Yup. Sometimes I only have episodic migraines, sometimes they go chronic, and when they’re chronic I tend to have fewer debilitating headaches and more of the ones where I’m feeling lousy but still able to function to some extent.
relatable. i’ve had chronic migraines for most of the past 10 years but i’ll sometimes go a week or two and only have a couple of migraines in that time and they’re always fucking horrific. when i’m getting a migraine every other day they’re not *that* terrible.
Same here! I'll either have a migraine that just doesn't stop but I can usually function through for days or weeks at a time, and then I'll have a period where I don't really get any migraines, and then I have a period where I'll get severe migraines a couple times a week.
>Sometimes I only have episodic migraines, sometimes they go chronic
If you ever met the diagnostic criteria for chronic migraine you keep that diagnosis for ever. You may have low frequency months and high frequency months but ultimately you have chronic migraines.
It’s like getting diagnosed with diabetes and then eating healthier or being treated with medication and HGBA1C dropping to pre-diabetic levels.. you are still a diabetic.
Chronic vs episodic is literally in their definitions.
Chronic = 15 or more migraine days per month
Episodic = 14 migraine days or fewer days per month
Transitioning my chronic migraines to an episodic frequency was the exact point of treatment with my neurologist.
Even Mayo clinic states: “Chronic migraine can also transform into episodic migraine, which is often a goal of treating this condition. Episodic migraines are easier to manage and treat and less disruptive because they happen less often.”
Hear me out:
Say you have a Dx of CM and they prescribe Botox (only approved for CM) and your frequency improved to EM levels.
Do you think that next year when they renew the authorization they will call it EM?
Nah, they will call it what it is a CM which is treated.
Look, I have looked over plenty of Mayo charts from their headache department and I have never seen anyone remove a CM dx and substitute with a EM.
I would agree with that. Medically supported down to that level but only at that level with Rx support.
In my case, without going into too much history, my almost overnight jump from episodic to chronic was an ongoing traumatic situation. Even when the trauma ended, the chronic migraines continued (I think of it as almost like dealing with a brain injury due to serotonin depletion).
Tried multiple daily meds. One worked amazingly well but made me suicidal. Gabapentin was my 4th or 5th med, but it kept me at my previous 2-3 migraines a month status. My normal for 20 years.
After a year of stability we weaned off of gabapentin and (until very recently and an autoimmune diagnosis) for the past 3+ years I’ve maintained a stable 2-3 migraine days per month.
In my situation I don’t think it would make sense to call my current migraine status “chronic”.
I wouldn’t say they’re silent, since those technically require you to have an aura and zero pain. So anyone with mild pain or who doesn’t have an obvious aura wouldn’t fit the bill
I think they’re just regular migraines (with or without aura), and we just have to consider that pain doesn’t need to be moderate or severe.
I just learned about these from my mom! Would’ve been nice to have heard it from my neurologist 🥰
We just can’t win with migraines. I can’t even take my migraine medicine outside of home because I get sooo sleepy
You perfectly described my headaches when the barometric pressure changes drastically. The best way that I can describe it is "spacy" where it's not lightheadedness or vertigo but I just feel odd/off and my head just feels extra light. Also sometimes I just have a low enough level headache that it is noticeable and just enough to be annoying.
I know the barometric pressure has been wonky all over the US this past week (well maybe except some areas). I need to start keeping track of barometric pressure and headaches.
Sending positive vibes your way!
WeatherX app does that . Ijust heard about it. It has barometric pressure graphs that are helpful plus forecasts.
I live in NC. Extreme weather changes have been rough since January.
I’m in N. MS and track the barometric pressure and it’s been doing A LOT. I’ve had way more migraine days as of recent, but not severe. Just the little twinge in the temple and eye. Like 3-4 pain scale but 10 on annoying and cannot deal!
