Migraine VA Rating: It Comes Down to Frequency

Migraines sit under diagnostic code 8100 in the neurological section of the rating schedule. The rater asks two things about your recent history: were the attacks prostrating, and how often did they come over the last several months?

• 0% means attacks happen, but prostrating ones come less often than the 10% pace.
• 10% fits prostrating attacks averaging about one every two months. That pays $180.42 a month at 2026 rates.
• 30% fits prostrating attacks averaging about once a month, and pays $552.47 for a veteran alone.
• 50% requires more: attacks that are very frequent, completely prostrating and prolonged, and that cause severe economic inadaptability. It pays $1,132.90 for a veteran alone.

50% is the ceiling under this code. A veteran whose migraines keep them from holding any steady job can look at TDIU, which pays at the 100% rate.

The regulation never defines its key terms, so VA raters lean on the agency's adjudication manual, known as the M21-1. In plain language, it says:

Prostrating

An attack that leaves you extremely exhausted, powerless or incapacitated, with a substantial inability to carry on ordinary activities. If you have to stop what you're doing and rest or sleep it off, that is the classic example. No doctor has to order bed rest.

Completely prostrating

The stricter version used at 50%: during the attack you can do essentially nothing.

Very frequent

Prostrating attacks averaging less than a month apart over the last several months.

Severe economic inadaptability

Substantial impact on your work, which can include sick leave or unpaid time off. You don't have to be unemployed or unable to work to meet it.

One more point from the courts: the VA has to consider everything that comes with your attacks, such as nausea, dizziness and sensitivity to light and sound, along with the head pain itself.

A careful log, kept for several months, is the most useful piece of evidence most migraine claims have. For each attack, write down:

• The date, when it started and when it ended
• What you were doing and what you had to stop (left work early, pulled the car over, canceled plans)
• Where you went and what you did: dark room, lay down, slept, threw up
• Medication taken and whether it helped
• Other symptoms such as aura, nausea, or sensitivity to light and noise
• Work hours or leave you lost

Log the milder headaches too. A record that shows a mix of bad and manageable days reads as honest, and that credibility carries weight when the VA counts the prostrating ones. Share the log with your doctor so it lands in your treatment notes, and pull your employer's leave records if migraines have cost you time. A spouse or coworker who has seen you go down can add a buddy statement.

Most migraine claims follow one of a few paths:

• They started in service. Sick call visits for headaches, profiles for light sensitivity or nausea, and statements from people who served with you can show it began in uniform.
• They followed a head injury. When a service-connected TBI leaves you with diagnosed migraines, the VA rates them separately under code 8100 instead of folding them into the TBI facet score. See the TBI guide.
• Another condition caused or worsened them. PTSD, chronic neck problems and medication side effects are claimed as causes. These secondary claims depend on a medical opinion that explains the connection.

Your exam will probably fall on a day without an attack, and the examiner will rely heavily on the history you give and the records in your file. That is why the log matters so much.