Individuals suffering with headaches don’t have to go through life dealing with the pain.
Jesus Martinez, MD, sees patients dealing with a range of neurological issues, including those who suffer with headaches. He sees patients at Regional One Health’s Multispecialty Care Clinic where he works with a team of providers who offer a person-centered approach to care. Dr. Martinez guides patients suffering with headaches and enables them to get control of their condition.
“It’s more important to find what stops the next headache from coming,” he said. “That’s the fine tuning to find what works for you to cut down the number of headaches, or if you have them maybe they won’t be as severe.”
“I think information and education empowers the patient to better manage their problem,” he said. “It’s not just me telling them to take this or that, but how to avoid situations to prevent headaches.
“It depends on symptoms, but a person with headaches taking pain meds more than twice a week needs to be seen by a doctor,” he continued. “You can be helped so you don’t have to take so many pills. That’s the patient with a simple issue who goes from doctor to doctor. But most others with symptoms like passing out, weakness, getting episodes of abnormal sensations or losing vision can be straight forward nervous system issues.”
If a person has two or more headaches per week they need preventative medication, Dr. Martinez said. It’s important to learn what will stop the next headache. Dr. Martinez doesn’t treat the pain, he searches for the cause of the headaches to prevent them from occurring.
“It’s more important to find what stops the next headache from coming,” he said. “That’s the fine tuning to find what works for you to cut down the number of headaches, or if you have them maybe they won’t be as severe.”
Neurologist Jesus Martinez sees patients at Regional One Health’s East Campus Multispecialty Care Clinic.
The later in life a person develops recurring headaches the more worrisome it is, Dr. Martinez said.
“You may still have migraines but after age 50 we want to look to make sure we’re not missing something else,” he said. “It could be an inflammatory issue, tumor or blood vessel abnormality. Patients with migraines have been known to have an increased risk for strokes.”
Dr. Martinez said he enjoys being part of the Multispecialty Care Clinic where he has the opportunity to work with other practitioners in a range of specialties to provide the best care for the patient. The clinic is staffed with medicine services such as internal medicine, cardiology, endocrinology, nephrology, neurology and rheumatology. It’s a one-stop shop for a range of primary and specialty care needs.
“We have other providers here so if I need to ask an internist to consult or a rheumatologist – and there are very few of them in town – I have that here,” he said. “It’s beneficial for the patient.
“I had a gentleman here recently for something and he told me about swelling in his right ankle. I decided to send him over for an ultrasound and we discovered a blood clot. He didn’t have to drive somewhere else. We could take care of it in the same building.”