Headaches & Migraines

Migraines and headaches are common. Three billion people suffer from headaches worldwide. Of those 3 billion, 1 billion have migraines. Migraine headaches are considered by the World Health Organization to be one of the top causes of disability worldwide.

Neurologists frequently treat headache sufferers. Neurologists are doctors trained in diagnosing and treating disorders of the brain, spinal cord, muscles and nerves. In general, during medical school, students get only a few hours of training in headache disorders. Most doctors get no additional training in headache. Your general neurologist may have very little formal headache training. This despite the fact that headaches are so common that 1 out of 10 general doctor visits are for the complaint of headache. There are less than 1500 headache specialists in the United States, many states do not even have a board certified headache specialist.

For most headache sufferers, those that have four or more headache days a month, it is best for them to see a Headache Specialist. Neurological headache specialists have additional, extensive training in all types of headache (of which there are about 200), have done clinical research in diagnosing and treating headaches correctly and with the proper medications.

Studies have shown that less than 25% of all migraine suffers get the proper diagnosis and treatment for their headache condition. For those that suffer from other types of headache that number drops to less than 10%. Imagine, 90% of headache sufferers go on through life suffering from incorrectly diagnosed and untreated, disabling headaches. Remember, 2 out of 3 headaches are not migraines. Generic “bad headaches” are all to common and have nothing to do with migraine.

Dr. Daniel Kassicieh is a dual board certified neurologist. He has had years of training, research and clinical experience in diagnosing and treating all types of headache. His osteopathic background allows him to diagnose and treat other types of headaches such as cluster headache, cervicogenic headaches, occipital neuralgia and cervicalgia. All of these are different types of severe headache that are distinctly not migraines and will not respond to migraine medications.

Dr. Kassicieh has done many clinical research trials for headache and migraine medications. He has written and lectured extensively on current trends in diagnosing and treating all type of headache disorders. His expertise is frequently sought out to give presentations to doctors and the general public on migraine diagnosis and new therapies. As a headache specialist, Dr. Kassicieh is recognized by his peers as being an authority and expert in headache diagnosis, treatment and management.

Many individuals, you maybe, have struggled with frequent headaches. You have “taken everything and nothing help.” The most common cause of this problem is having the wrong headache diagnosis and thereby not getting the proper treatment. In other words, the wrong diagnosis causes the wrong treatment which results in the patient having continued headaches and suffering. With over 200 types of headaches and a major shortage in headache specialists, it is easy to see how so many headache sufferers continue to have problems. Additionally, nany patients suffer from more than one type of headache, each requiring different treatments to have a great outcome.

Why You Should See Dr. Kassicieh for Your Headaches:

1. You have no quality of life

a. You are sick more time than you are feeling well.

b. You are missing quality time with friends and family.

C. People around you are sick of you being sick with headache all the time

2. You cannot work or go to school effectively

A. Missing too much work – job is at risk

B. You have to miss school frequently due to being sick, in bed, maybe vomiting with your recurrent headaches

C. On the verge of having to drop out of school due to headaches

3. You have tried “All The Treatments” and still have severe headaches

A. You have seen several doctors, neurologists, chiropractors and even acupuncturist.

B. The medications you have tried do not help

C. You are taking daily, over-the-counter analgesics and still feel poorly.

D. You find yourself repeatedly going to the Emergency Room but they do not help you.

E. Have had several CT or MRI brain scans that “don’t give you the answer.” Hint: they almost never do.

At Florida Headache Center, Dr. Kassicieh gets the specific details of the symptoms of you headache and other problems you have had with headaches, the list of medications you have tried, review your MRI scan (if you have had one) and then does a detailed neurological and skeletal exam. He will then explain to you what type(s) of headache you have and what the specific treatment is for each. He does not prescribe any narcotics or pain killers but rather headache specific medications to control and prevent you headaches.