This guide will share a recommended route to diagnosis, care, and treatment. If you’re reading this, you should expect to find variations based on your personal diagnosis and care needs, as well as where you live in the U.S. VA and civilian healthcare vary in the availability of healthcare providers, clinics and hospitals within your geographic location.

---

Most Common Types of Headache Experienced by Veterans

There are two types: Primary and Secondary

---

Most common primary headache types: The headache is the problem, not another cause:

Tension-Type Headache

Migraine

Cluster Headache

To learn more: Type of Headache (page 2)

---

Most common secondary headache types: Linked to specific causes (i.e.) trauma:

Medication Overuse Headache

Post-Traumatic Headache

Other: Cervicogenic Headache

To learn more: Type of Headache (page 2)

---

During a VA appointment, the provider will ask certain questions for diagnosis. Do the best you can to describe your headache pain by using words to describe your pain like:

• Throbbing
• Pounding
• Burning
• Stabbing
• Aching
• Other words:____________

Make sure to give an accurate description of your treatments, medical and family headache history, and how it impacts your life.

• How often you experience any headache symptom is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
• If easier to remember, you can also think of how often you have pain-free or symptom-free days.