Migraine Symptoms

Migraine headaches can begin as early as childhood or wait to present themselves until adulthood.  This type of headache creates a pulsating, debilitating pain around the temples.  Migraines often leave the sufferer completely incapacitated and looking for immediate relief.  A true migraine will move through four different stages. Those four stages include prodrome, aura, headache, and postdrome.  Each person’s experience is different and may not experience all four stages with each attack.  Understanding the stages of a migraine attack and being better prepared for how to handle those stages will make managing your attacks easier.

Prodrome

The prodrome stage of a migraine attack makes its appearance prior to the actual migraine.  Usually a day or two before the onset of a migraine you may experience some subtle symptoms or changes in your body that indicate the impending attack.  During this stage you may experience things like constipation, depression, food cravings, irritability, fatigue, and stiffness in the neck.  You may experience several or only one of these signs, but they are all indicators that a migraine is in your future.  With each migraine you may experience different signals during the prodrome, though there may be one common signal you recognize for each attack. This is the time when preventative medication may come in handy.

Aura

The aura stage occurs right before or during the migraine.  Auras are sensory and visually disturbances as a result of the migraine.  Some people experience migraines without the presence of an aura.  These symptoms may include flashes of light or dark spots in the line of vision, feeling of pins in needles in the arms or legs, slurred speech, and temporary loss of vision.  An extreme symptom of an aura is muscle weakness in the limbs, which only occurs in less than 2% of all migraine episodes.

Headache Attack

The actual migraine headache, if not properly treated, will last anywhere from four to 72 hours.  The frequency at which you experience a migraine attack will vary from person to person.  Some people experience migraines several times a month or several times a year.  During the attack stage of a migraine additional symptoms will appear.  The most common symptom is pulsating, throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head, usually settling around your temples.  Sensitivity to lights, sounds, and even smells could cause nausea or vomiting.  To add to the discomfort, you may also face waves of dizziness, lightheadedness that may result in fainting.  Because of the risks associated with these symptoms, do not attempt to operate heavy machinery during a migraine attack.

Postdrome

The fourth and final stage of a migraine headache is known as the postdrome.  During this portion of an attack you may feel drained, beyond exhausted.  Some people report this stage of resembling a hangover or having flu-like symptoms of weakness.  These feelings indicate the end of your migraine.

Managing Your Migraine

First step to manage your migraine is to record symptoms and share the documented trends with your doctor.  Don’t leave symptoms left untreated.  Doctors usually look for trends over a three month period of time, so documentation is important.  Should a diagnosis be made a proper treatment plan will be made.  In the meantime, you may use over-the-counter pain relievers such as Tylenol or Advil to reduce migraine symptoms.  Should that method not help, your physician may prescribe a stronger pain medication or make suggestions for utilizing alternative therapies.  Reducing your stress levels through calming activities like yoga, stretching, tai chi, relaxing music, or massage therapy may be beneficial in reducing the frequency and intensity of your migraine attacks.

At any point should you experience any severe or unusual symptoms with your migraine, you should contact your doctor immediately or visit the emergency room if you are completely incapacitated.  Severe symptoms include:

• An abrupt headache with no forewarning
• Presence of a fever, seizures or mental confusion accompanying any other symptoms.
• The onset of a headache, following a head injury
• a headache the worsen after fits of coughing, overexertion, or sudden movement
• Experience new headache pain, if you are over 50 years of age.

Head pain should never be ignored.  Be watchful of the appearance of any of the four stages of migraines.

Tags: migraine headaches, migraine symptoms, migraine treatment, migraine triggers, Migraines, natural treatment, symptoms of migraines