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    Not Just a Headache: Migraine’s Other Symptoms

    By Kerrie Smyres | December 19, 2005

    The usual description of migraine includes visual aura, one-sided throbbing pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. There’s a lot more to it than that. The following information, which comes from my very favorite migraine book, Migraine: The Complete Guide, is a list of the other symptoms of migraine. It’s organized by the phase that the symptoms they occur in and by which part of the body is involved. I’ve made a few changes to the information from the book; most noticable is that I’ve collapsed the book’s sections on aura and prodrome into one.*

    Prodrome (the period before the pain begins)

    Visual (aka aura)

    Sensory

    Motor

    Language

    Cognitive

    Digestive

    Fluid disturbances

    Mental/Personality

    Headache Phase

    Sensory

    Digestive

    Skin

    Fluid disturbances

    Respiratory

    Mental/Personality

    Circulatory

    Postdrome (24 hour following headache)

    Cognitive

    Respiratory

    Mood/Personality

    Having the variety of chronic daily headache that is caused my migraine, I’m not convinced that these symptoms only occur in their respective phases. I certainly have different symptoms that don’t seem to be connected to severe headache pain. It could be that people with CDH have trouble knowing when they are in a particular stage or that we experience the symptoms more frequently than in these rigidly defined phases. I also wonder if people who have been diagnosed with tension-type headache experience similar additional symptoms, particularly the cognitive ones. (Don’t take anything in this paragraph as fact — these are my vaguely informed, non-medical musings.)

    So you’re not crazy, losing your mind or faking it. Perhaps it’s a link to send to those who question your illness.

    *Some sources maintain that an aura only encompasses the visual changes that can happen before a migraine. Others, like this book, include sensory, motor, language and cognitive difficulties as part of aura. The more common approach is that aura is only visual, but one of many symptoms of prodrome.

    Topics: Biology | 21 Comments »

    21 Responses to “Not Just a Headache: Migraine’s Other Symptoms”

    1. Zuska Says:
      December 21st, 2005 at 3:25 pm

      This is an informative post; not that I wish you had migraine/CDH, but it feels good to find someone else who understands this from a personal situation as well as intellectually. I’ve had many of the listed symptoms and not always in the designated phase, just like you. For example: extremely, extremely heightened sensitivity of smell – sometimes precedes a migraine and is the signal to me that a headache is coming, sometimes occurs simultaneous with the headache. It’s good to remind ourselves that the organizational schemes presented in official literature are the result of attempts to make sense of the broad range of effects that migraine has on its sufferers. The categories weren’t ordained by God – they are a conceptual scheme, useful when it works for you, but when your experience is outside the scheme, it just reflects the limitations of it (or any conceptual scheme).

    2. Theresa Says:
      October 4th, 2006 at 8:07 am

      This site reafirms for me all the symptoms I so regularly experience from classic migraines especailly the auras that disort my vision to such a degree that I am unable to see at all and sometimes it seems to take hours before I’m able to see again. I usually wake daily with a headache that disapates by about 11 am but my eyes remain bloodshot most of the time no matter how I’m feeling. I keep thinking that it’s probably Dry eye sydrome since I have allergies. As for the after affects from migraines I am always left with an feeling of total exhaustion almost as though I’ve ran all day. I do not take migraine preventatives because I have mild mitrivalve regurgitation.

    3. Claudia Marley Says:
      February 3rd, 2008 at 12:22 am

      It is nice to read about other people that have the same condition and symptoms (not coming from a GP/Doctor).

      I was diagnosed with Daily Chronic Headache nearly 4 years ago. I have headaches all day, every day but the intencity rises and falls during the day (I prey for a day to wake up without one). I have been on so many different types of medications and found that they made no difference to the frequency or severity. I have stopped taking all the prescribed medication as i am trying for a baby. It has been absolute hell. I have been off the medication for 3 months and continued to deal with the headaches. This last week my headaches have really intensified to the point that i don’t recall feeling like this. I am waking up with incredibly bloodshot eyes, blurred vision and a stiff neck along with the general symptoms. Generally my headaches only effect one side of my face and when it is very intence my face drops and becomes numb on the side it affects. At the moment the deep pain is one sided but i can feel it over both eyes, nose and cheeks (just below the eye). I am also getting shooting pains in my face and down my back. They last for seconds. When the pain shoots down my back, a short second after if feels like cold fluid is running down.

