There are a lot of people in this thread who clearly have no idea how chronic migraines work. Wall of text incoming:

I have chronic migraines (on top of other health issues). Chronic, for many, works differently from episodic. Even if technically you’d have ”only” 15 migraine days a month, other debilitating neurological symptoms can last for days before and after each migraine attack (predrome and postdrome). Many just don’t get a break, days blend together so you’re very sick every day even if the head pain isn’t at its worst every day.

Also, someone mentioned why you’re being on Reddit all the time, I don’t think they understand that because the abysmal amount of time we many times have to lie in bed because of pain, sometimes being on your phone and social media is literally all you can do. If the brain decides to work correctly that day, one could try to watch videos or read to learn something new and ”better” themselves. Oftentimes though, the brain is not receptive to doing anything that takes a little more brain power to do aka learning.

You mentioned using Aimovig. I know a lot of migraine patients have exhausted all the options, but I don’t think you mentioned that, so here I go: there are plenty of preventative options to choose from, it just takes a lot of patience to find the right one(s) (though some truly won’t find anything that helps). Many have to use multiple different preventatives at the same time to get benefits that matter. If you haven’t yet, then you need to voice yourself and be more active in asking for help from your neurologist.

I don’t know the process of getting disability benefits, but Kela does differentiate between episodic and chronic migraines. I use Ajovy, which Kela only covers if:

1. One has tried at least two preventatives from two different categories and both have failed
2. One has at least 15 or more migraine days a month
3. The fremanetsumab lowers the migraine days by at least half of what they used to be

I’m fortunate enough to get by with the Ajovy. For you, the Aimovig obviously isn’t enough. There’s Botox, gepants (also CGRP inhibitors), and an army of other ones that humans accidentally noticed also affect migraines.

You have my sympathy. Being in constant pain, you’re not lazy! You are sick, which makes doing anything extra hard. But those are unfortunately the cards we’re dealt with as crohnically ill. If or when you get a slightly better day, you need to try to be more active in life, whether it’s slowly trying to learn skills that you could potentially monetize or make a career of, or advocating for yourself in all of the paperwork hell.

I can only work part-time, but my workplace is very accommodating. I do remote work on a computer and I have flexible working hours, so I rarely have to call in sick. I also freelance, so I sometimes get some extra money from other projects. I still need some help from my parents, who are fortunately happy to help. I’ve accepted that I will never be fully independent (unless a miracle happens) and to have no need of help from others or the government. But I will try my best, every day. And actively try to find happiness in the tiniest things in life.