Question 1

What is postdrome?

Accepted Answer

Postdrome is the fourth phase of the migraine cycle, following prodrome, aura, and the headache (ictal) phase. It is recognized in the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD-3). The phase commonly involves fatigue, difficulty concentrating, residual photophobia, neck stiffness, dizziness, and mood changes lasting roughly 24 to 72 hours after the headache itself ends. Bose and Goadsby's 2016 electronic-diary study (Neurology) found that 81% of migraine patients experience postdrome, with a mean duration of 25.2 hours.

Question 2

Is postdrome a real thing? Am I imagining feeling terrible the day after my migraine?

Accepted Answer

Postdrome is documented in clinical literature and named in ICHD-3. The day-after symptoms most migraine sufferers describe (fatigue, brain fog, residual light sensitivity, mood disruption) are not a hangover from the medication or from the experience of pain. They are a distinct neurological phase. Bose and Goadsby 2016 reported that 81% of patients experience postdrome, with a 2018 follow-up establishing that the phase occurs in both spontaneous and triggered attacks and that for some patients the disability in the postdrome phase is greater than in the headache itself.

Question 3

How long does postdrome last?

Accepted Answer

The most-cited number is the 25.2-hour mean from Bose and Goadsby 2016, with a clinical range commonly cited as 24 to 72 hours. The duration varies by patient, by attack, and by which preventive and rescue medications are in play. Tracking the duration across multiple attacks is the only way to know your personal pattern.

Question 4

What's the difference between postdrome and a migraine hangover?

Accepted Answer

'Migraine hangover' is the colloquial term. 'Postdrome' is the clinical term for the same phase. The mechanisms are not the same as an alcohol hangover, however. Researchers believe postdrome involves the decay of a CGRP cascade, the aftermath of cortical spreading depression, and the slow normalization of neurotransmitters disrupted by the attack. None of those processes accelerate with rest or hydration in the way a hangover does.

Question 5

How do I describe postdrome to my neurologist?

Accepted Answer

A practical 90-second appointment script: name the phase by name ('postdrome'), give the duration ratio (headache lasts X hours, postdrome lasts Y hours), quantify your functional time during the postdrome window as a percentage, and ground the impact in one concrete event (a missed meeting, a rescheduled commitment). Postdrome publishes a full neurologist conversation guide at https://postdrome.app/articles/how-to-talk-to-your-neurologist-about-postdrome/.

Question 6

Why don't most migraine apps track postdrome?

Accepted Answer

Most migraine trackers model an attack as a row with a start_timestamp and an end_timestamp. That schema cannot represent a phase that begins after the headache ends. Retrofitting it would mean re-architecting the storage layer, which incumbents at scale have not chosen to do. Postdrome was built around a continuous-symptom timeline specifically to model the postdrome phase as first-class data.

Question 7

Can a migraine tracker handle continuous symptoms? My migraines never fully end.

Accepted Answer

The discrete-attack schema used by every major incumbent migraine tracker assumes a clean start and end timestamp. For the chronic migraine and vestibular migraine cohorts (roughly 5.5 million Americans), that schema does not fit the disease. Postdrome models symptoms as a continuous timeline of independent intensity dimensions (headache pain, vestibular symptoms, photophobia, brain fog, neck stiffness, mood disruption), with discrete attacks as a special case rather than the foundational unit. Continuous low-grade symptoms with episodic acute exacerbations are representable in this schema.

Question 8

Does Postdrome have a subscription?

Accepted Answer

No. Postdrome is free to download and free for the core experience including pattern insights, trigger correlation, the timeline, the postdrome auto-detection, and the tamper-evident neurology-ready PDF export. Pro is a one-time $14.99 in-app purchase that unlocks Apple Watch, cross-device sync, and formal insurance prior-authorization and disability claim templates. There is no subscription, no trial, and no free-tier paywall on insights.

Question 9

Where does Postdrome store my health data?

Accepted Answer

All health data stays in your own iCloud private database, never on Postdrome's servers. The backend stores only an anonymous user identifier and the Pro entitlement flag. Tamper-evident PDF verification uses a hash of the document, not the document itself; no clinical content is transmitted off-device for verification.

Your symptoms don't have
"one attack".
Your tracker shouldn't either.

What's different

Logs how you actually feel.

A mode for the worst moments.

Triggers, surfaced.

Your history comes with you.

Is your medication working?

A doctor's report you can hand over.

Pricing

Free

Pro: $14.99 once