      I used to suffer with headaches as a child but only occassionally. My life has changed so much since they became daily. The pain seems to drain my energy by the end of the day. I am normally in bed by 8pm.

      On occassions I think about my headaches and can’t help but think that after years and years of having this kind of pain that it must take its toll on the brain. As intence as my headaches are, if im still having them in 25 years time it must damage the brain in some way, even if it slight.

      Alternative medications that i have been told to try are bottox and a spinal steriod injection.

      I would appreciate any comments.

    4. Frantz H. Martial Says:
      April 5th, 2008 at 7:38 am

      I have been suffering with all these symtoms and i am very scared. I need help.

    5. David Loveland Says:
      May 9th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

      Im 32,had migraines that are life affecting for the last 8 years. Who was I? A bodybuilder, climber, fearless fool that thought I was invincible. Now? Im a sypathetic, slower, more cautious person held back by migraine. I still climb to an easier standard, go mountain biking and still work fulltime with no time off sick. BUT, everyday life is much more of a struggle. Nothing comes easy now.

      I have no pain just everything else that comes with a migraine. Dizziness, CANNOT THINK STRAIGHT AT ALL, Light & Sound Sensitivity, weird feelings of anxiety that are totally random. A precurser to my migraines is chronic stomach gurgling/rumbling throughout the night and waking with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach Next day, its time to face the music!

      What makes mine worse!??Dont lie in at the weekends!!! That is my downfall. Saturday through to Monday mine can sometimes peak. MILK, cheese and cheap chocolate(brownies or anything with chocolate chips in), pickled and smoked foods, MSG. Large amounts of Carbs/Starchy food that make me sleep heavily. A cup of tea can sometimes make it worse.

      Lets cut to the chase. What helps? What makes it better or easier. Try to fly in the face of the symptoms. Get on with life (which, I know, isnt easy at all when you’re stumbling over your words and everything looks bright and hazy!). Try High Protein shakes like Met Rx meal replacement drinks, not mixed with milk! Creatine monohydrate really really helped my migraines quite alot. Why? Im not sure but try it. Strong, fresh, organic ground coffee. Anyone heard of the LEAKY GUT SYNDROME Linked to migraine???? Look it up. Its interesting stuff.

      I see migraine as a full blown neurologocial disease/ problem getting close to epilepsy. Its a daily affecting disorder and if you are a sufferer you will know what I mean.

      I am getting off my soapbox now.
      Hope something in here was of some help.

    6. Marianne Says:
      April 1st, 2010 at 5:02 pm

      Hei people, Happy April Fool’s Day!!

      A dietician was once addressing a large audience in Chicago. “The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Vegetables can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the germs in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all eat it. Can anyone here tell me what lethal product I’m referring to? You, sir, in the first row, please give us your idea.”
      The man lowered his head and said, “Wedding cake.”

      Happy April Fool’s Day!

    7. DJanae Says:
      April 20th, 2010 at 11:30 am

      I found this to be very helpful information. I am making a list of questions to ask my neurologist on my next visit and many of them are listed here. Although they are on this site I still plan on asking him about them.

      A former room mate use to somewhat tease that I would have to urinate a lot during a migraine. I would just get comfortable and have to get up and get to the bathroom. When I’m at the treatment center, I ask for a room that has a bathroom in it. I had no idea that the frequent urination was connected to my migraines!!

    8. Hugh Says:
      August 22nd, 2010 at 1:57 pm

      First off, I want to vent to an audience of those who will understand; I am really tired of individuals who claim to have migraines, but have NONE of the classic symptoms. Those who have never had one have NO CLUE how intense or debilitating the experience is. I concur that it can be likened to epileptic seizures. I don’t deny that these individuals are experiencing pain, but if you can take a Claritin or Aleve and it goes away, it’s not a migrane. I am extremely concerned that the work “migraine” has become synonymous with “really bad headache” instead of the specific affliction that it truly is.

