Migraine Surgery Word Map

Migraine Recurrence and Revision

While we wish it never happened, an infrequent occurrence following migraine surgery is the return of headache pain.  Just like any surgical procedure, migraine operations do have their rare failures, and in the case of migraine surgery, the failure rate is, fortunately, less than 10%.  If you have a presence on social media, you may…

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Outpatient surgery for headache and migraine

It seems there is often much misunderstanding surrounding the terminology pertaining to headaches.  While “migraine headache” is indeed a specific diagnosis, there are many subtypes of migraines with terminology that can get confusing.  Additionally,  many headache sufferers have not yet seen a neurologist to get a migraine diagnosis, and others have diagnoses such as “chronic…

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Chronic Headache and Nerve Decompression Surgery Patient

Chronic headaches and nerve decompression surgery

For better or for worse, nerve decompression to provide relief from headaches and neck aches has been come to be known as “migraine surgery” because many chronic headache patients carry a diagnosis of migraine disease.  It’s true that “Migraine Surgery” rolls off of the tongue better than “Peripheral Nerve Decompression Surgery for the Treatment of…

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Dr Andrew Germanovich

Headache 360 Podcast: Dr. Lowenstein and Dr. Germanovich

Introduction: Welcome to the Headache 360 podcast, a place to listen and learn about the diagnosis and treatment of chronic headache and migraine pain because information can be the best medicine. Dr. Lowenstein: Hello and welcome to the Headache 360 podcast. I am your host Dr. Adam Lowenstein. I am a board certified plastic surgeon…

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amy killian

Headache 360 Podcast: Dr. Lowenstein and Amy Kilian

Dr. Lowenstein: Hi, and welcome to the Headache 360 Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Adam Lowenstein. Again, what we’re doing here is trying to take a 360 degree view of headache and migraine pain. As such, some of you will know that I am a migraine and headache surgeon. I do nerve decompression, but people…

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dr jason prystowsky

Headache 360 Podcast: Dr. Lowenstein and Dr. Prystowsky

Dr. Lowenstein: Hi. Welcome back to the Headache 360 Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Adam Lowenstein, and I’ve got a amazing guest today. As I think many of you know, I’m a migraine surgeon. I do peripheral nerve decompression for migraines, and a lot of my patients have spent time in emergency rooms, and so…

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kelly lott massage therapist

Headache 360 Podcast: The Migraine Miracle Massage Therapist

Dr. Lowenstein: Hi, and welcome to the Headache 360 podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Adam Lowenstein. As we’ve discussed many times before on this podcast, my goal here is to try and get some expertise from specialists who patients with chronic headaches and migraines will often see during a course of their care. Today, we…

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cure for migraines

What does a “cure” for migraine mean?

There are going to be a lot of folks who respond to this without reading further, who will insist that there is no cure for migraine headaches, and who don’t want to consider things outside of their personal experience.  The following discussion is for everyone else…. Google the word “cure” and you will find the…

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Occipital Neuralgia Patient

Dizziness and Headaches… The Imbalance of Pain

Dizziness, imbalance, and disorientation in headache and neck pain patients One of the most frequent questions posted to facebook on migraine headaches and tension headaches forums involves some aspect of dizziness, imbalance, and disorientation.  While headache patients may be used to pain, waking up dizzy or having balance issues with or without pain can be…

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Why Me Card

Why ME?

Why ME? So often a question I get from migraine headache patients is a derivative of “Why me?” “What did I do to bring on these migraines?” “What can I change so these migraine headaches stop?” “Why are these migraines so bad for me but nobody else?” So just to address the last question specifically,…

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migraine diva jamie sanders

Headache 360 Podcast: Migraine Diva With Jamie Sanders

Dr. Lowenstein: Hi and welcome to the Headache 360 Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Adam Lowenstein. I have a really interesting guest today and a very unique one. Jamie Sanders is a blogger and I guess I personally think even more importantly, a patient and migraine advocate, an advocate for patients with migraine. She has…

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Headache 360 Podcast: Migraine Surgery

Speaker 1: Welcome to Headache 360 podcast, a place to listen and learn about the diagnosis and treatment of chronic headache and migraine pain, because information can be the best medicine. Dr. Lowenstein: Hello and welcome to the Headache 360 podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Adam Lowenstein. Today we’re going to talk about migraine surgery.…

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Headache 360 Podcast: Procedures for Migraines and Headaches

Speaker 1: Welcome to the Headache 360 Podcast. A place to listen and learn about the diagnosis and treatment of chronic headache and migraine pain, because information can be the best medicine. Dr. Lowenstein: Hello, and welcome to the Headache 360 Podcast. I am your host, Dr. Adam Lowenstein, and today we are again, speaking…

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dr. blake

Headache 360 – The Headache Neurologist on the Cutting Edge

Speaker 1: Welcome to the Headache 360 Podcast, a place to learn about the diagnosis and treatment of chronic headache and migraine pain, because information can be the best medicine. Dr. Lowenstein: Hello and welcome to our next episode of the Headache 360 Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Adam Lowenstein. I have a very special…

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Did Your Favorite Migraine Medicine Just Get Recalled?

