Locations
Office
San Diego
About
Bio
I'm a neurologist specializing in pain medicine. My medical training included top programs including Harvard, Einstein, UCLA, and the University of Michigan. I live in San Diego with my wife and our yellow lab.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Pain Management
Licenses
United States: California, Massachusetts
Doctor Q&A
122 Answers
36 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 37-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Ignore: Using acute migraine meds more than 2-3 times a week risks medication overuse headaches.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Helps some people : At high doses, 21 to 24 mg, it helps some people. It effects circadian rhythm, which is involved in cluster headache. It isn't the most effective clus... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed Oct 11, 2021
A 60-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Many options: There's always more medicines that you haven't tried; pain psychology techniques like biofeedback, CBT, and mindfulness meditation; electrical stimula... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed Oct 11, 2021
A 29-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Doubtful: Vitamin B2 shouldn't cause constipation. But magnesium is helpful for many patients' constipation. You can increase the magnesium to twice a day if us... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Primary Stabbing HA: Primary Stabbing Headache (or ice pick headache) usually just lasts a second and is so brief that patients don't want medicine. They just want to know... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Broad differential : One possibility is myofascial pain, but would need more history to give more info and develop a treatment plan.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed Oct 11, 2021
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Need an exam: Sorry to hear, that sounds miserable. You need a full history and exam to determine the cause, which will then determine the treatments. Good luck!
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Several things: The urine question is likely separate from the others. Feel free to consult to discuss treatment of your migraines and leg pain.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
You're too young: In a 36 year old female, headache on one temple is much more likely to migraine, one of the hemicranias, or temporomandibular joint dysfunction. You'r... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Could be sciatica: Sciatica can certainly last for 4 weeks, but other things can cause pain in one leg only. You should see your doctor for a full evaluation.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Likely migraines: Cluster headaches are headaches on one side of the head with eye tearing and/or nose running on that same side of the head that make you agitated and ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 55-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
No: The two aren't related. I'm curious about your question, though. Has a doctor diagnosed you with these, or did you google symptoms and come to these d... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Different procedures: Lumbar sympathetic blocks are a more common procedure to perform for CRPS. They help to temporarily silence the sympathetic nerves involved with the r... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Cutaneous allodynia: Throbbing unilateral pain is usually migraine. When a migraine goes on for a while without effective treatment, you can develop "cutaneous allodynia,"... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Many: Many women find that migraines improve during the second and third trimesters!
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Primary Stabbing HA: Is most likely diagnosis, other possibilities include SUNCT/SUNA and trigeminal neuralgia. While medicines such as indomethacin and melatonin can be u... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed Oct 11, 2021
A 17-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
See neurologist: Do you have eye redness or tearing or nasal stuffiness on the right? Normal MRI suggests that this isn't anything dangerous, so I suspect paroxysmal h... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Sorry to hear: Sounds like you've been going through a rough time lately, including going to the emergency room. You should establish care with a neurologist for you... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
It raises questions : That imaging should make your neurologist question whether the nerves might be affected somewhere other than the neck. Maybe in the thoracic outlet, b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Cutaneous allodynia: When a migraine goes on for a while without effective treatment, you can develop "cutaneous allodynia," which is when your skin becomes sensitive to t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Carotid dissection: Is one cause of neck pain on one side of the neck that shouldn't be missed. It can cause a stroke, so if you can call your doctor for a carotid ultras... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 55-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Safe: Seratonin syndrome is very rare, and many patients use those medicines together, even at higher doses, safely. Buspar (buspirone) may need to be used ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Don't worry: Have you heard of Neti pots? Many people clean out their sinuses daily using warm water poured out of Neti pots into their noses.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Tylenol (acetaminophen)...save it: Fioricet has Tylenol (acetaminophen) (and 2 other ingredients, butalbital and caffeine) in it, so the Tylenol (acetaminophen) may help your back. Save... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 18-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Caffeine?: Sometimes at your age school, work, and life demands lead to people becoming sleep deprived and increasing their caffeine use. This could cause the sy... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Good: The brain has gray matter on the outside and white matter on the inside, and when your brain is healthy you can see the differentiation between the tw... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Migraine?: Do you get migraines? They can cause light sensitivity, nausea, and dizziness. Tiredness can trigger them, or they can make you feel tired. Feel bette... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Numbness is worrying: Since you mention right arm numbness, this might not be muscular and might be neurologic. You should see a neurologist.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Start w/ dental exam: Sounds very unpleasant, but hopefully you can get to the bottom of this. The most common cause of pain like you're describing is dental pain, so you s... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 60-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Ask your surgeon(s): They'll review your imaging with you and discuss your options. But before further surgeries, you mention physical therapy and cymbalta, (duloxetine) b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Migraine and stroke: Do you have aura with your migraines? The stroke risk is increased if you have migraine with aura and use estrogen-containing birth control. And the s... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 20-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Patient H.M.: H.M., or Henry Molaison, is one of the most famous cases in medical history. He had both of his mesial temporal lobes removed in an attempt to cure hi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
More likely migraine: Migraine can have visual effects and often people with migraine and TMJ disorder (and vice versa). MS is very different.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
IIH: It's a disorder where elevated pressure in the head can cause vision loss & headache. Left-sided headaches suggest migraine more than IIH. If IIH,... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed Oct 11, 2021
A 45-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Yes, but: Among NSAIDs, there's indomethacin suppositories, toradol intramuscular injections and sprix nasal spray. These might irritate your stomach, but shoul... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 50-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
For: It's prescribed all the time for this purpose, level A evidence. But might not be my first choice for someone with asthma.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed Oct 11, 2021
A 63-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Many: Many medicines for anxiety, you can discuss with primary care or psychiatry. Works best together with talking to a therapist. Good luck!
