The Multi-phased Migraine

There are four stages that generally occur with a migraine:The Prodrome, the aura (in those that have an aura), the actual headache and the postdrome. When looking for headache treatment, it is important to understand each of these phases. The Prodrome stage are symptoms that occurr hours or even days before the actual headache occurs.. The prodrome involves a large variety of symptoms that vary from person to person. The headache sufferer may have mood changes, feel sluggish, depressed or irritable. They may have loss of appetite or strange food cravings There may be constipation, diarrhea or an increased frequency of urination. The headache sufferer may experience increased sensitivity to light, sound or certain smells.

About 20% of migraine sufferers experience the Aura stage. It does not always accompany every headache. Visual symptoms are the most common type of Aura. They can be one sided or both sided. The sufferer will often see an area of bright flashing lights that expands over a period of time to cover a large portion of their field of vision. This is known as a scintillating scotoma. Another common type of aura is a sensory aura. Sensory aura's often start as numbness or tingling that can occur for 20 minutes or longer. It usually starts in one hand on one side of the body. Gradually it spreads from the hand up the arm and may jump to the face.

The Headache phase is the throbbing, pulsating severe pain that gets worse with movement. 60% of migraine headaches occur on one side of the head, while 40% occur on both sides. Migraine headaches usually last anywhere from a few hours to days on end. Other common symptoms include: throbbing and pulsating pain that varies in intensity, nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, blurred or restricted vision and sensitivity to light, visual symptoms, sensitivity to sound, smells or touch, mental dullness, vertigo, double vision, high or low blood pressure, fatigue, depression, irritability, anger, and nasal congestion. A sufferer may experience phosphenes, brief flashes of light that last a few seconds and shoot across the visual field. "Hibernation behavior" is sometimes seen in migraine pateint when they just want to curl up in a dark place.

The Postdrome phase occurs after a severe migraine. The sufferer often feels exhausted, tired or depressed. They will often have impaired concentration, muscle weakness, food cravings or loss of appetite, feelings of euphoria or hyperactive behavior. These are the four phases of a migraine. A knowledge of these 4 phases will help the doctor in the migraine treatment.