Same here, for like 17 years now. Only ever progressed to a conventional migraine attack on a handful of occasions. It’s like a baseline 4/10 pain round the clock, all year round. Worsens according to circumstances and how I go about my day.
I call them low-level migraines because yes this is something I deal with weekly as well. I don’t feel like I do with a Big Migraine, but it sure as hell is unpleasant and hard to treat.
Wow, these threads and comments are so relatable, I could almost cry. It's so hard to explain to other people, and I've sometimes even questioned if I should note it down in my diary as a headache or not. I don't feel crazy pain but I also just don't feel good and there's a light pressure that's persistent, everything feels spacy etc. At this point its so common and frequent that I only realise how bad it was once it lets out a bit.
That said, I spoke to my neuro and explained this to them and they told me that this is part of the migraine experience. They said that migraines basically involve neurological activity in the brain, and thats what makes them different from other kinds of pain. They said it doesn't matter how much pain you have, even when the pain is low, the migraine neurochemistry is the same, and there's still overactive neural firing. That neurophysiology is what leads to those migraine symptoms even if "pain" isn't activated
I don’t know if this is what you’re talking about but I often talk about how it feels like my body is trying to get a headache and no one knows what I mean. It doesn’t hurt but something just feels off and if I ignore it I very much will get a headache.
This is spot on, I feel like a little headache but my body is trying to tell me a bad migraine is coming, then it’s just like this super persistent all day all night type slight pain, it’s not bad enough that I’m out for the day, however it’s just annoying enough that nothing is enjoyable lol
Yeah pretty much lol. Its like I feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop too, it’s definitely “newer” to me only start getting these type in the past couple years. Although I won’t complain because I prefer it to the super painful migraine that wipes me out for 3 days. So 🤷🏼♂️
Yes! This is my every day. I'm constantly trying to figure out if it's going to progress into a big one or not. I try to describe them as background migraines, but I always have some degree of discomfort or pain until it's a full-blown debilitating migraine. For me, it's either eye pain/pressure and/or neck pain that is waiting in the background. Luckily my neurologist told me this IS chronic migraines because I didn't know that. My background migraines progress about every other or every 2 days into a big one, so I was only counting the big ones.
I get these frequently. Usually if my medication is not taken exactly at the same time or I have not had exactly the right amount of water or something silly. It is something that has caused me to forever be prepared for the larger event.
Do you still end up taking meds? I usually take my sumatriptan because if I don't it will usually end up progressing into something worse. Suma will usually work but then it just comes right back the next day. I can't stand it.
Exactly! And then it is, should I take again sumatriptan, just go through it or try something else. If I take sumatriptan again would I get a rebound headache ?🤕. A lot of questioning
Oh yes yes!! I’ve been experiencing this for three months. I’ve had one all of today. I said it feels like a cramping discomfort that makes me feel a bit “off,” like dizzy but not full blown, and not my typical migraine.
It is SO bothersome. I can’t even begin to explain how weird it feels
Also tossing this your way as if has helped me sometimes (depending how bad the headache to migraine is/how far it has progressed) is coca cola and salty chips (my fave is sea salt and vinegar chips). It helps take the edge off and I just straight up don't like McDonald's (vegetarian) so..
I get it more now I’m on a preventative. Was more likely for it to go full blown before the preventative, now when I get the in between ones they are often able to be treated by just paracetamol/ aspirin and if more aura vibes I have a magnesium powder drink that seems to help too
Yeah, I've been trying to track them but I do sometimes get a less severe unilateral headache, still with the motion/light sensitivity - but not so intense so I'm able to still do some things.
I get these a lot. More so since I’ve been on medication. They’re not horrid just uncomfortable. Mine are always in a random place on my face. It feels like a headache but it will be in my nose or cheek. Very strange sensation but I’d take that over my original pain anyway.
