For many people suffering from chronic headaches and migraines, the condition becomes a shadow that follows them everywhere. It’s not just managing the days when pain strikes, but also the anxiety of wondering when the next episode will hit. You might find yourself avoiding triggers and stashing medication in your desk drawers and car, or missing important work meetings and social plans. It can feel as if your life revolves around managing your headache pain, rather than truly living.
At The Center for Fully Functional Health, we understand that chronic headaches and migraines can leave you feeling isolated and misunderstood by others who think you can just take some aspirin and power through. We also understand that you've likely been told there's no cure, that you'll need to manage this condition for life, or that stress is the only cause.
Our approach is different. We focus on identifying and eliminating the root causes of your headaches, while offering advanced holistic treatments that can provide lasting relief, including FDA-cleared MeRT Personalized TMS therapy.
Not all headaches are created equal, and understanding the type you're experiencing can provide important clues about underlying causes and most effective treatments:
Tension Headaches are the most common type, typically feeling like a tight band around your head or pressure at your temples and forehead. They're often triggered by stress, poor posture, eye strain, or muscle tension in the neck and shoulders. While usually mild to moderate, chronic tension headaches can significantly impact daily functioning.
Migraines are neurological events that go far beyond simple head pain. They typically involve throbbing pain on one side of the head, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Many people experience an "aura" before migraine onset – visual disturbances, tingling, or other neurological symptoms that signal an approaching episode. Migraines can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours and can be completely debilitating.
Cluster Headaches are less common but extremely painful, often described as feeling like a hot poker behind one eye. They occur in "clusters" or cycles, with multiple headaches happening over weeks or months, followed by remission periods. The pain is typically severe and burning, often accompanied by red, watery eyes and nasal congestion on the affected side.
Hormonal Headaches are closely tied to fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone, often occurring around menstruation, ovulation, or during perimenopause. These can range from mild tension-type headaches to full migraines and often follow predictable patterns related to hormonal cycles. As you age, these headaches can come on suddenly or more frequently, even if you’ve never had headaches regularly before.
Medication Overuse Headaches (Rebound Headaches) develop when pain medications are used too frequently, creating a cycle where the medication meant to relieve headaches actually starts causing them. This frustrating condition can happen with both over-the-counter and prescription pain medications, and often requires careful medical supervision to provide relief.
Most headaches are not medical emergencies. However, please seek immediate medical attention if you experience a sudden, severe headache unlike any you've had before; headache with fever and neck stiffness; headache after a head or neck injury; or sudden headache with confusion, vision changes, or difficulty speaking.
For most people with regular headaches or migraines, the pain has been part of their life for years. They learn to adjust their activities and when to anticipate attacks, without recognizing or acknowledging the toll this added strain takes on both their emotional and physical health.
Instead of focusing on avoiding triggers, it's time to investigate underlying causes if you are:
Holistic help is available that goes beyond just managing symptoms. Functional medicine treatment for headaches and migraines in Carmel, IN, goes beyond naming your symptoms to diagnosing the underlying causes and addressing them systematically and compassionately.
Rather than accepting headaches as something you'll always have to manage, the physicians at The Center for Fully Functional Health understand that chronic headaches and migraines typically result from identifiable triggers and underlying imbalances that can be addressed. Those we see frequently with integrative medicine treatment for headaches include:
As you can see, there is a long list of potential causes, and it requires a dedicated, experienced provider to help navigate the options and create the right protocol for your pain. Most patients with chronic headaches and migraines also have multiple root causes to identify, reduce, and optimize.
That’s why every patient’s care at the award-winning Center for Fully Functional Health in Carmel, IN, includes thorough appointments, comprehensive testing, and personalized care designed to treat your unique body chemistry and needs. We also offer a full suite of cutting-edge therapies that streamline your care and provide modern, holistic options.
Chronic headaches and migraines involve complex changes in brain chemistry, blood flow, and nervous system function. This neurological dysfunction often includes imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, changes in blood vessel function, and inflammation in the nervous system. Over time, the brain can become "sensitized" to triggers, meaning that stimuli that wouldn't normally cause problems begin triggering headache episodes.
