Migraine Headache Treatment Sterling, VA
A migraine headache often forces many to make drastic changes with their daily routine and schedule. For many people, the severity of a migraine headache can lead to missing work, meetings, school, and other important events. Fortunately, our staff can relieve symptoms, provide treatment for migraine headaches, and prevent future headaches.
While migraine headaches can be difficult to prevent and even more challenging to eliminate after they occur, the proper treatment and preventive care can greatly reduce the effect that migraines and severe headaches have on your everyday routine. If you are experiencing a migraine headache with severe pain or are experiencing your first-ever migraine headache, be sure to come to our office and seek medical assistance.
Our doors are always open, and there is no appointment needed. It is essential to receive the necessary urgent care for migraines and severe headaches to keep pain and other symptoms at a tolerable level. We can help you accomplish just that.
The Process of Diagnosing Headaches and Migraines
While it may be necessary to visit a neurologist for an official diagnosis, there can be weeks or even months of waiting for an appointment. Instead of struggling with the symptoms until then, we can provide immediate professional medical care and relief. It is crucial to seek treatment if the symptoms become unbearable at any point.
Regardless of the medical professional conducting the evaluation, there are several possible methods for diagnosing migraine headaches. First, it will be essential to conduct a full-scale exam and review the patient's medical history. We will also attempt to determine patterns, which allows for a more accurate diagnosis.
If necessary, we can also conduct blood tests to search for blood vessel problems, infections, or toxins in the blood that may cause migraines. In many instances, a medical professional can gain an in-depth understanding of the root cause of the migraines through patient history and blood testing.
Additionally, an MRI may be in order when diagnosing. A magnetic resonance imaging scan, or MRI, reveals any serious conditions, such as brain tumors or bleeding in the brain. Similarly, a CT scan utilizes a series of X-rays to gain information that determines the migraines' root cause.
If patient history, blood testing, MRI scans, and CT scans still cannot reveal the cause of the migraines, there are several other options we may consider.
Facts from the American Migraine Foundation
- Migraine is the third most prevalent illness in the world.
- Migraines tend to run in families. Around 1 in 4 Households have a member with a migraine. Children with one parent suffering from a migraine have a 50% chance of developing migraines as well.
- More than 90% of sufferers are unable to work or function normally during their migraine.
- Migraine is a neurological disease with extremely incapacitating neurological symptoms.
- Attacks usually last between four and 72 hours.
- Migraines are 3 times more common in women, affecting over 30% of women in a lifetime.
- About 10 percent of school-age children suffer from migraine.
Questions to Ask Your Urgent Care Provider
- Can you pinpoint what triggers my headaches?
- Are any of my current medications causing the migraines?
- Can anything be done to make the migraines go away?
- Can over-the-counter medication ease the pain during a migraine?
- Can I make lifestyle changes that can help prevent migraines from occurring?
- Are there any side effects with the medication you’ve prescribed (if any)?
- What are the benefits to migraine medication?
- What should I expect throughout the process in terms of pain?
- Have you dealt with similar cases in the past? What were the results of the treatment?
- What’s the success rate of migraine treatment?
- How long does the average migraine last?
- How can I cope with a migraine headache?
“If necessary, we can also conduct blood tests to search for blood vessel problems, infections, or toxins in the blood that may cause migraines.”
Treatment Options for Headaches and Migraines
Unfortunately, migraines can be incredibly difficult to prevent and even more challenging to treat once they occur. However, treatment methods can help shorten the timespan of the headache and relieve symptoms. This way, it does not require any significant daily routine changes.
Physicians can treat migraine headaches when they are currently happening. The main and most frustrating symptom is severe pain. Our team of physicians can recommend, prescribe, and administer medications to help stop the migraine.
There are several options that medical professionals often utilize to help patients. While migraines may still require rest and time off from work, school, etc., the following treatment options give migraine patients the resources necessary to face migraines head-on. Ultimately, the best way to treat headaches and migraines is to do everything possible to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
Fortunately, there are medications available to help accomplish just that. Healthcare professionals may prescribe beta-blockers — medication typically used to treat high blood pressure — to patients who suffer from chronic migraine headaches. In some instances, antidepressants can also limit the number of migraine headaches, even if the patient does not suffer from depression. However, we will need to determine which option is the most effective and healthy choice for each patient.
“Our team of physicians can recommend, prescribe, and administer medications to help stop the migraine.”
Lifestyle Changes to Prevent Migraines
While certain medications can help to limit or decrease migraine symptoms, the patient can make lifestyle changes to help with symptoms as well. These lifestyle changes do not need to be drastic or difficult to complete regularly. The first step is to identify the triggers of the migraines before developing ways to avoid them. These triggers can include:
- Most common: Emotional stress, hormones in women, not eating, weather, sleep disturbances
- Less common: Odors, neck pain, lights, alcohol, smoke, sleeping late, heat
- Least common: Food, exercise, sexual activity
Our team will conduct an examination of your medical history and symptoms to identify what triggers correspond to the migraine headaches. Once we do this, we can apply effective measures to reasonably avoid them. For example, if migraine headaches happen around the weekends after having one too many glasses of wine, it may be useful to see if they are less frequent when lowering alcohol consumption.
“While certain medications can help to limit or decrease migraine symptoms, the patient can make lifestyle changes to help with symptoms as well.”
