That's an interesting question. When I first started seeking treatment, I insisted on describing about 4 distinct headaches as I saw it. The medical teams were much less interested in parsing them out. However, I found the information about 'background' headaches on the Johns Hopkins patient info site, and it seems to accurately describe what I experience.( I am very cautious about what internet sites I use for reference - my doctor suggested that this and the Mayo clinic sites are pretty reliable) Perhaps these sources could help clarify your question @A MyMigraineTeam Member

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A MyMigra...

Maybe I need to reform my question. Migraine is a condition, migraine headaches are a symptom of the condition, so as I see it, any headache that ends up a migraine headache (with or without intervention) is just that. a migraine headache. If I am experiencing a migraine headache the headache symptoms don't change, only the intensity. For instance, I can have a level 2 migraine headache or a level 10, they are both migraine headaches. The only headache that I get are migraine headaches. Do some people get both, or are they misinterpreting a mild migraine headache as a 'regular headache"?
I hope I am making sense, I'm at about a 5 right now and finding it getting difficult to think.

I am never headache free, although all are not full on migraine. The theory, as I understand it, is that years of living through migraines without treatment can cause the development of so called background headaches. These are often painful enough to be problematic in their own right, and stubborn to respond to treatment. I describe my baseline pain level to be not bad enough to make me call in sick. but severe enough to cause to leave early. ( An old reference - I no longer work full time)
Full on migraines are a whole 'nuther thing - a unique pulsating pain, and a very specific location in my head. I could draw a line on my scalp mapping where is occurs, although the location has moved over the course of time.

In answer to @Regal-Witch13 - the difficulty teasing out migraines from "mere" headaches is caused by the condition, not by how you describe it. I do spend time debating with myself whether this is a regular headache, or the start of migraine in order to decide what med to take.
Also, I don't beleive that medical research has defined migraines all that well. I suspect that there are many different things going on, that all get lumped into the label of migraine. When you are suffering a severe headache, it doen't matter what it is called - you just want to pain to stop

@A MyMigraineTeam Member You are not alone in that. It is a rare and dare I say 'odd relief', when I realize, 'this must be what a normal 'headache is'. It is usually my first indication, that I'm coming down with something. What is a headache to others, is a time of awesome relief for me.

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@A MyMigraineTeam Member ~ I had sinus infections for years when I was younger so when I started getting terrible pain in my face about 10 years ago, I was convinced it was sinus related, No, it was trigeminal nerve pain caused by the migraines. Thankfully, it is under control now so I am "just" dealing with the migraines.

Thanks for the compliment, I got frustrated with coloring my hair and decided to let it grow out naturally, It cause quite a commotion in my family for a while, no one wanted their sister to be grey, but I love it.

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