Throughout the course of a chronic vascular headache, there are four stages that most migraine sufferers go through. You have: the prodrome, aura, headache and postdrome stages. Each stage has different symptoms and each person experiences these stages differently. So throughout this article, we will discuss the overall process of a migraine and then look at the stages more intently.
The Series Of Events
Once a migraine trigger (which could be environmental or physiological) is encountered by the migraine sufferer, the migraine will begin with the start of blood vessels in the brain expanding and enlarging. As they expand beyond their normal capacity, they release a chemical into the brain which attacks the arteries in the brain. This causes much of the pain associated with migraine attacks. The rest of the pain is from the inflamed trigeminal nerve which becomes inflamed from this process. The pain and other symptoms will not cease until the blood vessels that started all of this return back to their original size and viscosity.
The Stages Of A Migraine
Here are the stages of a migraine and the symptoms that are attached thereby:
- Prodrome – This is the first stage of a migraine and can occur hours or even days before the headache stage. Symptoms experienced might include: dizziness, hot ears, fatigue, stiffness in neck, food cravings, constipation, diarrhea, depression and even excessive sleeping / yawning.
- Aura – This stage affects only about 25% of the sufferers and messes with the eyes. It usually occurs right before the headache. You could experience: vertigo, blurred vision, zigzag vision, temporary blindness in one eye, black spot in vision, loss of focus and even hallucinations.
- Headache – This is the stage that is most commonly known because of the overwhelming, agonizing pain that ensues. Most can’t endure small amounts of pain very long but a migraine head pain is unilateral and unending, until the blood vessels stop swelling and everything returns to normal.
- Postdrome – This is the final stage where you almost feel as if you are “hung-over” because of the symptoms that are experienced here. Nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness and other symptoms are present in the stage of waning away the migraine headache.
Tags: aura, Chronic migraine, headache, migraine, migraine attack, migraine headaches, migraine stages, migraine symptoms, migraine treatment, postdrome, prodrome
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