The prognosis of migraine – will it go away?

May 5, 2008

How long will I suffer from migraines? Will it ever go away? These are very common questions patients ask their doctors. Drs. Bigal and Lipton reviewed a recent large study that looked at what happens to migraine patients within one year of observation. The study found that migraine completely went away in 10%, improved in 3% and worsened and became chronic (occurring on more than 15 days each month) in 3%. This confirms what we’ve know all along – migraine headaches tend to go away with age. In women this often happens after menopause and in men at around similar age; however this study and our experience indicates that for many people migraines may go away earlier, at any point in their lives. The problem is that we can never predict when this will happen and in a small percentage of patients (about 3%) migraines never go away.

Written by
Alexander Mauskop, MD
Continue reading
November 10, 2025
Alternative Therapies
A Week of Meditation Changes Brains and Bodies
A week-long meditation retreat produces dramatic changes in brain and metabolic functions
Read article
October 21, 2025
Alternative Therapies
Meditation is better than slow breathing exercise in reducing pain
A new study published in the journal PAIN by Dr. A. Amorim and her colleagues at the University of California San Diego examined how mindfulness meditation reduces pain. The findings help clarify whether mindfulness meditation is more effective than simple slow breathing for pain relief.
Read article
September 7, 2025
How Artificial Sweeteners May Be Affecting Your Brain
A large Brazilian study published in Neurology followed nearly 13,000 adults for eight years and found something troubling: people who consumed the most artificial sweeteners showed faster cognitive...
Read article