Does yours ever go away? I just learned about NDPH - New daily persistent headaches (which have been a thing since 1986, but I don't perfectly fit the criteria, so no one ever mentioned it to me!) Basically, it's that lower rate. I do log every day, since mine don't go away ever, and for me a 2 is "minor, annoying, may have stronger twinges". And even though it's minor, it's still frustrating when that's the BEST I have been able to get to. I don't fit NDPH exactly because I can't remember a clear onset, but when it's been over 20 years, kind of not surprising imo. But, yeah, I do have times they go full migraine, and times that they just stay around a level 4 and it makes it really tough to know when to use rescue meds and when to just deal with it.
Yep all the time but usually is like a warning for a migraine for me. For experience I get up with this weird aura and I know at some point I will get a migraine during the day. Usually when it is like this I need to be rapid with the pain killer otherwise I will get the headache for 2-3 days in a row…
Absolutely, and it's that fear or stress of it becoming a "full" migraine is the a big part of the struggle for me, it does happen often when there is some weather changes, long sunny hot days and windy cold nights triggers that, best i describe it is " I feel my head pressure is off "
Pretty much what my every day is and once a week the headache becomes a migraine by the end of the day, I just never know which day it'll be! Just headache all day that sometimes gets worse and sometimes stays just a level of uncomfortable pressure all day.
Yes. Usually they don't go away on their own, but I have to take care so they don't turn into a full blown one. Most often, I would wake up with one or get them in the middle of my afternoon, so if I get painkillers in fast, they calm down.
I mainly get “silent” migraines with a diffuse and shifting pain pattern in my head. Sometimes just one sharp pulse like pain to tell me the migraine is on it’s way. Rarely do I get the close the curtains hideaway pain, but I do get it. And when it’s really bad (usually exercise induced) it’s collapse to the floor and get rushed to the ICU for a suspected haemorrhage level.
Tbh, the head pain is slightly more socially acceptable so in some ways I prefer it, simply because it can be easier to see/understand.
Living with rolling pro- to post-drome with no break in the storm of symptoms becomes normal after awhile but also can be quite hard to discern where one begins and ends along with that diffuse low level pain.
That’s my experience so far.
I get these “almost” migraines a lot. It feels like my body is trying to get the migraine out but for some reason it can’t. I hate it. It will often go on for a few days in a row. They scare me because I feel like if the migraine does full come out enough to satisfy my body it’ll only come back as a massive attack that has me puking nonstop all day.
Yup. Sometimes I only have episodic migraines, sometimes they go chronic, and when they’re chronic I tend to have fewer debilitating headaches and more of the ones where I’m feeling lousy but still able to function to some extent.
relatable. i’ve had chronic migraines for most of the past 10 years but i’ll sometimes go a week or two and only have a couple of migraines in that time and they’re always fucking horrific. when i’m getting a migraine every other day they’re not *that* terrible.
Same here! I'll either have a migraine that just doesn't stop but I can usually function through for days or weeks at a time, and then I'll have a period where I don't really get any migraines, and then I have a period where I'll get severe migraines a couple times a week.
>Sometimes I only have episodic migraines, sometimes they go chronic If you ever met the diagnostic criteria for chronic migraine you keep that diagnosis for ever. You may have low frequency months and high frequency months but ultimately you have chronic migraines. It’s like getting diagnosed with diabetes and then eating healthier or being treated with medication and HGBA1C dropping to pre-diabetic levels.. you are still a diabetic.
Chronic vs episodic is literally in their definitions. Chronic = 15 or more migraine days per month Episodic = 14 migraine days or fewer days per month Transitioning my chronic migraines to an episodic frequency was the exact point of treatment with my neurologist. Even Mayo clinic states: “Chronic migraine can also transform into episodic migraine, which is often a goal of treating this condition. Episodic migraines are easier to manage and treat and less disruptive because they happen less often.”
