In my experience, Pain Management Physicians can be good at diagnostics.

I just started with a new doctor who is a "Neurology Pain Management" doc. It is difficult to find a PMP who is also board-certified in Neurology (most are anesthesiologists), but they are out there.

What part of the country are you in? My new doc is out of UCLA; is there a teaching hospital near to where you live? That might be a good place to start.

By the way, this doctor entered the medical field because she is/was a migraine sufferer… It would be a real shame if you had to give up your chosen field of study and practice due to H/A pain, and I hope by now you have gotten some answers and been able to return to med school.

So important to have the right diagnosis from the get-go. It affects your treatment plan and everything else involved in your journey… It took decades in my case to get the right dx (I have a rare form of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which not only mimics the sx of many other pain syndromes but can be incredibly difficult to diagnose).

My dx was ultimately made clinically, by a vascular surgeon (which may be another way for you to go if you're still looking for answers, even though of course you want to avoid surgery at all costs).

Good luck to you and I hope you are feeling better.