Yes, you can use the word "prostrating" in your lay statement, and doing so is not improper or disqualifying. The term appears directly in the VA's rating criteria for migraines under 38 CFR 4.124a, Diagnostic Code 8100, which bases higher ratings on the frequency of "prostrating attacks." Because this is the exact regulatory language VA raters are trained to look for, using it accurately can actually help connect your symptoms to the criteria they are applying.
The concern some veterans raise is less about whether you are allowed to use the word and more about whether you understand what it means and can back it up with specific, personal examples. VA does not provide a single official clinical definition of "prostrating," but it is generally understood to mean an attack so severe that you must stop all activity and typically lie down, often in a dark, quiet room, until it passes. If you use the term, your statement is stronger when you pair it with concrete details: how often these attacks happen, how long they last, what you have to stop doing, whether you can work or drive during one, and what symptoms accompany it (nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, sensitivity to light or sound).
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Analyze my claim free →A lay statement does not need to sound like a medical record, and raters do not expect veterans to avoid words simply because a clinician also uses them. What matters is that the statement reflects your own genuine experience in your own words, even if some of those words were learned from your doctors over time. If anything, echoing language your treating providers use can show consistency between your medical records and your personal account, which is helpful for credibility.
What you want to avoid is the opposite problem: using the word "prostrating" without any supporting detail, so the statement reads as a legal conclusion rather than a description of lived experience. Raters are instructed to evaluate frequency and severity, so vague claims that you have "prostrating migraines" without specifics may not carry as much weight as a detailed account of a typical attack and how often it occurs per month.
As a next step, review your statement to make sure each time you use "prostrating," you immediately follow it with specific facts about frequency, duration, and functional impact, and consider asking your treating provider to document the same frequency and severity in their own notes if they have not already.
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