For those who suffer migraines, management is the name of the game. The recent, temporary halt in the production of Excedrin Migraine and Excedrin Extra Strength by GlaxoSmithKline just made that a little more difficult. Here, we discuss why this recall happened and how it may have the silver lining of prompting you to find…

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A Migraine Clinic for Los Angeles that Provides Headache Relief for over 90% of its Patients? Yes, That’s Right.

Migraine headaches can ruin a life.  Added frustrations from bouncing between different unsuccessful treatments and doctors can create a perfect storm of helplessness and hopelessness.  Migraine Surgery aims to break that cycle and provide long-lasting, significant relief from migraine pain.  Los Angeles now has access to that therapy. Let’s do some math.  Nearly 1/4 of…

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HEAT and your headaches

Weather can be a trigger for migraines as well as several other headache syndromes.  I’m finding that this time of year in Southern California, and even in Colorado where my Denver office is located, can be the worst time of year for those yearning for headache relief.  Los Angeles recorded record-breaking temperatures of 121 degrees…

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The importance of medication overuse headaches

I had a discussion with a patient recently who was interested in finding relief from her headaches, and as usual, sent me a list of her medications along with her long history of migraines. In reviewing her medical history, I had to do a double-take… she listed Excedrin as her primary medication, and she takes…

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Tips for Managing Migraines this Holiday Season

The holiday season is typically a busy one. Even this year, many of the people we speak with are planning to attend holiday events either in person or virtually. For those with migraines, an increase in activity and stress or any change in routine can trigger head pain and other symptoms. There is no time…

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COVID-19 Headaches

You don’t have to have COVID-19 to have a Coronavirus related headache. Headaches in the age of Covid may be related to the virus itself but are likely a result of stress and its effect on your occipital nerves. Headaches are a very nonspecific symptom and can occur from a great many sources. Viruses such…

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Should I See a Migraine Specialist?

Migraines are a frustrating problem for many adults. These persistent headaches can be temporarily debilitating, though treatment options have been relatively limited for some time. You may have only recently discovered that there is such a thing as a migraine specialist. Historically, chronic, severe headaches have been managed by primary care physicians and neurologists. So…

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What’s in a name?

The term “migraine surgery” was coined as a simplified way for the public to understand that there is a surgical procedure to improve migraine headache symptoms.  In fact, the more appropriate name for this procedure is “nerve decompression surgery for the relief of headache and migraine symptoms.”  That’s a bit too wordy, but unfortunately, the…

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Migraine Headache Severity

Recently one of the Facebook groups for migraine headaches and occipital neuralgia contained and interesting post.  A migraine headache patient began by saying that she did not mean to insult anyone, but she could not understand how some migraine headache sufferers could have severe pain and still go about their lives.  She alluded that such…

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Thoroughness in Surgical Technique

Thoroughness in surgical technique can make the difference in a successful nerve decompression operation. (Why the tree photo? Read on….) Earlier this week we saw a woman with over 20 years of headache pain from occipital neuralgia who had been operated on previously by another surgeon. She reports that her surgery was unsuccessful. The surgeon…

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The use of Botox for Headaches

Botox is being increasingly used for off-label treatments, particularly in the treatment of migraine headaches and occipital neuralgia like we do at Migraine Surgery Specialty Center. This is a nice little video from the Plastic Surgery Channel that discusses some off-label uses of Botox.But what does “off label” mean? When something like Botox is “approved” by…

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Having a migraine- a Doctor’s Perspective

My mother tells a story about me when I was 9 and had a headache so bad I would not stop crying and would not leave my room.  I don’t remember that, but I know that I have had severe headaches as long as I can remember.  As a child, I took so much aspirin…

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Headache surgery is NOT experimental surgery

Because of the relatively new ability for surgeons such as myself to impact migraine headaches and occipital neuralgia with outpatient surgery, we often get the question of whether nerve decompression for headache surgery is “experimental surgery.”  Let me assure you that this is not the case.  While scientific descriptions of success rates can be found…

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Dizziness and Migraine Head “aches”

Dizziness is often a symptom of migraines and occipital neuralgia, and can be seen both with and without associated pain.  Because balance and dizziness are managed by a region of the inner ear called the vestibule, migraines that manifest in dizziness alone are termed “vestibular migraines”.  Similar to “ocular migraines”, these episodes can manifest as…

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Headache Surgery and Occipital Neuralgia Surgery for Los Angeles

With traffic like this it’s no wonder so many patients from Los Angeles suffer from migraine headaches.  While several medical centers in and around the Los Angeles area treat patients with migraine headaches and occipital neuralgia, Dr. Lowenstein dedicates a significant part of his practice to the surgical treatment of these headaches and associated symptoms.…

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A discussion on incisions for decompression of the occipital nerves