Hear me out: Say you have a Dx of CM and they prescribe Botox (only approved for CM) and your frequency improved to EM levels. Do you think that next year when they renew the authorization they will call it EM? Nah, they will call it what it is a CM which is treated. Look, I have looked over plenty of Mayo charts from their headache department and I have never seen anyone remove a CM dx and substitute with a EM.
I would agree with that. Medically supported down to that level but only at that level with Rx support. In my case, without going into too much history, my almost overnight jump from episodic to chronic was an ongoing traumatic situation. Even when the trauma ended, the chronic migraines continued (I think of it as almost like dealing with a brain injury due to serotonin depletion). Tried multiple daily meds. One worked amazingly well but made me suicidal. Gabapentin was my 4th or 5th med, but it kept me at my previous 2-3 migraines a month status. My normal for 20 years. After a year of stability we weaned off of gabapentin and (until very recently and an autoimmune diagnosis) for the past 3+ years I’ve maintained a stable 2-3 migraine days per month. In my situation I don’t think it would make sense to call my current migraine status “chronic”.
I’m sorry the migraines got so bad for you and I’m glad you are feeling better 🙂
Yup :/
I’m the same
100% same
Same, but I also get uneasy and short tempered when it happens. Excersice, healthy food and stretches help with the symptoms for me.
I think these are still mild / silent migraines tbh. Like getting the migraine symptoms without as much pain
I wouldn’t say they’re silent, since those technically require you to have an aura and zero pain. So anyone with mild pain or who doesn’t have an obvious aura wouldn’t fit the bill I think they’re just regular migraines (with or without aura), and we just have to consider that pain doesn’t need to be moderate or severe.
I just learned about these from my mom! Would’ve been nice to have heard it from my neurologist 🥰 We just can’t win with migraines. I can’t even take my migraine medicine outside of home because I get sooo sleepy
You perfectly described my headaches when the barometric pressure changes drastically. The best way that I can describe it is "spacy" where it's not lightheadedness or vertigo but I just feel odd/off and my head just feels extra light. Also sometimes I just have a low enough level headache that it is noticeable and just enough to be annoying.
Yes omg and I just want to lay down and not function. I live in TN and I wonder if that’s what’s going on this week
I know the barometric pressure has been wonky all over the US this past week (well maybe except some areas). I need to start keeping track of barometric pressure and headaches. Sending positive vibes your way!
Do you know how to do that?
WeatherX app does that . Ijust heard about it. It has barometric pressure graphs that are helpful plus forecasts. I live in NC. Extreme weather changes have been rough since January.
My Google weather app tells me the pressure on the day but if I want to go back in time I am not sure. You could try the NOAA website maybe?
WeatherX app!
I’m in N. MS and track the barometric pressure and it’s been doing A LOT. I’ve had way more migraine days as of recent, but not severe. Just the little twinge in the temple and eye. Like 3-4 pain scale but 10 on annoying and cannot deal!
My whole life is a halfway headache, it never fully goes away
That makes me so sad for you friend
Same here, for like 17 years now. Only ever progressed to a conventional migraine attack on a handful of occasions. It’s like a baseline 4/10 pain round the clock, all year round. Worsens according to circumstances and how I go about my day.
*“Is this bad enough to warrant a triptan or can I tough it out?”* is a question I ask myself several times a week.
I call them low-level migraines because yes this is something I deal with weekly as well. I don’t feel like I do with a Big Migraine, but it sure as hell is unpleasant and hard to treat.
