migraine treatment near me

Headache Relief: The Best Ways to Find Relief

Headaches can make you feel sick. Whether from stress, lack of sleep, or dehydration, headaches can be a major hindrance to productivity and overall well-being. Luckily, there are remedies available to help ease the pain. If you’re experiencing headaches often, don’t hesitate to see your trusted primary care provider.

Here are ways to find relief from headaches:

Cope With Stress Better

Most headaches are primary, meaning they occur independently of any other underlying disease.Headaches start when nerves and blood vessels around the head send pain signals to the brain. Stress, lack of sleep, anxiety, and weather changes can trigger this condition.

The key to prevention lies in identifying the source of stress. Different people get stressed by different things, so self-reflection is necessary.

Strategies to reduce stress include:

  • Taking a break when you feel stressed
  • Testing your assumptions (thinking about gloom-and-doom scenarios can spiral into panic if left unattended)
  • Paying attention to internal dialogue (replace negative thought patterns with positive ones)
  • Taking control (addressing problems head-on)
  • Seeking help if stress is interfering with life

Avoid Triggers

Some activities, foods, and drinks can trigger headaches for some people. For instance:

  • Pent-up anger
  • Poor posture
  • Perfume
  • Bad weather
  • Teeth grinding
  • Bright lights
  • Ice cream

Keeping a headache diary can help identify any triggers and allow you to avoid them as much as possible.

Various fixes include:

  • Avoiding sleeping in at weekends
  • Deep breathing when feeling angry
  • Avoiding certain smells
  • Using fragrance-free products
  • Wearing sunglasses and polarized lenses when in bright environments

Take Over-The-Counter Medications

Over-the-counter pain relievers include ibuprofen, aspirin, and acetaminophen. Though their safety and efficacy are proven, make sure to follow the recommended dosage.

Not all drugs are suitable for everyone. Some medications can affect your thinking or cause side effects such as drowsiness.

If you take OTC pain relievers for more than ten days a month, you may suffer from medication overuse headaches. Check with your family care provider, especially if you are pregnant or suffering from any other medical problems.

Stay Hydrated

Dehydration can cause headaches. Since dehydration can develop without a person knowing for quite some time, it is important to evaluate your water intake when you develop symptoms such as frequent headaches. It is important to drink enough water throughout the day to keep your body hydrated, so you can avoid discomfort and feel your best during the day.

Use Heat Or Cold Therapy

Using hot or cold pads on your head can help relieve headaches. Experiment with an ice pack, a heating pad, or a warm towel to see which works best for you. Finding the right combination for effective relief is key.

Massage Your Temples

Massaging your temples gently can help improve circulation. Doing this can also help reduce tension in the head, neck, and shoulders.

Get Adequate Sleep

Sleep deprivation is a common cause of headaches. Aim to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to prevent headaches. If you feel a headache coming on and you know that you didn’t get enough sleep the night before, try to get a nap in before symptoms get worse.

Exercise Regularly

Regular physical activity has been shown to help reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches.This helps alleviate stress, a common trigger for migraines, and aids in improving sleep quality and enhancing mood.

However, be careful, because while regular exercise can help, overexertion has been linked with exercise headaches, as well. It’s crucial to consult a family care provider if you experience headaches during exercise.

Consider Essential Oils

Certain essential oils, like lavender and peppermint, have been shown to have a calming effect on the body and relieve headaches.Inhaling the scent or applying a few drops to your temples may provide relief.

Overall, it’s a good idea to keep track of what works for you when trying to relieve headaches. This also includes knowing and avoiding your triggers, such ascertain products, foods, stress, or environmental factors.

Types Of Headaches

Not all headaches are the same, and treatment differs depending on which one you have.

Migraines

Migraines can have sensory or visual elements, cause pulsating pain, and last from several hours to three days. Knowing and avoiding triggers can help prevent migraines. Avoiding loud and bright areas, getting some shut-eye, and taking medicine help alleviate migraines for most people.

Tension Headaches

This is usually triggered by stress and can be treated at home with the following:

  • Over-the-counter pain medications
  • Stress management
  • Relaxation techniques

Cluster Headaches

This is a severe and recurring headache that typically affects men more than women. It causes intense pain around the eye or temple and is accompanied by characteristic symptoms such as:

  • A red, watering eye (as if you’re crying in just one eye)
  • A runny or blocked nostril
  • A drooping eyelid

A cluster headache requires a prompt specialist referral, investigation, and treatment. Management includes fast-acting and preventive treatments prescribed by a family care provider.

