Headaches & Migraines
Neuro Rehab & Pain Institute
Priti M Manohar, MD
Adult Neurology & Pediatric Neurology located in Edinburg, TX
Headaches occasionally strike nearly everyone, but for 17% of people, headaches and migraines cause excruciating and debilitating pain. At Neuro Rehab & Pain Institute, board-certified neurologist Priti Manohar, MD, has years of experience helping people get relief from the pain and providing advanced treatments that reduce or prevent future headaches. She also provides exceptional care to people who experience seizures and headaches. To learn about your treatment options, call the office in Edinburg, Texas, or book an appointment online today.
Headaches and Migraines Q&A
What causes headaches and migraines?
All types of headaches are either primary or secondary, depending on their cause:
Primary headaches
Primary headaches develop from problems in the muscles, nerves, and blood vessels in your head and neck. Three of the most common include migraine, tension, and cluster headaches.
Secondary headaches
You have a secondary headache when the pain arises from an underlying health condition. For example, spine problems, concussions, temporomandibular joint disorders, and sinus congestion can all cause secondary headaches.
What symptoms do headaches cause?
All headaches cause pain, but the quality, severity, frequency, and location of the pain differ for each type of headache. Your pain may occur on one or both sides of your head, remain in one location, radiate across your head, or have a vise-like quality.
Headache pain can feel like a dull ache, sharp pain, or a throbbing sensation. Headaches may appear suddenly or develop gradually, and they can last less than an hour or for days.
What symptoms does a migraine cause?
Migraines are a severe type of headache. Many patients find migraines debilitating. As long as the pain lasts, sufferers can't do anything but lie down in a dark, quiet place.
The pain of a migraine is severe and throbbing or pulsating. It usually occurs around one temple but may spread to both temples.
Without treatment, the pain lasts at least four hours and can go on for three days. Migraines also cause bodywide symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.
Some people with migraines experience aura before their headache begins and while the migraine lasts. Aura often alters your vision, causing zigzag lines or stars, or creating a temporary blind spot. During aura, you may also experience unusual sensations like tingling in your arms and legs
Are migraines associated with epileptic seizures?
Migraines and seizures share a close relationship. If you have one of these conditions, you have double the risk (or more) of developing the other. Additionally, 45% of people with epilepsy have a headache after a seizure.
Dr. Manohar has extensive experience diagnosing and treating epileptic seizures and headaches. Her expertise can help you successfully manage both conditions.
How are headaches and migraines treated?
Dr. Manohar may prescribe medications to reduce the severity and frequency of migraines and other headaches. If you have chronic migraines, Dr. Manohar may recommend Botox® injections. Ongoing Botox injections lower the number of headaches you have in the future.
Migraines and several other types of headaches improve with treatments such as neuromodulation and a sphenopalatine ganglion block. Both treatments block nerve signals that cause headaches, but they use different techniques.
When you need relief from headaches or migraines, call Neuro Rehab & Pain Institute, or book an appointment online today.