St. Louis Migraine Treatment

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE APPROACH TO CHRONIC MIGRAINE

If you need migraine treatment in St. Louis, Sharlin Health and neurology is a top choice. We specialize in providing comprehensive care and personalized treatment plans for individuals suffering from migraines. A migraine is more than just a headache. These episodes are characterized by intense pain, typically on one side of the head, along with nausea, light and sound sensitivity, and sometimes vomiting. Physical activity can worsen these symptoms. Many people suffer from Chronic Migraine, which means they experience 8 or more migraine days every month, and have some kind of headache at least 15 days every month. Each episode may last from 4-72 hours.

Here at Sharlin Health & Neurology, we offer functional chronic migraine treatment near St. Louis, MO, and can help you get free of these debilitating episodes.

WARNING SYMPTOMS OF CHRONIC MIGRAINE

Many people who have migraines experience a set of warning symptoms, sometimes known as an “aura.” An aura can include things like blind spots, flashes of light, tingling, or can even mimic symptoms of a seizure or stroke. A different type of episode, sometimes known as the “late life migraine accompaniment,” may not even have a headache as a primary symptom, and may present as a transient neurological episode. Additionally, migraines with brainstem aura can cause symptoms like double vision, slurred speech, vertigo, tinnitus, and even loss of consciousness. At our St. Louis migraine treatment clinic, we understand the various types and presentations of migraines.

GENETICS & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS PLAY A ROLE IN MIGRAINE

There are several potential etiologies of migraine, but most experts agree that it is usually a combination of genetic and environmental components, including changes in the trigeminal nerve and the brainstem. The release of certain neuropeptides, caused by these changes, may be a cause of migraine-associated pain. CGRP, a type of neurotransmitter, may also play a role in migraine pain. Other brain chemicals like serotonin may become imbalanced or drop during migraine episodes, causing further worsening of symptoms.

WHAT FACTORS TRIGGER YOUR MIGRAINE?

Sharlin Health & Neurology, a leading migraine treatment clinic near St. Louis, understands the complex triggers for migraines and can help you uncover the root causes of your episodes. Migraines have been associated with hormone imbalance, chemical exposure, alcohol, food sensitivities, weather changes, circadian rhythm changes, life stress, and other environmental aspects. We have noticed the role of the gut microbiome, and potential imbalances in the gut-associated immune system and gut-related neurotransmitter production, as factors in migraine development.

WE DISCOVER THE ROOT CAUSES OF YOUR MIGRAINE

We take a holistic and functional approach to providing migraine, cluster, and tension headache relief at our St. Louis neurology clinic and aim to get to the root cause using a scientific framework called “systems biology.” Within this is the Functional Medicine Operating System, used to uncover the reason why these conditions initially develop. Under this is the Functional Medicine Matrix and Timeline, along with Therapeutic Lifestyle Factors, and has 7 main nodes: Energy, Transport, Integrity, Defense & Repair, Communication, Biotransformation & Elimination, and Assimilation. Basing our work on this model, our neurology experts can look for cellular imbalances and help our patients make targeted changes to correct those imbalances.

If you need migraine, cluster, or tension headache relief, you can count on our St. Louis neurology clinic! Contact us today to schedule an appointment or for more information about our specialized migraine treatments!

Understand The Seven “Nodes” on the Functional Medicine Matrix

Assimilation

Please click to learn about the Assimilation node of the Functional Medicine Matrix. Assimilation refers to digestion and absorption of nutrients in the gut, as well as the health, diversity, and balance of the microbes that inhabit the digestive tract.

Biotransformation

Please click to learn about the Biotransformation & Elimination node of the Functional Medicine Matrix.Biotransformation & Elimination refers to the way in which the body handles products of metabolism, toxic elements, drugs, and other chemicals, and eliminates waste through the urine, stool, and sweat.

Communication

Please click to learn about the Communication node of the Functional Medicine Matrix. Communication refers to hormones, neurotransmitters (the chemicals nerve cells use to communicate with one another), and inflammatory mediators called “cytokines.”

Defense & Repair

Please click to learn about the Defense & Repair node of the Functional Medicine Matrix.Defense & Repair refers to chronic inflammation, how different parts of the body influence the immune system, and the factors that lead to a breakdown in the normal role of the immune system.

Energy

Please click to learn about the Energy node of the Functional Medicine Matrix. Energy refers to the way that every cell in your body creates the fuel that it needs to carry out normal biological functions.

Structural Integrity & Transport

Please click to learn about the Structural Integrity & Transport nodes of the Functional Medicine Matrix. These refer to two critical and over-lapping functions in the systems that govern how the body works.

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Consultation

Your first step is to schedule a free 15-minute telephone consultation with Callie Maggard, Brain Tune Up! Program Coordinator. Please select the time you can be reached by telephone and complete the form afterwards. These steps are critical! Because of the high volume of interest, we are unable to answer your calls or questions until you have scheduled through this process and completed the intake form.

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Program Coordinator: Callie Maggard“Thank you for your interest in our program. I look forward to speaking with you about your health conditions and how our program could potentially help change the trajectory of your health.”

My program accepts out-of-state patients. Brain Tune Up! is a 5-8 month program. In order to be accepted into my program my team and I have to see you for the two-day initial neurological evaluation in-person, but we then can customize the rest of the program in a virtual setting for patients who are traveling from far distances. This will be explained when you schedule a telephone consultation.


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