      I’m 41 and have been experiencing migraines since my early twenties. They are the classic migraine progression with all of the symptom phases listed above. I can go several years without one and then experience many back to back over a few months. The pain has been so intense that I have literally banged my head against the wall just to distract myself from it. An early migraine sent me to the E.R. because I could not stand up due to disrupted motor control.

      I’ve tried many approaches to managing my migraines. The first instinct was to try to pinpoint what what causing them. I head about the concept that there were “trigger foods” that were high in tannins. So, I cut out red wine coffee, tea, chocolate and a number of other foods. Thank goodness I still got a migraine, because life like that sucked!

      Not knowing what was causing them (I now believe that it is a “perfect storm” scenario involving good or bad stress, food, and perhaps allergies), I turned to managing them when they do occur. We all know that over-the-counter pain killers have no effect. I tried Imitrex and I might have well been taking a sugar pill. The first experiment that really worked was purely instinctual and very simple; the hottest shower that was still comfortable with the water running on my scalp. I’m sure this has something to do with vasodilation. I have since started alternating the hot showers with cold gel packs from the freezer. It feels great and I feel like I’m giving myself a spa treatment.

      Most recently, I found that marijuana is the most reliable way to manage my pain, especially if I use it during the prodrome. Let me add that I am extremely fit (run 10 mi a week) and live with moderation, i.e., drugs are not a part of my “lifestyle.” It also gets rid of the debilitating nausea and sensitivity to light that I get. While I can still get disoriented from the migraine, it simply does not bother me. I was able to eat a meal and clean my house during my last migraine! Isn’t that better than putting blankets over the windows and assuming the fetal position? My decision to try marijuana was its connection to medical uses for pain and nausea. It works so well that I now find traditional medical management of migraines very suspect.

    9. Kelly P. Says:
      March 31st, 2011 at 9:33 pm

      Hugh,

      I am afraid your definition of migraine is not the one accepted by the medical community. They don’t all fit the textbook definition.

      I have been suffering from migraines for several years, and while I have pain, it is nowhere near as intense as yours. However, I do experience balance problems, numbness in and around my mouth, difficulty speaking and finding words, a spacey, confused mental state, and even low blood pressure. Prior to the migraine, I typically experience minor speech difficulty and frequent urination.

      After a CT scan, MRI and MRA, my neurologist diagnosed me with migraine. According to him, not all migraine sufferers have horrific headaches, as you do. I do, however, have to endure feeling like I’m having a stroke or have a brain tumor, and I get a pretty severe headache as well.

      So while I sympathize with your considerable suffering, you’ll have to pardon the rest of us for not having all the classic symptoms in the right order.

    10. johnna Says:
      April 27th, 2011 at 9:11 am

      I have an interesting precursor. It’s the thought that “wow, I’ve not had a headache for a few days, and I bet I’ll never have another.” Within an hour I’ll have a migraine. I’ve had this experience so many times that I now know that it is a sign, as well as the aura, that a migraine is on its way. Maybe part of the euphoria.

    11. michael Says:
      June 12th, 2011 at 10:40 am

      Wow! Reading all these comments is like an alcoholics first few AA meetings…OMG, you mean other people experience so many of these different symptoms?
      The “I haven’t had a headache in __# of days” being an absolute precursor blew my mind. Without a doubt it occurs every single time for me.
      the frequent urination in general….I thought I should be proud to have such wonderfully functioning kidneys.Darn! Thanks for ruining that delusion. Seems like no one mentioned stress. I’m a firm believer in stress being a trigger and most medical professionals I’ve dealt with have mentioned it. I have tried chiropractic, steroid spinal injection,botox and about 7 preventive maintenance meds(Inderal, Depacote, Elavil, Topamax…) with no luck. I think the chiropractic stent inflammed my neck pain… the spinal block has seemed to help that immensely and I am thankful for that because I want to be hopeful that occasionally the stress caused by the neck pain is assistive to the migraine process. I definitely believe that foods are a huge trigger…the time I spent on a physician assisted low carb diet seems to me to have been a time when my migraines were less frequent. I’ve also tried the Purple Butterbur and the COQ 10… no luck. I’m thinking about giving accupuncture a try.
      I guess more than any of what I’ve said I just want to express my frustration that modern medicine, though trying, appears to be so ineffective to find more answers so far. My mother suffered with daily headaches and I remember when I got a little older I would think “she can’t have a headache everyday!!!”. Guess what; I changed my mind on that thought.
      My neice suffers too and she is presently having some relief with taking prescribed Neurontin. This medicine has huge bad press so I am cautious to jump to trying it but I am happy for anyone that gets a little relief.
      After reading over this before submitting I am also convinced that “run on sentences” are also a symptom. Nah, that’s just ignorance. Blessings to all who suffer that one day soon something miraculous will come to relieve us of this debilitating malady.