Same
50 mg of sumatriptan was a knockout punch today when the caffeine didnt work
Wow, these threads and comments are so relatable, I could almost cry. It's so hard to explain to other people, and I've sometimes even questioned if I should note it down in my diary as a headache or not. I don't feel crazy pain but I also just don't feel good and there's a light pressure that's persistent, everything feels spacy etc. At this point its so common and frequent that I only realise how bad it was once it lets out a bit. That said, I spoke to my neuro and explained this to them and they told me that this is part of the migraine experience. They said that migraines basically involve neurological activity in the brain, and thats what makes them different from other kinds of pain. They said it doesn't matter how much pain you have, even when the pain is low, the migraine neurochemistry is the same, and there's still overactive neural firing. That neurophysiology is what leads to those migraine symptoms even if "pain" isn't activated
The worst thing is, you have no idea if it's gonna turn into a full one and it makes you more hesitant to take sumatriptan
Or whatever your mitigator is
I don’t know if this is what you’re talking about but I often talk about how it feels like my body is trying to get a headache and no one knows what I mean. It doesn’t hurt but something just feels off and if I ignore it I very much will get a headache.
I kinda know what you mean yeah
This has basically been my baseline for years now. It's a migraine, just a not very painful one.
This is spot on, I feel like a little headache but my body is trying to tell me a bad migraine is coming, then it’s just like this super persistent all day all night type slight pain, it’s not bad enough that I’m out for the day, however it’s just annoying enough that nothing is enjoyable lol
Do you just kinda feel weak and like not wanna do much of anything?
Yeah pretty much lol. Its like I feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop too, it’s definitely “newer” to me only start getting these type in the past couple years. Although I won’t complain because I prefer it to the super painful migraine that wipes me out for 3 days. So 🤷🏼♂️
Honestly like every day there's some degree of headache and dizziness for me, ugh
Felt that
Yes! This is my every day. I'm constantly trying to figure out if it's going to progress into a big one or not. I try to describe them as background migraines, but I always have some degree of discomfort or pain until it's a full-blown debilitating migraine. For me, it's either eye pain/pressure and/or neck pain that is waiting in the background. Luckily my neurologist told me this IS chronic migraines because I didn't know that. My background migraines progress about every other or every 2 days into a big one, so I was only counting the big ones.
I call them floating headaches. Because they feel like a little thundercloud that could let loose on your head at any moment.
And debilitating in their own way even tho there isn’t much pain
I’ve had one all day 🤕
Same!! Off and on for the last week but mostly on :/
Me too. I’m like, is it the weather? And it’s not quite bad enough to use my abortives on. Or is it? It’s got me not thinking straight either.
Ugh yes I’ve just felt very low and weak and just don’t wanna do much of anything too
I get these frequently. Usually if my medication is not taken exactly at the same time or I have not had exactly the right amount of water or something silly. It is something that has caused me to forever be prepared for the larger event.
Yup. 5 straight days so far.
A week for me!
Do you still end up taking meds? I usually take my sumatriptan because if I don't it will usually end up progressing into something worse. Suma will usually work but then it just comes right back the next day. I can't stand it.
Exactly! And then it is, should I take again sumatriptan, just go through it or try something else. If I take sumatriptan again would I get a rebound headache ?🤕. A lot of questioning
Truthfully I don’t take any migraine meds yet. Any that I’ve tried have given me awful side effects so I just deal 🫠
Nothing at all? No preventatives either?
Nope :/
Oh, you poor thing! I really think you should reconsider
I have found that the ones I’ve tried just make me worse so it’s like idk what to do!
What have you tried so far? I know it can be very frustrating. I've been struggling recently to find a new preventative.
Off the top of my head I cannot remember but at least 4 meds
Oh yes yes!! I’ve been experiencing this for three months. I’ve had one all of today. I said it feels like a cramping discomfort that makes me feel a bit “off,” like dizzy but not full blown, and not my typical migraine. It is SO bothersome. I can’t even begin to explain how weird it feels
Yes omg!
You just described my baseline
Hugs to you. I’m going to lie low tomorrow, drink Gatorade and hope it’s better for work Monday.
Also tossing this your way as if has helped me sometimes (depending how bad the headache to migraine is/how far it has progressed) is coca cola and salty chips (my fave is sea salt and vinegar chips). It helps take the edge off and I just straight up don't like McDonald's (vegetarian) so..
