In America, our VA system sets up specific healthcare services for military veterans. There is a general societal agreement that those who represent our country in the military deserve a high caliber of healthcare and that they should have easy access to medical experts and healthcare resources.
With this in mind, migraine headaches are one of the most common health conditions reported to VA doctors, as well as a common diagnosis made in the general population of the United States.
Migraines affect one in four American households. They affect 18% of American women, and 6% of American men. Migraines are most common in people ages 18 to 44.
Why is it so important to talk about migraine care and treatment?
One reason is because of the commonality of this kind of health condition, but it is also important because chronic migraine can be a crippling, disabling condition. Migraines can impact your ability to work and spend time in social activities dramatically.
Military veterans can be at greater risk of suffering from migraine headaches for several reasons. Many of them may encounter challenges in the field, in combat situations, or elsewhere. Others may suffer from inhaling dangerous chemicals, for example, jet fumes on board an aircraft carrier, or in some cases, chemicals like the “agent orange” cocktail so infamous in the Vietnam War era.
With that in mind, contributing triggers resulting in conditions like migraines should be carefully considered by your healthcare team.
Evaluating Migraines
In order to figure out how to compensate migraine sufferers, the ,,VA system promotes a tiered or staged approach. Migraine treatment will get up to 50% compensation depending on the severity of symptoms and some additional factors.
One key factor in this type of VA evaluation is that evaluators make their conclusions based on several facts to include the number of prostrating attacks over time.
A ,,prostrating attack is a significant chronic migraine situation where the sufferer experiences some degree of disability during the migraine attack. To “prostrate” means to lay prone: on the floor, or on a bed, etc. So, if a migraine “knocks somebody out” for a period of time, where they cannot stand or sit up, that is considered to be a prostrating attack.
Help with Medical Consulting
At ,Prestige Veteran Medical Consulting, we have assisted many veterans in their endeavors to show a link or “nexus” between their service and their medical conditions. We have the technical expertise to review your files and assist you in the Independent Medical Opinion process as it relates to your condition. Let us know if you are interested in having an expert review your files regarding your headache condition!
