LIFELONG MIGRAINE PAIN

FARGO WOMAN FINALLY FINDS RELIEF as CENTER FOR PAIN MEDICINE

Words by Amanda Peterson | Photography by Dennis Krull, 5foot20 Design Lounge

— CASSANDRA ERICKSON, Center for Pain Medicine patient

Cassandra Erickson of Fargo was first diagnosed with migraines at the age of two.

As her headaches, neck pain and back pain worsened over the years, she tried an ever-growing list of medications, therapies and procedures—desperate for relief. Erickson, a 30-yearold pharmacy technician, went from doctor to doctor and clinic to clinic, even seeking help at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. She tried pain medications, physical therapy, chiropractic care, traction, holistic medicine, acupuncture, an acustaple (a tiny surgical staple placed in her ear cartilage to treat migraines), a mouth guard to alleviate jaw clenching, and dry needling (a Western medical therapy using needles similar to those used in acupuncture).

The list went on. Nothing rid her of the debilitating pain.

Last fall, a local family receiving migraine care for their teenage daughter referred Erickson to the Center for Pain Medicine. The center, opened by Dr. Majid Ghazi in 2014, offers a wide variety of personalized treatments for common painful conditions such as headaches, neck pain and back pain. Erickson immediately scheduled an appointment with Ghazi.

It was a call that would change her life.

“Dr. Ghazi sat and listened to my whole story,” Erickson says. “He didn’t interrupt me. He didn’t say my pain was fake or that I shouldn’t be feeling pain. People my whole life have been telling me this is all just in my head.”

During that appointment, Ghazi began mapping out treatments specific to Erickson’s condition. Right away, he suggested doing an occipital nerve block, an injection of medication in the back of the head to reduce inflammation in the nerves triggering her migraines. Erickson happily endured a few seconds of additional pain for what she describes as instant relief.

She returned to the clinic the next day to have the same type of block done on the other side of her head. The effect wasn’t as extreme, but still a help, she says. Though the blocks are only temporary (usually lasting a few months) and she will need them regularly, Erickson says they are key to helping her regulate the pain.

The blocks are only one part of the plan Ghazi is creating for Erickson. He’s layering several different treatments, including physical therapy, traction, Botox, dry needling, additional nerve blocks, epidurals, neurostimulation, trigger-point injections and nerve ablations (destroying a nerve to remove pain).

It’s an approach Ghazi says is crucial in helping patients.

“Some centers believe only in injections or medications,” says Ghazi. “We think patients receive benefits from a multi-disciplinary approach. Every patient has a different problem. You can’t come up with a recipe that fits everyone. You have to spend time with patients and then come up with a diagnosis and treatment.”

Even his approach with each of these techniques is different from what Erickson has experienced in the past. While two rounds of Botox treatments with different providers were very painful, Erickson says Ghazi’s were gentle and nearly pain-free.

When Erickson was ready to give up trying to treat her neck pain, Ghazi refused. He asked more questions and found out an MRI had never been done on her neck. He ordered one right away. It revealed two herniated discs which need to be treated.

Erickson credits Ghazi’s willingness to listen and overall concern for his patients with helping her finally find pain relief. She says all eight staff show the same compassion.

“Dr. Ghazi has helped me the most in the shortest amount of time than anybody in my life,” Erickson says. “He truly wants to help me and cares about me. He’s my miracle doctor.” FOR

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