    12. Ryan Says:
      June 17th, 2011 at 1:25 am

      My prodrome tell is little burps for no apparent reason. When I start doing that I know within a few hours I will have a migraine.

    13. Karen Says:
      June 23rd, 2011 at 10:50 am

      I have only been having migraines for about 6 months. I have some level of pain almost all the time. Every day brings something unpleasant and new. Today’s surprise is intense ear throbbing. I can feel and hear my pulse in one ear. very disconcerting. Anyone have ear problems? I have complained to my GP for years about ear pain, only to hear him say my ears are fine.

    14. Stazia Says:
      July 8th, 2011 at 8:12 am

      I just found this blog today, and reading the symptoms above was like finding a long lost sister. It’s awful that you suffer this way, and I know that because I suffer, too. As awful as it is, it’s good to know I’m not alone. I too had to quit my job because of migraines. No one wants to hire someone who’s calling in sick all the time, and most people just don’t understand … “Oh, yeah I get headaches, too.”

      I can totally relate to the person who said they banged their head against the wall. I tried to knock myself out like that once, just to stop the pain and make myself sleep.

      Thank you so much for your blog. I’ll have to check out the rest of it now.

    15. Ellen Says:
      September 18th, 2011 at 8:30 am

      I am so grateful that I found this site. I just got off the couch after two days of what I call “full body migraine”. Sometimes, along with my “regular” migraine, my entire body is sore and I blow up like a balloon, from my face to my toes. I take Imitrex but in these circumstances it doesn’t seem to do much. It’s been enlightening reading others’ symptoms like frequent urination and burping. I never made the connection till now! Does anyone else share my symptoms throughout their body? Well, time to go back to sleep…

    16. Jonah Says:
      September 28th, 2011 at 2:26 pm

      Im thankful I was able to read this, and I am not crazy. I am getting tired of having these headaches everyday. I wake up with a mild headache, and when I bend over, I stand up, I have to wait for the pressure to release from my head. I have moderate pain all day long, and sometime around 5-7pm I will all of a sudden become confused, loss for words, speaking is difficult for me, and my wife can tell that the switch was just turned on. I then become worthless for hours. I am in so much pain, and cant function, I have to sit and stare off into space, and sometimes I will have the camera flash in my vision/eyes, when opened or closed. Then the extreme, cant deal, horrible pain takes place. I feel like I want to bang my head against the wall. Then as it slowly fades away, I start talking again, and I have to go to the bathroom 7-8 times in a 2-3 hr period (while I am in bed). It is effecting my entire life and marriage. I cant be the old self I was before, and I have anxiety everywhere I go. I get the cold sweats, and paleness, and what I seem to think is dark circles. I use to be able to tan, and the circles would go away/less noticable. Now they are more noticeable when I am darker. I wake up in the morning after a long day of headaches/pain, and I feel beat up and exhausted !! I am feeling this pain more now, cause I have gotten off all meds. 1 of those meds were lortab/hydrocodone, for 4 years, and 100-150mg day. When I was taking them, the pain wasnt as intense. I got off zoloft and anti depressants also. During the time i was taking those meds, I was prescribed Topomax for my migraines, but I didnt take it everyday like I should, so I am awaiting to try them again, to see if it works. I also think I am having bad allergies too, do to my cats and dog. Seems like the more I stay at home, the more frequent the migraines. This is becoming a huge hassle for me, and wearing me out. Is it possible I am having these headaches cause of my allergies, which lead to migraines ?? I cant keep living like this. I get no relief, or have any way to get relief ! Is there anything I can do, to get my life back? I have been to the neurologist, my primary, etc- Im tired of trying to explain my symptoms, and them thinking I dont have anything wrong with me ! I have a ringing in the ear too. Its constant,and never leaves… As does the headache. Its all day everyday, and only gets worse, with I get the vision,migraine, urination and confusion, then wake up feeling beat up ! I need some advice ASAP… Thanks

