Treatment for Headaches and Facial Pain on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Singing River has expanded its services to offer specialized care for children and adults who experience headaches and facial pain with the arrival of Johnny Sanabria-Lopez, MD, a board-certified neurologist with an additional certification in Headache Medicine by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. Before joining Singing River, Dr. Sanabria-Lopez served as Chief of Neurology at Keesler Air Force Base Medical Center in Biloxi.
Dr. Sanabria-Lopez recently spoke during Singing River Health Talk to Ricky Mathews about his practice.
“When you talk to people about what it is you do, how do you talk about it?”
I describe myself as a neurologist with a headache and facial pain subspecialty. Overall, I see all kinds of neurologic conditions, but I have a special focus on headache and facial pain, most commonly migraines.
“What did you experience at Keesler that made you decide that you wanted to stay in the community?”
There’s an increasing headache population here on the Gulf Coast, both in Florida and here in Mississippi, for some reason. My best thought would be the constant fluctuation of barometric pressure with all the unexpected weather changes. I saw an opportunity to be able to help a lot of people and provide them with the best possible quality of life, and that’s why I decided to stay in the area.
“Can headaches be debilitating for someone?”
Yeah, definitely. Absolutely.
There’s nothing more rewarding than treating a patient having 30 days of headaches out of 30 days of the month for many consecutive years, and then, over time, you see that improvement, you see that progress—that patient starts having a better quality of life, is able to go participate in outdoor activities, is able to attend their grandkids’ graduation, you name it. There’s nothing more rewarding than that for me. That’s why I decided to pursue that specific subspecialty career.
“When should a patient come on in and see you?”
There’s not a black or white answer for that. I will say once the pain, including facial, neck, or head pain starts impacting functionality, starts impacting quality of life, that’s when you should come see me.
Patient education is actually one of the most essential components of that first visit. We have to set up realistic expectations for how the treatment will work over time.
It’s important to mention that I don’t only see adults. I see a fair number of pediatric patients. I have 10- and 13-year-old kids that I do Botox injections on. It’s so highly rewarding seeing them be able to go to school and miss fewer days.
Did You Know?
Nearly 1 in 10 children experience recurrent headaches due to migraine, which cause significant impairment in school performance and quality of life.1 Creating a migraine action plan for your child can help ease their symptoms and miss less school.
“What advancements in technology are available for patients?”
There are multiple combination therapies that can be combined with Botox. They have an additive effect, so they work synergistically. They’re kind of a dynamic duo.
The mainstay of chronic migraines is Botox injections, nerve blocks, trigger points for neck pain, or what we call neck-related headaches. We also have infusions and monthly injections.
So, in terms of effectiveness, I will say most of them are equally effective by themselves. It’s just patient preference. Ultimately, they get to decide if I pursue a more aggressive approach. That’s when I start combination therapy, and that has given me such great results.
“Does being bilingual help you in your practice?”
Yeah, absolutely. Especially here on the Gulf Coast with the increasingly diverse community that we have, I can be an asset in that aspect and communicate in both English and Spanish, so [I can help] those patients that may have a language barrier.
Get Treatment for Your Headaches at Singing River
If migraines, tmj, or other types of facial pain are affecting your qualify of life, you can see a board certified neurologist right here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast who specializes in headache medicine. Have your provider refer you to Dr. Johnny Sanabria-Lopez and make an appointment to see him at the Singing River Neurology offices in Ocean Springs or Gulfport.
