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In general, there are four stages to a migraine attack, the prodrome, the aura, the headache
itself, and then the postdrome. About 60% of patients experience the prodrome although
in fact many of them do not realize it.
Prodromal symptoms includes such things as hyperactivity, decreased ability to sleep.
In some people sluggishness or yawning, some people notice they become crabby, they urinate
more frequently, they crave certain foods, and often they start to have a heightened
awareness of their senses.
So, light seem brighter, sound seem stronger, and they start complaining that their family
is too louder, or the workplace is too loud when in fact nothing has changed. They are
just more sensitive to it.
The second face the aura, and interestingly many doctors and many patients also think
you need to have an aura to have migraine headache, but in fact aura is fairly rare.
Only about 20% of migraine suffers experience the aura, and by definition the aura is a
transient or a short lived disturbance in some function in the neurologic ability.
Usually, it is a visual disturbance so people will see sparkling lights, or shooting stars,
or zig zag lines that blot out their vision. Some people may notice they become numb on
their face, or on their hand, on the side around the opposite side of their headache,
and still other people may notice they have trouble speaking.
The next stage of migraine not surprisingly is the headache, and the classic symptom of
the migraine headache is that it is a one-sided headache. It tends to be throbbing or pounding,
moderate to severe in intensity, but it is not just the head pain that makes the headache
of migraine a migraine.
It is what associated with the headache. People during migraine experience nausea. They may
vomit, they may have sensitivity to light, or to sound, or to smell, and in fact all
they really want to do during a migraine headache is to shut the door, and close the lights,
pull the blankets over their head and try to sleep.
In fact hibernation is one of the features of migraine that is not appropriately treated.
The last stage of migraine is called the postdrome and it is this vague sensation almost like
a hangover where your body aches. You have a limited ability to think, to eat, to act
normally, and you are still just not yourself.
Taken in total, the entire complex of migraine can last as short as four hours which is pretty
long to as long as three to four days. So, it is an overwhelming sensation. If you suffer
from migraine, you are not alone.
Migraine affects about 11% of the country, or more than 30 million Americans. If you
think you are one of those migraine sufferers, you should call your doctor, and if necessary
you refer to a neurologist or other headache specialist.