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 58-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Amitriptyline drowsy: Amitriptyline I presume is prescribed for your headaches. Amitriptyline may cause drowsiness, which is why patients usually take it at night. The part... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 16-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
No: But it can give information about heart disease, for which smoking is a risk factor. If you are a smoker, please discuss quitting with your doctor. Qu... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Ignore: Keep a headache diary for a month before your appointment! Include triggers and medications used.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
See a neurologist: It sounds like you may be experiencing paresthesias, and they can be a very uncomfortable feeling! If in part of one arm, it may be due to nerve compr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Yes: Anxiety is known to be a risk factor for episodic (infrequent) headaches turning into chronic (frequent) headaches. With treatment for anxiety and hea... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Imaging causing Qs: Psychiatric diagnoses aren't made by imaging tests such as SPECT. Please discuss these results with the doctor who ordered the test and with your psyc... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
See a doctor: Thanks for messaging. Your description points to two nerves, C5 and C6. Your doctor will think about common conditions, but also thoracic outlet syndr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 17-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Go to ER, police: I'm so sorry to hear. You had a concussion, and possibly other injuries as well. You are 17 years old, and what happened sounds like a criminal act. P... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 26-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Likely migraine: Those can be symptoms with migraines.
He is having more than 3 migraines a week, that's an awful lot of migraines. Please encourage him to see a neuro... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Migraine: Can cause neck and shoulder pain as well as skin tenderness (cutaneous allodynia). Treatments are different once you get to the point of cutaneous all... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed Oct 11, 2021
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
You get migraines?: Sounds pretty unpleasant, sorry to hear what you've been experiencing. Vertigo has a specific meaning, when the room feels like it is spinning. The sy... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old member asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
See a dentist: Sounds awfully unpleasant, have you been evaluated by your dentist? They can examine you and determine whether there's treatments, exercises, etc that... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old male asked:
Dr. Nathaniel Schusteranswered
Specializes in Pain Management
Need an eval: New unilateral headache and ear pressure could be a primary headache disorder, but secondary causes should also be excluded. Tumors are more likely to... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
1.4k viewsReviewed Oct 11, 2021
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
3
Recommendations
116
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Jun 21, 2016
He has excellent knowledge on headache medicine.He takes a lot of time to study the treatment history of the patient and pointed towards a diagnosis which no doctor had mentioned.I fully recommend him
HealthTap member
Apr 3, 2016
Dr. Schuster is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2016 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Apr 7, 2016
Dr. Schuster is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2016 #virtualflower5
HealthTap member
This made me feel good. Thanks! Hi Dr. Nathaniel Schuster thank-you for answering my question good to mention Asthma for others to see i am diagnosed with seasonal asthma but have been able to take20m...Read More
HealthTap member
This made me feel good. Thanks! Thank you for your kind words and offer. The spasms are finally subsiding as time goes by, and I have gone back to the recommended use of Skelaxin. It usually works fin...Read More
HealthTap member
Thank you for your time. I think I didn't explain correctly. It's most definitely a fluid, like carbonated water. My friend has Chiare and it sounds like that pressure release almost.
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
University of Michigan Medical School, MI
Graduated 2011MD
Residency
RONALD REAGAN UCLA MEDICAL CENTER
Awards
Research Grant, Migraine Research Foundation
Research Grant, Association of Migraine Disorders
Graduation with Distinction in Research, University of Michigan Medical School
Affiliations
American Academy Of Neurology
American Headache Society
American Society Of Interventional Pain Physicians
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