Treatments are typically expensive. Periodic or unpredictable disability can cause impoverishment due to patients’ inability to work enough or to hold a job at all.

In addition to being a major cause of pain and suffering, chronic migraine attacks are a significant source of both medical costs and lost productivity. Medical costs per migraine sufferer (mostly physician and emergency room visits) averaged $107 USD over six months in one 1988 study, with total costs including lost productivity averaging $313. Annual employer cost of lost productivity due to migraines was estimated at $3,309 per sufferer. Total medical costs associated with migraines in the United States amounted to one billion dollars in 1994, in addition to lost productivity estimated at thirteen to seventeen billion dollars per year. Employers may benefit from educating themselves on the effects of migraines in order to facilitate a better understanding in the workplace. The workplace model of 9-5, 5 days a week may not be viable for a migraine sufferer. With education and understanding an employer could compromise with an employee to create a workable solution for both.