Symptoms of migraine

Answer 1

Symptoms of migraines can vary wildly from person to person. There are many different types of migraine, which is a recurrent neurological disorder. Each type has their own set of possible symptoms.

General Diagnosis:

When a doctor is looking to diagnose migraine there are certain specific points he is looking for. Below is the criteria used by the International Headache Society. These points do not cover every migraine sufferer's experience, but are meant to provide a framework of most common symptoms for physicians:

A: 5 or more episodes for migraine without aura, 2 or more episodes of migraine with aura.

B: Attacks lasting 4-72 hours.

C: Headache quality has two of the following:

1) pain is on one side of the head

2) pulsating quality

3) moderate or severe pain quality

4) pain is aggravated by physical activity

D: During headache at least one of the following:

1) nausea and/or vomiting

2) sensitivity to light and sound

E: Not caused by another disorder.

Prodrome:

The first phase of a migraine is caused the prodrome phase. While all people go through this phase, approximately only half of the people will be able to identify it. It can best be described as feeling generally bad for hours or days before you get a migraine, although some people may only experience negligible symptoms, or symptoms which do not make a person feel ill (such as extra yawning, or hyperactivity). The array of possible symptoms and the fact that they can easily be caused by something other than a migraine are why the prodrome phase is unable to be identified by so many sufferers.

Aura:

There are two main categories of migraine - classic migraine (migraine with aura) and common (migraine without aura). After the prodrome phase, the aura phase of a migraine begins. The most well-known migraine auras are visual disturbances, but auditory hallucinations, dizziness, problems speaking, and other things are also known to occur. The aura phase can last for 15 minutes to a couple of hours and can overlap into the next phase. In the rarer subtypes of migraine, people can have what is known as a persistent aura, which can last for days or weeks.

Headache:

Next, the actual headache phase occurs. Migraine headaches are generally described as one-sided and throbbing or pulsing, but that isn't characteristic of everyone. Some people have the pain on both sides of the head, certain types of migraines involve headache pain which is at the base of the skull. There is also a type of migraine that does not involve head pain - but sufferers experience the prodrome, aura, postdrome symptoms - as well as other symptoms of the Pain phase beside the actual pain.

Most times, the pain of a migraine headache is not responsive to over-the-counter medication such as acetaminophen, although some people are lucky are will respond. The earlier you are able to take such medication (whether OTC or prescription) the more likely a chance you have to disrupt the headache cycle, which is why it is so important to identify the prodrome and aura phases.

Most people also experience nausea, though not everyone vomits. Other symptoms are vertigo or lightheadedness, sensitivity to light, sounds, smells, and/or touch, a tender scalp, stuttering, fatigue, sweating, and an inability to concentrate.

The headache phase of a migraine usually lasts 4-72 hours.

Postdrome:

Finally, the postdrome phase is the recovery phase. It may last a few hours or a few days. It can include fatigue, mood alteration, a lingering headache, et cetera.

Please note that if you have a migraine that lasts more than 72 hours you need to contact a medical professional. Migraines that last this long have been associated with extremely rare but serious complications, and you need to make sure that everything is okay.