Treatment For Headaches In Royal Palm Beach, FL

If your headaches are affecting your daily activities, don’t hesitate to seek medical attention. Turn to your primary care provider for a thorough evaluation of your symptoms. They can perform medical imaging tests and provide specialized care.

You can trust the best family practice in Wellington if you need treatment for headaches in Royal Palm Beach. At Advanced Medical, the husband-and-wife team of board-certified internist Dr. Ishan Gunawardene and nurse practitioner Shariffa Gunawardene can help you. We offer reliable and comprehensive treatment options for all urgent and non-urgent conditions, including headaches.

Don’t let your headaches hold you back from living the best life. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Gunawardene today by calling our clinic at (561) 434-1935 or using our online request form. Take the first step toward a headache-free life now, and visit the best primary care provider in Royal Palm Beach.

Prevention Tips to Avoid Migraines

Migraine is an all-too-common source of misery among Americans: nearly 1 in 4 households in the United States include someone who has this debilitating neurological condition.

If you’re one of those people, you want to know what you can do to banish migraine for good. While there is currently no cure for migraine, the good news is that there are things you can do to stop it in its tracks. Below are a few tips to help you avoid migraine attacks.

Tip #1 Mind What You Eat and Drink

The following are some of the foods and drinks that are known to trigger migraines. It pays to steer clear of them:

  • Alcohol, specifically red wine
  • Chocolates
  • Coffee
  • Pickled and fermented foods
  • Processed foods, especially those that contain monosodium glutamate (MSG)
  • Soy and cultured dairy products

You can also take note of what time you ate the particular food and how much of that food you consumed.

In addition, don’t skip a meal, as fasting can also trigger migraine. It also helps to eat at about the same time every day.

Tip #2 Have a Good Night Sleep

Having too little or too much sleep can leave you susceptible to migraine attacks, according to the American Migraine Foundation. So, try to have just the right amount of sleep: seven to eight hours a day.

Here are some ways you can improve your sleep hygiene:

  • Being consistent – going to bed at the same time each night
  • Not sleeping for longer than 20 to 30 minutes during the daytime
  • Avoiding intense exercise, heavy meals, nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine at night
  • Shunning the blue light and noise
  • Not trying too hard to sleep – Instead, try to read or do a quiet activity until your feel drowsy.
  • Checking your medications and other stimulants that can interfere with your sleep

Tip #3 Know How to Tame Stress

Stress is a common migraine trigger, and migraine episodes can occur both during and after a stressful situation.

Avoiding stressful situations is almost impossible, but there are things you can do to keep stress under control. Below are some of them:

  • Practicing relaxation techniques, such as yoga and meditation
  • Trying not to squeeze activities into your day – Instead, leave something out and divide large tasks into small, manageable chunks.
  • Taking a break, if you feel overwhelmed
  • Keeping a positive outlook on life – helps you take everyday challenges in stride.

Tip #4 Incorporate Exercise into Your Daily Routine

Exercise helps migraine sufferers by:

  • Promoting better sleep
  • Reducing stress and anxiety as well as improving mood by releasing endorphins – Exercise triggers the release of feel-good hormones and natural painkillers, and lowers cortisol levels (stress hormones).

Migraine Treatment in Wellington, FL

At Advanced Medical Clinic, our team is led by a board-certified internal medicine provider and a board-certified family nurse practitioner who have made a name for themselves for the high-quality care they provide to people living with migraine and many other conditions, helping them conquer pain and quality-of-life issues.

To arrange a consultation with one of our providers, contact our office at (561) 434-1935. Alternatively, you may request an appointment right here on our website.

Will My Migraines Get Better Over Time?

If you’re one of the millions of Americans suffering migraines, the term “debilitating” is rather an understatement. The disabling headache, along with the slew of distressing symptoms, can leave you to wonder when there’s going to be any reprieve and if it will ever get better over time.

The good news is that, while there’s no step-by-step plan to make migraine attacks stop, the condition can go into either a partial or full remission: partial means you have fewer than 15 days of migraine headaches, while full remission means you go an entire year without experiencing the symptoms.

Read on to learn about what can cause to migraines to worsen as well as the things you can do to avoid attacks and achieve remission.

Why Would Migraines Worsen Over Time?

One way a migraine can get worse is when it becomes chronic. This equates to having bouts of headache 15 or more days every month and of the other migraine symptoms on at least 8 days for more than 3 months.