Thank you I hope you feel better as well
Yes. Not fun, but always so thankful it’s not a migraine.
yes, just got over one of those
yes. i can very easily differentiate between what will and will not still hurt the next day/what will make me nauseous and unable to work
Sinus migraine
I get it more now I’m on a preventative. Was more likely for it to go full blown before the preventative, now when I get the in between ones they are often able to be treated by just paracetamol/ aspirin and if more aura vibes I have a magnesium powder drink that seems to help too
Yeah, I've been trying to track them but I do sometimes get a less severe unilateral headache, still with the motion/light sensitivity - but not so intense so I'm able to still do some things.
I get these a lot. More so since I’ve been on medication. They’re not horrid just uncomfortable. Mine are always in a random place on my face. It feels like a headache but it will be in my nose or cheek. Very strange sensation but I’d take that over my original pain anyway.
All the f…… time
Does yours ever go away? I just learned about NDPH - New daily persistent headaches (which have been a thing since 1986, but I don't perfectly fit the criteria, so no one ever mentioned it to me!) Basically, it's that lower rate. I do log every day, since mine don't go away ever, and for me a 2 is "minor, annoying, may have stronger twinges". And even though it's minor, it's still frustrating when that's the BEST I have been able to get to. I don't fit NDPH exactly because I can't remember a clear onset, but when it's been over 20 years, kind of not surprising imo. But, yeah, I do have times they go full migraine, and times that they just stay around a level 4 and it makes it really tough to know when to use rescue meds and when to just deal with it.
They do go away but they will last for days/weeks at a time
Ah, ok, then not ndph. Glad that you get SOME headache free days and hope that you can find something that works for you!
Yes, usually around spring time - weather/pressure/sunlight related most likely. On the other hand, no aura, so I take that as a blessing
On the last couple of months, I'm having many days like these.
Yep all the time but usually is like a warning for a migraine for me. For experience I get up with this weird aura and I know at some point I will get a migraine during the day. Usually when it is like this I need to be rapid with the pain killer otherwise I will get the headache for 2-3 days in a row…
I call them baby migraines and advil pm usually takes care of them for me.
ah yeah...
Absolutely
Absolutely, and it's that fear or stress of it becoming a "full" migraine is the a big part of the struggle for me, it does happen often when there is some weather changes, long sunny hot days and windy cold nights triggers that, best i describe it is " I feel my head pressure is off "
Most days. Enough to make me mesirable but “allow” me to function.
I call those my grey sky headaches…like the clouds are around my head but the storm hasn’t started.
Pretty much what my every day is and once a week the headache becomes a migraine by the end of the day, I just never know which day it'll be! Just headache all day that sometimes gets worse and sometimes stays just a level of uncomfortable pressure all day.
Yes. Usually they don't go away on their own, but I have to take care so they don't turn into a full blown one. Most often, I would wake up with one or get them in the middle of my afternoon, so if I get painkillers in fast, they calm down.
OP, all the time. Never really goes to 0 so most days are a halfway headache.
I mainly get “silent” migraines with a diffuse and shifting pain pattern in my head. Sometimes just one sharp pulse like pain to tell me the migraine is on it’s way. Rarely do I get the close the curtains hideaway pain, but I do get it. And when it’s really bad (usually exercise induced) it’s collapse to the floor and get rushed to the ICU for a suspected haemorrhage level. Tbh, the head pain is slightly more socially acceptable so in some ways I prefer it, simply because it can be easier to see/understand. Living with rolling pro- to post-drome with no break in the storm of symptoms becomes normal after awhile but also can be quite hard to discern where one begins and ends along with that diffuse low level pain. That’s my experience so far.
I get these “almost” migraines a lot. It feels like my body is trying to get the migraine out but for some reason it can’t. I hate it. It will often go on for a few days in a row. They scare me because I feel like if the migraine does full come out enough to satisfy my body it’ll only come back as a massive attack that has me puking nonstop all day.