Migraine Headaches

About 12% of Americans experience migraine headaches. If you’re limited by chronic migraine pain, you can find help at the office of Aizik L. Wolf, MD. Dr. Wolf offers diagnostic evaluations in-office to identify what’s triggering your migraines. He also provides personalized treatment plans using medications, Botox® injections, and other therapies to prevent migraine headaches from developing. Call the South Miami, Florida office to schedule a consultation for migraine headaches or book an appointment online today.

What causes migraine headaches?

Migraine headaches cause moderate to severe throbbing head pain, usually on one side of your head.

While the underlying cause of migraines isn’t well understood, there are several known triggers for this type of headache, including:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Strong smells
• Hormone changes
• Medication overuse
• Too little or too much sleep
• Changes in weather
• Use of tobacco and caffeine

Certain foods, including aged cheeses, chocolate, and alcohol, can also contribute to migraine pain.

Your risk for migraines increases if you have a family history of the condition or if you have existing medical issues like depression, sleep disorders, or epilepsy. Women are also three times more likely to experience migraines than men.

When should I seek medical treatment for migraine headaches?

You should schedule a diagnostic evaluation at the office of Aizik L. Wolf, MD, if you have migraine headaches that you can’t treat on your own with over-the-counter medications.

You also need an evaluation if you have severe head pain and other symptoms that interfere with your quality of life, such as:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Increased sensitivity to light or sound
• Inability to work or meet other responsibilities

Dr. Wolf can confirm your pain is related to migraines during a comprehensive medical exam. He may also perform a neurological exam and request a computed tomography scan or other diagnostic imaging tests.

How are migraine headaches treated?

Dr. Wolf can help you manage your symptoms and prevent new migraine headache attacks from occurring. Your treatment plan may include:

• Lifestyle changes
• Diet modifications
• Prescription medications
• Stress management techniques
• Botox
• Nerve decompression surgery

You may benefit from Botox injections if you have more than 15 migraine headaches in a month. Botox is a prescription medication that temporarily paralyzes muscles in your head that contribute to migraine pain.

Injections of Botox into specific areas of your scalp can also prevent new migraines from occurring. Typically, you need injections every three months. Over time, you need smaller amounts of Botox to fully benefit from treatment.

Nerve decompression surgery is an innovative procedure used to decompress nerves in the neck and head to relieve pain. Migraines are often caused by peripheral nerves of the head and neck that become irritated or compressed. 

During an examination of your face, head and neck, trigger points can be identified, which can help determine if surgery would be suitable. By surgically removing muscle, fascia bands, small arteries or bone tunnels that are causing nerve constrictions, the nerves are decompressed, reducing or even eliminating migraines. 

The procedure is comparable to carpal tunnel surgery and performed on an outpatient basis. None of the nerves are located within the brain, they are nerves that have exited the brain and central nervous system.

Relief is determined by the number of locations of compressed nerves, the number of episodes and degree of pain intensity. Recovery is quick and downtime is minimal. The results are almost immediate but the full effect will be experienced within a few weeks.

Call the office of Aizik L. Wolf, MD, to schedule a consultation for migraine headaches or book an appointment online today.