For many Veterans, chronic headaches or migraines are more than just a painful inconvenience – they are a daily struggle that affects concentration, work performance, and overall quality of life. But when it comes to securing VA disability compensation, simply telling the VA that you have headaches often isn’t enough. The VA relies on objective, consistent evidence to determine the severity and impact of your condition.
That’s where a migraine journal becomes invaluable. Here, we’ll explore the importance of maintaining a migraine journal for your VA disability case.
What is a Migraine Journal?
A migraine journal is a detailed and ongoing record of your headaches or migraines, including their frequency, duration, severity, triggers, symptoms, and the impact they have on your daily life. This journal serves as an important record as most veterans almost never complain to their doctor every time they experience a headache or migraine.
By recording the frequency, duration, intensity, and physical effects of your headaches, you create a contemporaneous, firsthand account that complements your medical records.
What Do I Document in My Migraine Journal?
- Date and time: When the migraine started and when it ended.
- Duration: Note how long each headache or migraine lasts.
- Pain level: Rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10.
- Symptoms: Write down what you feel—throbbing pain, nausea, dizziness, vision changes, or sensitivity to light and sound.
- Triggers: Identify potential triggers, such as light sensitivity, stress, medications, change in sleep schedule sound or noise, or other factors.
- Medications: List any medications or treatments you use to alleviate your headaches and their effectiveness.
- Medication or treatment: List any medicine you took or steps you used to relieve the pain, and whether they helped.
- How it affected you: This part is especially important. Write down if you had to lie down, go into a dark room, or stop your normal activities because of the pain. If the migraine forced you to rest or miss work or errands, that shows how severe it really was.
Keeping a migraine journal is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to strengthen your VA disability claim. It provides a clear, objective record of your condition, its impact on your life, and your efforts to manage it. This kind of consistent documentation can make all the difference in showing how severe and limiting your migraines truly are. Remember to be consistent and thorough in your journaling, and seek assistance from Wolf & Brown to navigate the VA claims and appeals process effectively.
By Matthew J. Brown, Esq. VA-accredited attorney and partner at Wolf & Brown Law Offices