Good headache neurology is not what is missing here. A cervical exam and a block is.

HEADACHE CLINIC · ST. LOUIS

This St. Louis headache clinic is for people whose diagnosis is settled but whose headaches nothing has controlled. It adds the cervical (neck) exam and image-guided nerve blocks. This metro has plenty of headache neurology, but those two are thinly covered.

The clinic is at 12174 Natural Bridge Rd, Suite 304, next to DePaul Hospital, off the junction of I-270 and I-70 and west of the airport. Free parking at the door, and the room can be kept dark.

What does this St. Louis headache clinic offer?

St. Louis has good headache neurology. A university neurology service, two hospital headache programs, a pediatric clinic and several private neurology practices all serve this metro. If your problem is an unclear diagnosis, you should use them.

What is thinly covered is the next stage. The diagnosis is settled. Two or more preventives have failed. And nobody has examined your neck or offered an image-guided nerve block. That is an interventional pain question, not a diagnostic one. It is what this practice is for. The distinction in full.

How far is the clinic from my town?

• Maryland Heights — about 11 minutes
• Hazelwood — about 11 minutes
• Creve Coeur — about 15 minutes
• St. Charles — about 15 minutes
• St. Peters — about 20 minutes
• Town & Country — about 21 minutes
• Chesterfield — about 25 minutes
• O’Fallon — about 26 minutes

All eighteen towns we serve, with drive times.

Location matters more for headache than for most conditions. That is because the appointment you can actually reach on a bad day is the one that gets used. Free surface parking at the door and no parking garage count for a lot when light and movement are part of the problem.

Who is this headache clinic for?

Two patterns lead. The first is people stuck in the emergency room loop. They have been more than twice this year, with no preventive plan. And they have a growing sense that the visits are being read a certain way. The second is people who have been managed with abortives alone for years. They have quietly crossed into medication overuse without anyone naming it.

Both groups tend to arrive sorry. Neither has anything to apologize for. Both are the expected result of a system that treats attacks and does not write plans.

The occupational pattern this corridor produces

The airport and the I-270 distribution corridor shape what comes through the door. Rotating shifts, night work and meals taken whenever the shift allows are common here. All three act on headache the same way. They throw off sleep timing and blood sugar. Those are two of the inputs a migraine brain handles least well.

Now add the money driver that keeps the loop closed. The shift cannot be covered. So every attack gets medicated early and hard, because losing the day is not an option. That is the local version of how episodic headache becomes chronic. A plan that ignores the shift pattern does not survive a month of it.

Insurance and access

Coverage varies by plan and by procedure. Our staff will check yours before anything is scheduled. One thing worth knowing in advance: a prior authorization is an approval to proceed, not a promise of payment. If a service is not covered, you will be told before it happens, not after.

Questions about coming here

Where is the clinic?

12174 Natural Bridge Rd, Suite 304, St. Louis, MO 63044 — next to DePaul Hospital, off the I-270 and I-70 junction. Free parking at the door. Contact details and how to book.

Do you take my insurance?

Our staff will verify your plan before anything is scheduled. Ask when you book. Ask about any procedure that has been suggested, not just the office visit.

Insurance and prior authorization goes through it in detail: an authorization is permission to proceed, not a promise of payment.

Do I need a referral?

No. You can book directly, and you do not need to leave any other clinician’s care to be seen here.

To book, call, text, or pick a time.

Is this the same as Headache Express?

Same physician and the same standards, at a different address. Headache Express is our other St. Louis office. It has the detail on single conditions and procedures. This site is about the decision that comes first.

How quickly can I be seen?

Call or text and our staff will tell you the current availability. If you have any of the findings on the red flag page, do not wait for an appointment.

Where can I find a migraine specialist in St. Louis?

St. Louis is well supplied with headache neurology: a university neurology service, two hospital headache programs, a pediatric clinic and several private practices. If your problem is an uncertain diagnosis, use them. Maybe the diagnosis is settled, two or more preventives have failed and nobody has examined your neck. Then this clinic next to DePaul Hospital is built for that next step.

What is the best doctor to see for headaches?

The one whose next step matches your situation. If the diagnosis is uncertain, that is neurology. If the diagnosis is settled and preventives have failed, it is an interventional pain physician. That doctor will examine the neck and the occipital nerves. When the exam supports it, they will offer an image-guided nerve block. A sudden or different headache goes to the emergency department.

Is this a neurology headache clinic?

No. This is an interventional pain practice. It works alongside neurology, not in place of it. Diagnosis belongs with neurology. What this clinic adds is the step after that. It offers a cervical exam and image-guided nerve blocks for people whose diagnosis is settled but whose headaches nothing has controlled. You do not need to leave anyone else’s care to be seen here.

More about how this practice works

• What happens at a headache clinic
• What to bring
• Headache specialist or neurologist?
• How many days did you lose last month?
• When to go to the ER
• Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda