Hi kimberly,

I'm not sure about disability, but am certain there are things that can be done to help you with your head pain. Let's see if I can give you some helpful information that may get you started on a path to patient empowerment and knowledge. What do you say> opoint you in the directionwhat I can do to help, how does that sound?

One of the most important things is to get an accurate diagnosis. This will simplify matters and make it easier for you to get information and treatment. Doctors usually go by the gold standard for diagnosis, the International Headache Society's International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition (ICHD-II.) For purposes of treatment, learning about your Migraines, being able to get care if you're away from home, etc., you need a full diagnosis of what type of Migraine you have. You can read more about this in The Type of Migraine Does Matter. So that would be your first, getting an accurate diagnosis.

Do you know what your Migraine triggers are? Trigger identification and management is a vital component of managing Migraine disease. One of the best tools for identifying triggers is a good Migraine diary. You can download a free diary workbook from our article Your Migraine and Headache Diary. Some of us have food triggers; some of us don't. It's advisable to determine if you do, an elimination diet is the best way to do that. For more information and a workbook on this, see Managing Migraine - Migraine Trigger Foods.

How many days a week have you been taking something to relieve this Migraine? Taking Migraine abortive meds such as the triptans or ergotamines or any kind of pain medication -- prescription or over-the-counter -- more than two or three days a week can make matters worse by causing medication overuse headache (MOH), aka rebound. See Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires for more information on this.

This is also something to discuss with your doctor. We should all have this talk with our doctor and have a plan in place for when we should call our doctors or go to the ER. The ideal situation is to have Migraine abortive medications to take when we get a Migraine and rescue medications such as pain medications, muscle relaxants, or other medications to take when our regular medications fail. For more on this, take a look at Preventive, Abortive, and Rescue Medications - What's the Difference?.

And finally, it may be time to see a Migraine  specialist since you are having so many Migraine attacks a month. It's important to note that neurologists aren't necessarily Migraine and headache specialists. Take a look at the article Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special? If you need help finding a Migraine specialist, check our listing of Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists.

I hope you find this information helpful,

Good luck

Nancy