    17. Cara Says:
      October 4th, 2011 at 9:50 pm

      I can definitely feel for all of you who have severe migraines! I have suffered with mine since I began my monthly cycle in high school. I’m now 41 and they have run my life. Back in my twenties, I would only have them about once a month with my cycle and on occasion when I was under a ton of stress (good or bad). But then at 26 I had my 1st baby. I couldn’t take anything while being pregnant and something about my hormonal changes made my migraines come more often. I have 3 children and with each child, the migraines became worse. I was at the point where I was having them daily! I had tried every medication known to man. The only thing that worked ok was zomig. But throughout my pregnancies and nursing my babies, I became addicted to pain killers. My migraines were so intense. I have the “full body” people above have described.

      I always begin having the aura first and the sensitivity to odors. Then, I literally become pale and lose the color in my face and the pain sets in. I know at this point, I’m in for a long haul! I vomit so much, can’t eat, have to hide my head deep within my pillow, putting pressure on it for a slight amount of relief (that doesn’t last long). I sit as still as I can. I know if I cry like I want to, that it will just make it worse. I can’t be touched, talked to, I can’t do anything at all. I am unable to function whatsoever. I lay in my bed and pray for the pain to stop. It usually takes from 10-24 hours for my symptoms to decrease so that I can get back to my daily activities. My husband left and divorced me because he couldn’t take how often I was always sick. He said that he had lost his wife. Although, what the people around us don’t understand is that we are the ones who are suffering. If you are reading this and someone you love is going through this sort of pain, I beg of you to be there for them. Don’t leave them when they need you the most.

      My marriage ended 4 years ago know. I am raising my 3 beautiful children on my own and luckily, I am down to only 1-3 migraines a month. They have become more severe in nature the older I am getting. I am scared about having an anneurysm or stroke. I have suddenly been having severe facial swelling that I haven’t experienced before, which frightens me. I no longer have medical insurance since my divorce and each Zomig pill costs me $60 per pill. Although, since my divorce, I have gotten off of all of the various medications I was taking. I am no longer taking any prescription painkillers, no more antidepressant, no more Topomax (which I felt was killing me!), etc. I now only take vitamins and the occasional Zomig and try to relax. I do bio-feedback, relaxation exercises, yoga, and I keep a headache diary, where I write down the things I eat and do and try to make connections between them and my migraines. One person posted up above that it is the perfect storm that truly causes them. I believe they are absolutely correct! If I’m under stress, beginning my monthly cycle and I eat something with MSG… I’m screwed! But on a day when I’m calm and relaxed, I can eat a whole bowl of soup with MSG and be ok. So, watch out for the triggers and try to keep them to a minimum.

      Good luck to all of you out there who suffer from these things. Mine have been diagnosed as complicated migraine with aura. I have been to the ER more times than I can count with them. I can only hope that I will outgrow them and that none of my children end up with them. One can only hope! God Bless!

    18. Chana Says:
      November 20th, 2011 at 11:31 am

      Like the rest of you, I was very glad to find this site and to discover that others experience some of the unusual symptoms my daughter and I do prior to a migraine, such as frequent urination and the awareness that it has been quite a few days since my last migraine. I always took this as superstitiousness and have advised my friends never to ask how my head has been, as this always seems to trigger a migraine. Now I know that I’m not alone in this. My neurologists have never heard of frequent urination as a precursor of migraines, but it is the surest indication I know of that a migraine is on its way. I can easily lose 4-5 lbs. in the day before I get a migraine.

