Chronic migraine is more than just having very bad headaches. Migraine symptoms can make it difficult — or impossible — to do anything other than find a dark, quiet room until the migraine is over. Treating this condition focuses on reducing the frequency and severity of migraines, making them less disruptive and more treatable. 

Symptoms

Chronic migraine symptoms are the same as those of episodic migraines. Chronic migraines simply last longer or happen more often. Chronic migraine also involves headaches.

To receive this diagnosis, you must have:

• At least 15 days in a month where you experience a headache or migraine. This must happen for at least three months.
• At least eight days per month where your headaches include migraine symptoms or features. This must happen for at least three months.

Migraines symptoms

As mentioned, migraines aren't the same as headaches, and they can take different forms. The symptoms you experience from migraine to migraine can also vary. Migraines happen in up to four stages (but not every migraine involves all four):

: This is a pre-migraine stage. You can often feel subtle differences that hint that a migraine is forthcoming.

: These are symptoms that happen as a migraine disrupts different areas of your brain.

: This is the pain stage of a migraine.

: This is when you feel the aftereffects of a migraine. A common way to describe it is like a "migraine hangover."

With chronic migraine, your symptoms must meet the following criteria:

Migraine without aura (must last between four hours and 72 hours)

A headache phase that meets at least two of the following criteria:

• Pain on one side (left or right) of your head.
• Pain that has a pulsing or pounding feel.
• Pain that's moderate or severe.
• Pain that worsens with even basic levels of activity (such as walking or using stairs) or makes you avoid activity.

A headache phase that involves at least one of the following:

• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
• Both light sensitivity (photophobia) and sound sensitivity (phonophobia).

Migraine with aura

One or more of the following types of aura symptoms:

• Visual (flashing lights, haze, zig-zag-like areas around the center of your vision or other vision changes).
• Touch (tingling or numbness).
• Speech/language (difficulty speaking or understanding what others say).
• Motor (hemiplegia, which is one-sided weakness or paralysis, affecting your body and/or face).
• Brainstem (loss of coordination, balance issues, vertigo, tinnitus or digestive problems like diarrhea or constipation).
• Retinal (one-sided blindness, either partial or total, or shimmering areas).

At least three of the following criteria:

• At least one aura symptom spreads gradually over five minutes or longer.
• Two or more aura symptoms in succession.
• Each aura symptom lasts between five minutes and one hour.
• At least one aura symptom is one-sided.
• At least one aura symptom with positive symptoms ("good" means the symptoms add an effect; negative symptoms cause you to partly or completely lose the affected ability).
• A headache phase that occurs at the same time or within 60 minutes after an aura.