This can be ascribed to the absence of a proper migraine treatment plan: how you treat your symptoms can have an impact on the frequency and severity of your symptoms.

Migraine headaches that persist and worsen need further medical evaluation, especially if you only started experiencing them after the age of 50, if they have occurred due to a head injury or a side effect of disease treatment, or if they are resistant to medication and lifestyle changes.

Heading Off Migraine Attacks

A commonsense strategy to stave off migraine attacks is to identify and avoid the very things that trigger them. Migraine headaches can be precipitated by smoking, alcohol, lack of sleep, caffeine, changes in schedule, hunger, strong fragrances, stress, and menstruation. Lifestyle changes, such as establishing a regular sleep and eating schedule, smoking cessation, reducing intake of alcohol and caffeine, using unscented products, and managing stress help head off attacks.

For women who have menstrual migraines, one way the attacks can be prevented is by taking medications before menstruation begins up until a few days after the period has ended. Medications used to treat migraines include triptans, gepants, and ditans, which belong to a class of drugs whose mechanism of action is to quiet down overactive pain nerves.

Primary care providers may also prescribe antidepressants, antiseizure’s, or beta blockers, to treat episodic migraines. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), when taken at the onset of a migraine attack, can also help with managing the symptoms. The earlier you take your medication/s, the better they work.

Migraine Treatment in Wellington, FL

Here at Advanced Medical Clinic, board-certified internal medicine provider, Dr. Ishan Gunawardene, along with the rest of our team, is dedicated to bringing one goal to fruition: keeping our patients healthy. Dr. Gunawardene can work closely with your neurologist or any other specialist contributing to your care to help you take full control of your migraine, so you can enjoy your life again.

Book your visit with Dr. Gunawardene today. Contact our staff at (561) 434-1935, or use our convenient online request form.

What People with Migraines Wish You Knew

Do you or a loved one get migraines? If you haven’t gotten one, you probably don’t know what it feels like. People who get frequent migraines sometimes struggle to express how they feel and why they must make last minute changes to plans if they end up getting one.

Here are things people who get migraines wish others knew. If you are a migraine sufferer, share these with people in your life. If you do not get migraines yourself but have someone in your life who does, here are some points that’ll make you understand the condition a little better.

It Is Nothing Like a Headache.

A migraine is so much more than a headache. The symptoms of a migraine include a throbbing headache, nausea, vomiting, blurry vision, vision obstructions that appear right when a migraine is about to set in, and light, sound, and smell sensitivity. A headache goes away with ibuprofen, whereas a migraine does not. Moreover, a migraine can last days and repeatedly come back. Unlike with a normal headache, most people can’t simply take a pain reliever and go on about their day. Migraines require self-isolation in a quiet and dark place until it subsides. For many, this could be hours or even days.

It Can Have Disabling Effects.

Migraine episodes can be disabling. The combination of symptoms can prevent you from going to work, seeing friends and family, and attending events or social gatherings. A migraine can make you miss out on things that mean a lot to you, like a birthday party or a concert you’d been waiting months for. As a result, people around a migraine sufferer must be understanding and accommodating.

There are Migraine Triggers.

People who frequently get migraines often have triggers. For some, it may be certain smells, while for others it may be particular foods. Some people get migraines when they skip meals. Many women get migraines based on hormonal changes due to their menstrual cycle. You may also get migraines if you drink a lot or have a lot of stress to deal with. The important thing is to figure out what your triggers are and avoid them. This method will help you reduce the frequency of your migraines.

You Have to Act Fast.

When you get a migraine, it is important to stop what you’re doing and get ready to pass the migraine. If you are at work and a migraine comes on, you should leave work and head home. If you are planning a day out and a migraine develops, pushing through the migraine will likely not fix it, and you will probably end up being miserable. Many times, avoiding treatment can make migraine symptoms worse. Therefore, as soon as you feel a migraine is setting in, take medication (based on your family medicine provider’s orders) and get to a quiet, relaxing place to rest.

Migraine Treatment in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, Florida

If you are one of the over 38 million Americans who suffer from migraines, and you haven’t found a treatment plan that works for you, the internal family medicine provider at Advanced Medical can help. We treat a variety of conditions that affect adults, including migraines.

Talk to us about your symptoms, and we will come up with a solution that works. To schedule a consultation, call Advanced Medical at (561) 434-1935 or request an appointment now. We also accept walk-ins!