      Because of modern meds, I am now able to work, losing only a day or two to migraines a month, and working through the less severe one. (If I am able to drive, I am able to work according to my calculations), but I was disabled for 15 years and lost most of my daughter’s growing up years to migraine pain. I have often felt as if those 15 years were stolen from me, from us.

      One of the things that concerns me is that many MDs don’t listen to our reports of what helps us. My daughter has been hospitalized twice and developed migraines while inpatient. The MDs wouldn’t listen to what works for her, resulting in long hospitalizations until they finally administered Dilaudid, the only drug that helps at this point. Another concern is that hospitals are moving away from the use of Dilaudid, preferring Toredal and other medications that don’t help either of us. The future is not looking rosy.

    19. Laurie Vincent Says:
      November 23rd, 2011 at 10:53 pm

      My Migraines are under good control by taking 3 25mg tablets of Lamactil (Lamotrigine) twice a day to prevent daily Migraines. I only get a Migraine about 8 to 10 times per year now. When I do get a Migraine I take two Aleve (Naproxen Sodium) plus two Tylenol 3. The Migraine goes away in about 30 minutes completely. I have two minor Cardiac Arrythmias, so I cannot take any Migraine Abortive medicines, which usually causes rebound Migraines anyway. Other things that prevent Migraines for me is to eat a high fiber diet (usually oatmeal daily) and drinking a glass of Gatorade at the very first sign of a headache. Gatorade will usually stop it before it gets worse. I also rub Origins “Peace of Mind” peppermint lotion under my chin ears and neck. I hope these things will work for you, too. :)

    20. amy Says:
      November 26th, 2011 at 10:40 pm

      Thank you for putting this list together! While there seem to be a crazy number of them I was relieved to see my symptoms before a migraine and during to some extent on the list. I regularly search for an answer to my migraines and headaches but thought I had such an odd list of symptoms for migraines that they can’t possibly be related, but it looks like they might be.
      I am also happy to find a site full of people that prove I’m not crazy ôr making symptoms up! Its hard for people to understand the pain when. They do not regularly get them and I’ve felt so bad inconviecing my boss, coworkers and family. Glad to know I’m not alone

    21. Kristina Says:
      December 14th, 2011 at 9:25 pm

      I am so thankful to have come upon this site.. I’m 34 And have suffered with migraine since I was 18. As the years have gone by they only seem to get worse. My last pregnancy my third child was a nightmare hellish experience. Migraines weekly and countless hospitilizations. They gave me morphine which is the only thing that worked. Since then I’m also suffering from ppd and on antidepressants. They recently prescribed zomig but I’m scared of the interactions between the two so just continue with the morphine which only makes them bareable. I was happy to see that I’m not alone with tooth, ear and eye pain, I had never made the connection between the former two so it was interesting to see it may all be migraine. I also get high energy and a realization like hmmm I haven’t had a migraine in x number of days only to be slammed and out of commission for days. It’s hard to watch my partner have to do all the caregiving while I lie in bed but I can’t for the life of me do anything else. I hate living this way. When I was pregnant they also tried a drug called stemitol on me.. And it was living he’ll.. I felt like my body was suffocating and intense anxiety. I’m pretty sure they shouldn’t have given me that during pregnAncy and am convinced it caused growth problems in my son who now is normal thank god. If a doctor ever tries to give me that again I will tell him to inject himself first while I watch him lobotomize himself. We don’t need to be guinea pigs we need relief from constant agony and suffering. I hate when I hear stuff like take Tylenol or alieve.. I’m mean come on if it were that simple do you think I wouldn’t have done that already!!! I hate the constant feeling of being alone trapped in my head to wage a long battle 2-3 days against something I can never complete defeat. I pray for the day I and others who suffer will get the relief they deserve. I hate being unable to live a normal life and worry that my partner will oneday leave cause the woman he loves is too broken to keep helping.. Sorry for the verbal hemorrhage but I needed to get this off my chest.. Hoping for a better future for all.

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