Invisible Illness: Migraines

What is a migraine? 

A migraine can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on just one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and can be so severe that the pain is disabling.

Warning symptoms known as aura may occur before or with the headache. These can include flashes of light, blind spots, or tingling on one side of the face or in your arm or leg.

Medications can help prevent some migraines and make them less painful. Talk to your doctor about different migraine treatment options if you can't find relief. The right medicines, combined with self-help remedies and lifestyle changes, may help.

Symptoms:

Migraines often begin in childhood, adolescence or early adulthood. Migraines may progress through four stages: prodrome, aura, headache and post-drome, though you may not experience all stages.

Prodrome:

One or two days before a migraine, you may notice subtle changes that warn of an upcoming migraine, including:

-Constipation

-Mood changes, from depression to euphoria

-Food cravings

-Neck stiffness

-Increased thirst and urination

-Frequent yawning

Aura:

Aura may occur before or during migraines. Most people experience migraines without aura.

Auras are symptoms of the nervous system. They are usually visual disturbances, such as flashes of light or wavy, zigzag vision.

Sometimes auras can also be touching sensations (sensory), movement (motor) or speech (verbal) disturbances. Your muscles may get weak, or you may feel as though someone is touching you.

Each of these symptoms usually begins gradually, builds up over several minutes and lasts for 20 to 60 minutes. Examples of migraine aura include:

-Visual phenomena, such as seeing various shapes, bright spots or flashes of light

-Vision loss

-Pins and needles sensations in an arm or leg

-Weakness or numbness in the face or one side of the body

-Difficulty speaking

-Hearing noises or music

-Uncontrollable jerking or other movements

-Sometimes, a migraine with aura may be associated with limb weakness (hemiplegic migraine).

Attack:

A migraine usually lasts from four to 72 hours if untreated. The frequency with which headaches occur varies from person to person. Migraines may be rare, or strike several times a month. During a migraine, you may experience:

-Pain on one side or both sides of your head

-Pain that feels throbbing or pulsing

-Sensitivity to light, sounds, and sometimes smells and touch

-Nausea and vomiting

-Blurred vision

-Lightheadedness, sometimes followed by fainting

Post-drome:

The final phase, known as post-drome, occurs after a migraine attack. You may feel drained and washed out, while some people feel elated. For about 24 hours, you may also experience:

Confusion

Moodiness

Dizziness

Weakness

Sensitivity to light and sound