Migraine Symptoms – Everything You Must Know

Migraine symptoms

A pulsating sensation or a throbbing pain.

The pain is severe and usually felt on one side of the head.

Sensitivity to light and sound.

A nausea or vomiting sensation.

Throbbing pain in the temple region of the head

Aura occurs with migraine – before or after headache.

Tingling in the leg or arm; blind spots and flashes of light are the symptoms associated with aura following migraine. All these are common migraine symptoms.

Migraines may progress through four stages: prodrome, aura, headache and postdrome.

Prodrome: a day before migraine – some subtle changes happen signalling upcoming migraine.

The changes may include mood changes

Episodes of euphoria or depression

Neck stiffness

Increased thirst and urination

Frequent yawning

Constipation

Food cravings

Aura

These are the symptoms associated with nervous system. Aura may occur before migraine or associated with migraine headaches. Migraines may or may not be associated with auras. A person may feel disturbances in the vision in the form of wavy, zigzag vison and flashes of light. Sometimes, affected person may feel speech disturbances (verbal aura), motor disturbances (movement related) and sensory disturbances (touching sensations). This may be due to weakness in the muscles.

Symptoms associated with auras develop gradually and last for several minutes to an hour.

Visual – the person may see different shapes, spots or flashes of light; blurry vision.

Jerky or uncontrolled movement of legs.

Musical sensations or noises.

Speaking difficulty.

Pins and needles sensations in an arm or leg.

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

Migraine with aura may be associated with limb weakness (hemiplegic migraine).

Postdrome is the final phase of migraine attack. By this time, the patient may feel completely drained and washed out. However, some individuals may become elated. During this period – which may last for about 24 hours the affected person may feel weakness, dizziness, moodiness and confusion and sensitivity to sound and light – the typical migraine symptoms. Individuals experiencing some of the above symptoms should seek medical care immediately.