In the course of my aesthetic plastic surgery practice, many patients are of course interested and concerned about where the incisions will be placed for their surgery.  With migraine headache and neuralgia patients, however, there is more interest surrounding pain relief than incision sites.  That said, I have seen several revisions of migraine surgery necessary from…

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Everyone is different, even when they are the same

In my perusing around Facebook and the forums dedicated to headaches and occipital neuralgia, I see so many who find comfort that they are not alone, and in fact one of my previous posts highlighted that even NBA basketball stars get migraines.  Patients who have suffered long and felt alone should find comfort in the fact…

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Rocky Mountain Migraine Headache

This week I’m spending time in Colorado with my family and as usual, dealing with a migraine on arrival to altitude.  Altitude headaches are not uncommon for both migraine headache patients as well as those who don’t suffer from migraines.  There are 2 main issues that our heads need to deal with at altitude- oxygen…

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Why is a workup important?

We have many patients with migraine headaches who see an opportunity for a surgical cure for their pain and want to proceed immediately to surgery at Migraine Surgery Specialty Center without any other workup- this is a mistake.  Every patient who has surgery for their migraines needs a neurology workup including an MRI of the…

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migraine surgery san diego ca

Migraine Headaches in San Diego?

As you can see from the photo above I took in San Diego this weekend, Coronado is quite a beautiful spot.  Sometimes when visiting such a wonderful place it can be hard to believe that there are folks suffering even close by. Importantly, you can have a migraine in Coronado, or in any relative paradise. …

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Looking for suggestions… How do we get the word out?

Yesterday I saw yet another migraine headache patient who was a week out from her migraine surgery, and yet again this patient was thrilled with the migraine relief.  She told me she felt that the migraine surgery changed her life.  She was all smiles in the followup appointment, as opposed to completely dreary when I…

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Occipital Neuralgia vs. Migraine Headache

Today on Facebook I got a great question that I think is important….  “Are ON flares also called migraines?” In fact the word “migraine” has a broad meaning, including many different kinds of severe headaches with different causes.  Some migraines are caused by issues in or near the brain, such as dilated blood vessels or…

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The Differences Between Migraine Surgery and a Nerve Simulator

Recently I have found a lot of confusion between migraine surgery and nerve stimulator placement. When discussing surgery with patients or answering their questions online, it seems clear that some patients think they have had migraine surgery but describe the placement of wires and the use of remotes… none of this is used in migraine…

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Bad Dreams and Waking to a Migraine

Ever have that dream where you are in crazy Los Angeles traffic and need to be somewhere but can’t get there and then… you wake up to a migraine?  Out in the desert outside of Phoenix or Las Vegas and it’s crazy hot and you cant get cool or water and you wake up to…

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Head Trauma, Whiplash, and Migraine Headaches

A traffic accident in Los Angeles?  Football injury in college?  Even the recent surge in popularity of kickboxing has produced too many head trauma patients that experience chronic migraine headaches after their injury. I recently had an interesting conversation with a woman who had “post-concussion” headaches, but when I asked if she had isolated trauma…

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Migraines and Hopelessness

A young lady was in my office recently, and like so many patients with pain from migraine headaches and/or occipital neuralgia, she had been too many many doctors before me.  We discussed the possibility of doing Targeted Injection Mapping, and she became very emotional.  She had been through so much over the past three years…

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migraine surgery denver colorado

Bringing Migraine Surgery to Denver Colorado

I”m very excited about our newest venture, which will involve bringing our successes in providing migraine relief to Denver Colorado.  This will provide a more central access point to so many migraine sufferers in the central part of the United States, including Arizona, Kansas, Wyoming, and Utah. I was fortunate enough to live and practice…

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Diagnostic nerve blocks vs Therapeutic nerve blocks

This is a quick little video to help explain the differences between using local anesthesia for a diagnostic nerve block and using Botox for a longer term therapeutic nerve block.  Please ask questions if you are interested in more information… Call us at 805-969-9004 so we can help clear things up!

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migraine headache surgery patient

The 2018 Policy Statement regarding Migraine Headache Surgery from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Plastic Surgery Research Foundation

As many now know, microvascular decompression of several nerves in the head and neck is a proven successful therapy for the relief of migraine headaches.  I was very happy to read the recent Policy Statement put forth but the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Plastic Surgery Research Foundation.  This important paper provides an…

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aimovig

Aimovig and the new CGRP drugs for migraine

Last week I did several Facebook Live “events” about the newest migraine drug Aimovig, a CGRP antagonist released last week from Amgen.  (You can see those and other videos here.)  There is much to be excited about.  Aimovig is the first drug specifically developed for migraines.  The other migraine drugs that are used for migraines…

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nerve block for migraines

Why did the nerve block from my neurologist make things worse?

A frequent question I get asked involves nerve injections that make things worse rather than better.  Many times nerves blocks work just as they are supposed to but when they don’t, patients are often left trying to figure out why???   So what happens when nerve blocks make the pain worse? Remember that nerve blocks…

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