Good afternoon to my extended Migraine and Headache family. I hope the day is being as kind as possible to you and your head. 

Migraine is a complex neurological disease. As you probably already know there are several types of Migraine, and getting a full and accurate diagnosis is critical to Migraine treatment and management. In the various areas of medicine, it's common for professional organizations to work together to define classification systems for diagnosis. In "headache medicine," the gold standard for diagnosing and classifying Migraine and other headache disorders is the International Headache Society's International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd Edition (ICHD-3).

I've been seeing a lot of online discussions with people talking about what type of Migraines they have. Unfortunately, all too many of these discussions include types of Migraine that aren't the "standard" diagnoses from ICHD-3. This can happen when doctors aren't experienced with treating Migraine. It can also happen when people have been reading inaccurate online content. 

In any case, I thought it would be helpful to provide you with a list of types of Migraine from ICHD-3:

1.1 Migraine without aura

1.2 Migraine with aura

1.2.1 Migraine with typical aura

1.2.1.1 Typical aura with headache

1.2.1.2 Typical aura without headache

1.2.2 Migraine with brainstem aura

1.2.3 Hemiplegic migraine

1.2.3.1 Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM)

1.2.3.1.1 Familial hemiplegic migraine type 1

1.2.3.1.2 Familial hemiplegic migraine type 2

1.2.3.1.3 Familial hemiplegic migraine type 3

1.2.3.1.4 Familial hemiplegic migraine, other loci

1.2.3.2 Sporadic hemiplegic migraine

1.2.4 Retinal migraine

1.3 Chronic migraine

1.4 Complications of migraine

1.4.1 Status migrainosus

1.4.2 Persistent aura without infarction

1.4.3 Migrainous infarction

1.4.4 Migraine aura-triggered seizure

1.5 Probable migraine

1.5.1 Probable migraine without aura

1.5.2 Probable migraine with aura

1.6 Episodic syndromes that may be associated with migraine

1.6.1 Recurrent gastrointestinal disturbance

1.6.1.1 Cyclical vomiting syndrome

1.6.1.2 Abdominal migraine

1.6.2 Benign paroxysmal vertigo

1.6.3 Benign paroxysmal torticollis

A1.6.5 Vestiblular migraine

If your diagnosis is simply "Migraine" or "chronic Migraine" it's an incomplete diagnosis. Many of us have more than one type of Migraine. For example, my diagnoses are chronic Migraine, Migraine with aura, and Migraine without aura. What's your diagnosis? If it's an incomplete diagnosis, or if it's a type of Migraine that's not included in the list above, a conversation with your doctor is in order. 

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