Treatment is focused on managing lifestyle choices, headache triggers, migraine attacks and providing preventive treatments to reduce future attacks. Show
OverviewWhat is chronic migraine?Chronic migraine is defined as having at least 15 headache days a month, with at least 8 days of having headaches with migraine features, for more than 3 months. Chronic headache begins as less frequent headache episodes that gradually change into a more frequent headache pattern. Who gets chronic migraine?Chronic migraine affects between 3 and 5 percent of people in the United States. Approximately 3 percent of people who have episodic migraine transform to chronic migraine each year. Symptoms and CausesWhat causes chronic migraine?Chronic migraine develops over time due to a number of factors:
Other factors associated with chronic migraine include:
What are the symptoms of chronic migraine?Symptoms of episodic migraine and chronic migraine are the same. The difference is simply the increase in frequency of the number of headaches. Typical migraine symptoms include:
Signs an episodic migraine is transforming to a chronic migraine include:
Diagnosis and TestsHow is chronic migraine diagnosed?Your doctor will take a detailed medical history. The doctor will ask about:
Management and TreatmentHow is chronic migraine treated?Treatment of chronic migraine is focused on managing lifestyle choices and headache triggers, managing migraine attacks and providing preventive treatments to reduce migraine attacks. Lifestyle changes include:
The typical treatment plan for managing migraine attacks includes:
Preventive treatment is aimed at reducing the number of headaches. Preventive treatments include:
PreventionCan chronic migraine be prevented?Keep a daily headache diary. As soon as you notice an increase in the number of headaches you are having, see your headache specialist. Do not wait until your headaches become a daily occurrence to seek help. It is easier to halt and reverse chronic migraine if caught early. Look at the risk factors and modify those you can (see lifestyle changes above). Outlook / PrognosisWhat’s the outlook for people with chronic migraine?The hope for people with chronic migraine is to control the headache. With a good treatment plan, it is reasonable to believe that the number and severity of migraine headaches can be reduced. Many patients with chronic migraine may revert to episodes of migraine over time. For patients with chronic migraines that have not responded to previous treatments, there are other options. Some patients need more aggressive hands-on techniques such as nerve blocks and trigger point injections. Other patients – particularly those with medication overuse headaches - need to rid their body of previous medications (be detoxified) in a monitored setting, such as an infusion suite. In the infusion suite, patients receive intravenous medications that stop migraines and treat the nausea and vomiting. For patients with the most difficult migraines to treat – those not responding to any treatments, in whom detoxification efforts have not been totally effective, and patients are still using medications not helpful to improving their headache – a team approach is required. The team, consisting of healthcare professionals from neurology, psychiatry, psychology, nursing, physical therapy and social work, meet together with the patient and the patient’s family over a series of weeks to develop a plan of care and monitor progress. Patients with difficult to treat migraines should ask their doctors to refer them to facilities that offer such multi-team, patient-centered programs. Get useful, helpful and relevant health + wellness information
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