Understanding the neurological component of headaches is crucial because it explains why pain medications often provide only temporary relief – they mask the pain, but don't address the underlying brain chemistry imbalances and nervous system dysfunction that create the headache cycle in the first place.
One of the most exciting advances in headache and migraine treatment is MeRT Personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), an FDA-cleared, non-invasive treatment that addresses the neurological dysfunction underlying chronic headaches and migraines.
MeRT uses magnetic pulses to gently stimulate specific areas of the brain, helping to restore normal brain wave patterns and neurological function. Unlike traditional approaches that simply block pain signals, MeRT works to retrain the brain and reduce the hyperexcitability that can lead to headache or migraine episodes.
The treatment is personalized based on your individual brain mapping, ensuring that stimulation is targeted to the specific areas of dysfunction in your brain. This precision approach often leads to more effective results than one-size-fits-all treatments.
MeRT treatment sessions are comfortable and non-invasive, typically lasting about 30 minutes. Most patients require a series of treatments over several weeks to achieve optimal results. Many patients begin experiencing reduced headache frequency and intensity within the first few weeks of treatment, with continued improvement over the course of therapy.
The treatment has an excellent safety profile with minimal side effects, and because it addresses underlying neurological dysfunction rather than just masking symptoms, many patients experience lasting improvement after completing their treatment series.
Extensive research supports the effectiveness of TMS therapy for headaches and migraines, with studies showing significant reductions in headache frequency, intensity, and medication dependence. Many patients who haven't responded well to traditional treatments find meaningful relief with MeRT therapy. The FDA clearance for TMS in headache treatment reflects the strong scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness and safety.
At The Center for Fully Functional Health in Carmel, Indiana, our approach to headaches and migraines focuses on identifying and treating the underlying causes, while also supporting your body's natural healing mechanisms. Most importantly, our physicians spend hours reviewing your medical history, listening to your concerns, and providing the caring, detailed support that is often missing from conventional headache and migraine treatment.
We work systematically to identify your specific headache triggers and underlying causes, including detailed food sensitivity testing, nutritional analysis, testing for chronic infections, environmental toxin screening, and assessment of gut health and inflammation markers.
Based on your individual test results and headache patterns, we develop targeted protocols that might include bioidentical hormone replacement to stabilize hormonal triggers, targeted nutritional supplementation with headache-specific nutrients like magnesium and riboflavin, antimicrobial protocols to address chronic infections, and detoxification support to reduce toxic burden.
In addition to MeRT TMS, we offer IV nutritional therapy with targeted nutrients for neurological support, stress management and nervous system regulation techniques, and ongoing one-on-one health coaching support to help you implement lifestyle changes that reduce headache frequency.
For patients currently on headache medications, we work collaboratively with any existing providers to optimize your treatment while addressing root causes. Many patients find that as we eliminate triggers and restore proper neurological function, they can reduce their dependence on pain medications under proper medical supervision.
You may begin experiencing fewer, less severe headaches within weeks of starting comprehensive treatment, with continued improvement as underlying causes are addressed and neurological function is restored.
Why Choose The Center for Fully Functional Health for Headache Treatments
Dr. Ellen and Dr. Scott Antoine bring a unique combination of emergency medicine experience and advanced functional medicine training to headache treatment. Their emergency background gives them expertise in recognizing serious neurological conditions that require immediate attention, while their functional medicine training allows them to identify and treat the complex underlying causes of chronic headaches.
The Center for Fully Functional Health in Carmel, Indiana, is one of the only practices in the region offering MeRT Personalized TMS therapy for headaches and migraines, combined with comprehensive functional medicine investigation of root causes. This integrated approach allows us to address both the neurological dysfunction and the underlying triggers that perpetuate the headache cycle.
We understand that chronic headaches and migraines can rob you of joy, productivity, and the ability to fully participate in life. Our goal isn't just to reduce your pain – it's to help you reclaim your life from the shadow of chronic headaches.
Don't let headaches and migraines continue to control your life. Call our supportive team at (317) 989-8463 Monday to Thursday, 8AM to 5PM Eastern, or fill out the simple form below to find out more and schedule your Initial Consult.
Schedule an Appointment Today.
The Center for Fully Functional Health® is led by a team of award-winning, internationally recognized physicians, committed to providing personalized, life-changing care.
