most insurance companies, though some have rules about referrals. Feel free to contact our office by emailing reilts@neurokc.com, or call (913) 894-1500.
What to Expect When You See a Headache Neurologist
A Headache Neurologist May Not Always Recommend Medications!
A headache neurologist can help differentiate a tension-type headache from a migraine, and from all the other types of head pain that will not respond to the types of headache medications frequently used by non-headache specialists in a one-size-fits-all fashion to treat headaches. And, as you have seen from the video above, a headache neurologist can suggest a comprehensive approach of both medication and non-medication therapies, as appropriate.
A headache neurologist will take a medical history and perform a detailed neurological examination, something a family doctor and nonspecialist cannot do. And a headache neurologist may want to rule out underlying medical problems that might be causing or complicating the headache. Frequently, brain, carotid or vertebral artery, or neck imaging is abnormal and crucial in the treatment of patients with worsening headache, and points to the underlying root cause.
Sometimes, though, we have to admit to patients that we cannot get rid of their ability to have headaches. That ability is hardwired in, and they are one of the “lucky” ones in the population who can actually have headaches. But we can nearly always improve their quality of life by getting control of the frequency of their headaches, so they only have to take occasional meds. To do this, however, requires the comprehensive approach of a headache neurologist, and not just one more pill.