For anyone who suffers from a medical condition, being under the care of the right doctor is as crucial as being given the proper medication.
Migraineurs are no exception, much more so because migraine is a complex disease and could be very painful and debilitating when misdiagnosed or left untreated.
Moreover, migraine is chronic and will not go away after a single visit and a lot of time and money will be spent for the treatment.
If the treatment is to be a success, finding the right migraine doctor is one of the very first steps that a migraine sufferer must make.
What makes a good migraine doctor? This is a question that every migraineur must address but one which does not have quite a simple answer.
There are different levels and types of medical care in the treatment of migraine.
When the patient first decides to see a doctor about the headaches he is having, he normally goes to his family doctor.
Family doctors are oftentimes general practitioners of medicine but these are the doctors that patients are very comfortable with and who are knowledgeable about their patients' medical histories.
However, migraine treatments usually do not end with the family doctor.
The nature of the disease requires that a specialist be consulted.
A neurologist is one migraine doctor that patients would be referred to, who specializes in conditions affecting the brain.
Being a specialist, he could also better diagnose the disease since he is more familiar with migraine and its different types.
In addition, he is updated on the latest forms of treatment for brain diseases and could recommend the most appropriate one.
However, since the field is highly specialized, neurologists might choose to deal only with those patients who have severe migraines and refuse to treat those suffering from milder ones.
Aside from the neurologist, migraineurs could also seek help from headache specialists, a physician who specializes in migraines and headaches.
Although not as specialized as a neurologist, a headache specialist can still provide up-to-date diagnosis and treatments.
Since he treats both migraines and headaches sufferers, he will be able to tell the difference between the two even if the symptoms are similar; and, his services would not be as expensive as the neurologist.
A disadvantage though is that it will not be easy to determine his credentials because accreditation is not required for a headache specialist.
To be on the safe side, it would be best to consult only those that are recommended by another trusted doctor, friends or other family members.
As essential as the medical knowledge of a migraine doctor is his approach in providing treatment.
Aside from being knowledgeable, he must be caring, willing to listen to the patient's concerns and someone who can be trusted.
Migraine is a complex disease and there is no blueprint for doctors to follow that provides a cure for all.
Each migraineur is unique and so will the treatment.
Hence, developing a comfortable doctor-patient relationship is imperative.
This is the only way of making sure than an effective and suitable treatment will be arrived at.