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When Headaches Require Urgent Care
It is crucial to seek professional care for migraines with severe symptoms, or if it is the first time a patient is experiencing it. Our urgent care center can provide the treatment patients need for relief and the possibility of preventing migraines from occurring in the first place. Additionally, a migraine or severe headache episode that shows any of the following severe symptoms should be treated by a medical professional as soon as possible:
- Severe vomiting and nausea
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness or confused mental state
- Occurs after a head injury
- Blurry or double vision
- Fainting
- Seizure
Along with the more severe symptoms and early signs of chronic headaches and migraines, there are other complications that suggest the individual should seek medical assistance. Migraines can lead to more complicated illnesses, such as sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression. If chronic headaches or migraines lead to any of the aforementioned complications, be sure to visit an urgent care center as soon as possible.
Otherwise, both migraine headaches and additional complications that have developed may begin to worsen and become more chronic. From the moment patients walk in the door, we will help them receive the care they need. By identifying the source of the migraine, we can help patients receive the most effective treatment to help them live life to the fullest without symptoms getting in the way.
Questions Answered on This Page
Q. How do you diagnose a migraine headache?
Q. What are the treatment options for migraines?
Q. What else can I do to prevent migraine headaches?
People Also Ask
Q. What are the symptoms of concussion?
Q. What can an urgent care physician do for me if I have an allergic reaction?
Q. When should I seek care for ear pain?
Q. When should I seek professional treatment for vomiting or diarrhea?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. In the past, I would only get a migraine several times a year. Now I get them every month. What may have made the migraines become more chronic?
A. There are multiple factors that can cause migraines to become more chronic, including certain food types, smells and stressful situations. Keep a headache journal for a month to record common situations or factors that lead to migraines. If there is not a common link, consider visiting a medical professional for further assistance and diagnosis, which can ultimately help you eliminate the frequency and severity level of migraines.
Q. My medication seems to be making my headaches worse. What do I do now?
A. Consult the physician who prescribed the medication and follow their advice. Do not stop the medication unless advised by your physician.
Q. Are certain types of people more at risk of getting migraines, or does it affect everyone equally?
A. There are certain types of people more at risk of developing chronic headaches and migraines, although the links are certainly not all inclusive. In general, the likelihood of developing migraines can be assessed in three categories, which are age, genetics and gender. Most individuals who suffer from chronic migraines experience their first migraine during adolescence, and migraines tend to slow down after the age of 30. Additionally, migraines are genetic, and there is an increased likelihood of suffering from migraines if the condition runs in the family. Also, boys are more likely to experience migraines when younger, whereas women often experience more migraines at an older age.
Q. How do I tell the difference between a headache and a migraine?
A. Unlike a simple headache, a migraine headache can have symptoms before the pain occurs. This can be changes in vision (bright lines or shapes), hearing (loud ringing or music) or even feelings like burning, numbness and tingling. Unlike a simple headache, the pain of a migraine is limited to only one side (left or right) of the head and usually described as "throbbing" or "pulsing." As the migraine headache gets worse, you'll often feel other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, pain from bright lights and pain from loud noises.
Q. Will medication be able to help treat my migraines?
A. While medication can help to treat migraine symptoms, each patient is unique. Due to this, there is no one-size-fits-all treatment. We will determine which type of medication may help the patient achieve desired relief. After a medical examination of the patient, we will customize a treatment plan and recommend the most effective method for continuing with treatment.
Start Feeling Better – Visit Us Today
By visiting us as soon as possible, our team can help get you the professional treatment you need. Instead of waiting around and allowing the symptoms to get worse, we can provide you with stronger medication and treatment options instead of ineffective store-bought products.
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Come In Today
In order to ensure the pain and other symptoms that result from migraine headaches do not worsen and become unbearable, be sure to consult with us when experiencing a migraine headache that requires medical assistance.
We have the resources necessary to properly diagnose severe headaches and migraines and treat the symptoms that can otherwise cause you to alter your lifestyle.
While migraines cannot easily be eliminated altogether and there is likely to be residual pain remaining, receiving the proper treatment can help shorten the lifespan of the migraine attack and reduce the severity of the symptoms.
Additionally, we can provide you with preventive medication to reduce the chance of migraine headaches becoming chronic and affecting your daily routine in drastic ways. We can also give you insight into lifestyle changes that help reduce the chance of a migraine occurring and limit the severity of the migraine headache if one were to occur, which ultimately leads to a happier life.
If your symptoms worsen or you experience your first severe headache or migraine, be sure to come by and let us give you the care you deserve.
Helpful Related Links
- American Journal of Medicine. American Journal of Medicine. 2023
- American Medical Association (AMA). American Medical Association (AMA). 2023
- American Medical Society For Sports Medicine (AMSSM). American Medical Society For Sports Medicine. 2023
- American Trauma Society. American Trauma Society. 2023
- John Hopkins Medicine Orthopaedic Surgery. John Hopkins Medicine Orthopaedic Surgery. 2023
- National Council on Aging. National Council on Aging. 2023
- Orthopaedic Surgery: Association of American Medical Colleges. Orthopaedic Surgery: Association of American Medical Colleges. 2023
- Radiological Society of North America. Radiological Society of North America. 2023
About our business and website security
- Millennium Medical Care Stone Springs was established in 2023.
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- We serve patients from the following counties: Loudoun County
- We serve patients from the following cities: South Riding, Brambleton, Sterling, Ashburn, and Aldie
- National Provider Identifier Database (1427061381). View NPI Registry Information
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