By Whitney Munro

 

My name is Whitney Munro, and I am a wife and a mom of 3 boys, and I work at Oak Trace, formally Fairview Village, as a Wellness Coordinator/Trainer. It is here where I have 173 older adults depending on me. With the pace of a hectic life I'm sure many of you reading can relate to, I have no time at all to get a cold, let alone suffer with any kind of chronic headache, but on September 2 of this year my life seemed to stop.

 

Allow me to backtrack. All had been going well in my life. Sure, I suffered from headaches, some worse than others. When they were bad…they were really bad.  Knowing that shoving this kind of pain under the rug doesn't make you look like superwoman, but rather makes you bitter towards your loved ones at work and at home, I went to the doctor to get help. What did I get? Not much. I was written a prescription and sent on my way. I did what I was told, took what I was told…and suffered through more headaches. Many times I went back, and I continued to diligently listen to the doctor's advice. I changed my diet, reduced the stress in my life, eliminated allergies, got my vision checked, made sure to get adequate hours of sleep…only to end up hearing, "It is probably due to your menstrual cycle." Ugh!

 

So what did I do? I gave up. I thought I had no choice. Life went on with my family and I didn't want them to suffer from the consequences of my headaches. So between auras I would drive to work, help with homework, fix dinner, and then hopefully fall asleep at night. But behind closed doors, I would let down this "feel good façade" and would be throwing up in a bag or Starbucks cup.

 

Now, getting back to where my life changed. September 2, 2011, I did not think my life could go on much longer. I had been suffering with the king of headaches for at least 2 weeks. It wouldn't let go of me. It was attached to me like some kind of a death sentence. Through my tears, my mom told me she found the name of Dr. Suwan. I called immediately hoping that the office would not be closed with the up and coming Labor Day weekend. They were open and, thank goodness, they said I could come in right away. My heart was pounding during the drive, hoping and praying that maybe just maybe this might be it, that Dr. Suwan may hold the knowledge that I needed to enjoy life to its fullest.

 

I dragged myself into her office, and I was quickly seen by Dr. Suwan and immediately felt comforted. Was it an aura, or was there really a bright light around her? Seriously. She took great care of me and prescribed the latest treatments to prevent these occurrences. And the best part was, during my appointment, Dr. Suwan was able to completely eliminate my headache. She treated my headache on the spot, and now it's almost 7 weeks later and I still have had no headache whatsoever.

 

I will keep up with appointments with Dr. Suwan and even drop in to say "hello." She is unlike any doctor I have ever met, and she literally has made me myself again.

 

I think it is very important to remember that if you are like me and suffer from any kind of chronic headache pain, then you really need to see a specialist. If you have a chronic lung problem, you could see your primary physician, but you really need a pulmonary specialist. The same is true if you are affected with heart issues. Again, seeing your primary physician is fine, but of course you will be seeing a heart specialist. Chronic headache pain falls under the same category and should be treated the same way. Make sure you see a specialist, and may I suggest Dr. Suwan.

 

Dr. Nesreen Suwan is Loyola-trained and American Board certified in Neurology and Pain Medicine, with extra certification in headache medicine and Botox treatment. Dr. Suwan specializes in treatment of headaches, migraines and fibromyalgia. She is a highly recognized headache specialist and a nationally known speaker in her field.

For a consultation please call (630)420-8080 or visit http://controlchicagopain.com.