Migraine and Military Service: Attack Frequency and Duration

Nervous system

Reviewed by the LabReadAI medical team
Migraine and Military Service: Attack Frequency and Duration

The short answer: migraine does not prevent conscription when attacks are rare, and does prevent it when they are frequent, prolonged and required hospitalisation. Article 24 of the Schedule of Diseases sets three conditions at once, and all three must be met — which is why migraine so rarely reaches category V in practice.

Which fitness category migraine yields

Migraine sits in article 24, "Vascular diseases of the brain and spinal cord", alongside strokes, transient ischaemic attacks and fainting.

What the records show Clause Column I (conscription)
Migraine with frequent and prolonged attacks requiring inpatient treatment «v» V — limited fitness
Migraine with rare attacks «g» B-4 — fit with restrictions

Clauses «a» and «b» of the same article do not concern migraine — they cover strokes and vascular encephalopathy.

The three conditions of clause «v», verbatim

various forms of migraine with frequent (once a month or more) and prolonged (a day or more) attacks that required treatment in inpatient conditions

Broken down:

  1. Frequency — once a month or more. Not "frequent headaches" but a measurable quantity.
  2. Duration — a day or more. An attack that passes in a few hours does not meet this.
  3. Treatment in inpatient conditions. The strictest condition: an attack must have required hospitalisation.

The word "and" between the conditions means they add up rather than substitute for one another. Weekly migraine relieved at home with a tablet does not fall under clause «v».

Rare migraine: clause «g»

various forms of migraine with rare attacks

That is category B-4 — fit with minor restrictions. The regulation sets no numeric threshold for "rare", but by contrast with clause «v» it is clear: less than once a month.

The form of migraine plays no role

Both clauses open with "various forms of migraine". Migraine with and without aura, hemiplegic, menstrual and any other form are assessed by the same criteria — frequency, duration and the need for inpatient treatment. Specifying the form helps treatment but does not change the category by itself.

What your records must contain

  • A headache diary or neurologist's entries with dates: how many attacks a month and how long each lasts.
  • Discharge summaries for migraine admissions — the key condition of clause «v».
  • A neurologist's conclusion stating the form of migraine and the course.
  • Brain MRI — usually to exclude other causes of headache rather than to confirm migraine itself.
  • Work-up excluding secondary causes: what generally lies behind headache and which tests are taken for headache is covered separately.
  • The chart code is G43.

What is usually missing

  • Attacks occur but no visits appear in the chart — nothing confirms the frequency.
  • The duration of attacks is not stated, and that is the second of three conditions.
  • There has been no hospitalisation at all, without which clause «v» does not apply.
  • The chart says "headache" without a migraine diagnosis: different things, and a general overview of causes is in the piece on dizziness and headache.
  • Secondary causes of headache, including raised blood pressure, were not excluded.

Questions for your doctor

  • How many attacks a month are recorded in my documents?
  • What is the average duration of an attack according to the records?
  • Was there a hospitalisation for migraine, and is there a discharge summary?
  • Which form of migraine is stated in the diagnosis?
  • Have secondary causes of headache been excluded?

Headache at departmental boards

The above concerns assessment under Government Decree No. 565. The Interior Ministry, National Guard, Federal Security Service and Emergencies Ministry use their own schedules of diseases with their own requirements. A review under article 24 shows how complete your records are but is not their regulation.

The short version

Migraine is the article where the severity of a single attack matters less than arithmetic: once a month or more, a day or longer, with hospitalisation. All three together give category V; rare attacks give B-4. And all of it works only through documents: an attack endured at home does not exist for the board. The most useful thing to do in advance is therefore to see a doctor during an attack. Only the military medical board determines the fitness category.

Frequently asked questions

  • With rare attacks — no: that is clause «g» of article 24 and category B-4. Category V comes only from migraine with attacks once a month or more, lasting a day or more, that required treatment in inpatient conditions. All three conditions must hold simultaneously.

  • The regulation gives a number: once a month or more. But frequency alone is not enough — duration of a day or more and the fact of inpatient treatment are also required. Migraine occurring weekly but relieved at home in a couple of hours does not fall under clause «v».

  • No. Both clauses open with "various forms of migraine", so with aura, without aura and any other form are assessed by the same criteria: frequency, duration and the need for inpatient treatment. The form matters for treatment but does not change the category on its own.

  • For clause «v» — yes, it is a direct condition: the attacks must have required treatment in inpatient conditions. Without admissions clause «g» and category B-4 remain, even if attacks are frequent and severe. This is the strictest of the three conditions and the one most often missing.

  • A deferral and a category are different things. Article 24 sets the category: where the three conditions hold, that is V — transfer to the reserve rather than a deferral. Temporary decisions on neurological conditions fall under a separate article and concern recovery after acute illness or injury.

  • An MRI is usually needed not to confirm migraine but to exclude other causes of headache — tumours, vascular anomalies, consequences of trauma. Migraine itself is diagnosed clinically, from the pattern of attacks. But an MRI report belongs in the file: it shows that secondary causes were excluded.

  • See a doctor during an attack rather than afterwards, and ask for the date, duration and what relieved it to be recorded. A headache diary helps reconstruct the picture, but medical entries carry more weight. What else is checked with recurrent headache is collected in the list of tests for headache.

  • Count three numbers from your records: attacks per month, their duration, and the number of hospitalisations. If all three conditions hold, the picture fits clause «v». The completeness of what you have can be checked with a review against the Schedule of Diseases.

#Schedule of Diseases#Code G43#Tests for headache#Dizziness

For informational purposes only

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult a healthcare professional for medical guidance.

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