Signs of Migraine That Don't Include the Usual Headaches

Approximately nine percent of Americans suffer from migraines, with almost five million experiencing at least one per month. Migraines are more common in women than in men and usually occur in people between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-five. Common symptoms of a migraine include; headaches, a throbbing and pulsing pain, nausea, sensitivity to light, smell and sound. However, there are many other symptoms that many do not consider when wondering whether or not they are experiencing a migraine.

Migraines Can Cause Changes In Mood

Changes in patient’s mood are often reported before the migraine attack - during the warning period referred to as the prodrome. Patients may experience mood changes hours or days before the migraine attack. However, mood changes can occur at any point of the migraine attack. Symptoms of mood changes may include trouble thinking, concentrating, irritability, changes in behavior and energy, confusion, depression, anxiousness, and hyperactivity. Studies have found that seventy-two percent of migraine sufferers reported feeling tired and weary as a warning sign, while fifty-one percent had trouble paying attention before a migraine set in.

Diarrhea And Constipation Due To Migraines

Patients who suffer migraines may get diarrhea or constipation as a symptom, with some experiencing it alongside their head pain. Many patients notice a pattern of the symptoms they experience during a migraine, and when the symptoms may occur at which period of a migraine. Some medications that are used to treat migraines can be blamed for diarrhea or constipation.

Diarrhea is described as when a patient may feel the need to rush to the restroom with frequent bowel movements, usually in liquid form. They may experience three or more loose stools per day, cramps, abdominal pain, and nausea. Constipation is when a patient’s bowels move less than three times per week. The symptoms of constipation may include; dry, hard, small stools, painful bowel movements, and a bloated stomach.

Difficulty Concentrating As A Migraine Symptom

Some migraine patients have complaints that they lack focus, which can be a present symptom whether or not the migraine causes head pain. When a migraine does not have the signs of a headache, they are referred to as a silent migraine. In a study of one hundred and forty-one patients that suffer from migraines, eighty-four complained that lack of concentration was a warning sign of an oncoming migraine. In a study done in 2005, ninety percent of the patients found that they had trouble concentrating. Those who experience this symptom explain it as having a hard time paying attention and staying focused, as well as troubled or slowed thinking.

Feeling Fatigued From Migraines

Eighty-four percent of all patients who suffer from migraines, also suffer from fatigue. This fatigue may occur before a migraine – warning the patient of the impending attack – or it may be present throughout the episode. Fatigue can make a patient feel sluggish, weak, and tired, which in turn can affect both their physical and mental abilities. It has also been reported that fatigue can heighten the effects of other symptoms of migraines. Fatigue can also cause depression, which often accompanies migraines. There is sufficient proof that patients who suffer from migraines are five times more likely to develop depression. Some ways to cope with fatigue are; pacing back-and-forth, taking short rests throughout the day, getting some exercise, and getting adequate sleep whether or not a migraine is present.

Fever Due To Migraines

Fever in an adult is when the body reaches a temperature of one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit or above. Whereas, a fever in a child is determined if the temperature from under their armpit is above ninety-nine degrees, or if their oral temperature is above 99.5 degrees. A study done in Rome between 1981 and 1995 found that out of 1,787 children, nine percent of them had a fever alongside their migraine. A fever can also be a sign of more severe conditions. It is recommended that patients seek immediate medical assistance if they also experience a stiff neck, trouble speaking, lack or loss of balance, weakness in the muscles within your face, arms, legs, or fainting.

Hives Caused By Migraines

Hives are defined as a rash of welts or patches on the skin that may appear pink or red in color. Often hives cause itching and swelling. Hives can disappear from one place on the body, only for a new patch to appear on a new part of the body, lasting anywhere from a few days to weeks or months. It is unclear whether or not hives are a symptom of migraines; however, both hives and migraines can be symptoms of an allergic reaction. Hives can appear for many reasons, including allergies, insect bites, stress, extreme temperature, excessive perspiration, and infections.

Food Cravings From Migraines

Some may experience food cravings during the first stage of their migraine. However, when an individual experiences cravings before the head pain stage of the migraine attack, the cravings can be mistaken as a trigger. While the migraine sufferer experiences the next stage of a migraine (head pain), they will no longer have these food cravings and instead will experience nausea. After this pain has passed, many do not feel the urge to eat. A study done in 2001 found that eighteen percent of migraine sufferers experience food cravings as a symptom.

Neck Pain Can Be A Sign Of A Migraine

Migraines can cause neck pain for some patients during an attack. The pain can derive from the muscles or nerves in the neck and can cause discomfort in the bones of the spine or the disks of cartilage between the spinal bones. The pain can make a migraine feel as if it is central to the base of the neck, or as if a headache radiates from the neck to the head. A survey found that seventy-five percent of those who suffered from migraines experienced some form of neck pain.

Transient Aphasia

Transient aphasia is a temporary migraine symptom that some patients with migraine aura may experience. The patients are affected by an electrical impulse that affects the neurons that are responsible for transmitting brain functions such as sight, scent, and speech. Those who suffer from transient aphasia may lose the ability to speak or the motor function for a small amount of time. Other patients have reported a temporary loss of the feeling on one side of their body. Sometimes transient aphasia can be caused by medications prescribed to treat cases of a migraine with aura, so it is important that research is done on what medications are best.

Vertigo From Migraines

Vertigo is a common symptom those who experience migraines, making the patient feel as if they are spinning or continuously moving. As a migraine symptom, vertigo is called migrainous vertigo, or a vestibular migraine, and may also occur alongside nausea and vomiting. Studies have shown that between twenty-five to thirty percent of patients with migraines experience vertigo. Vertigo can have many symptoms of its own, causing spells of dizziness, imbalance, motion sickness, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness, and pressure in the ears. The symptoms may vary from patient to patient and may last anywhere from a few seconds to a few days.

Weakness As A Migraine Symptom

Many patients who suffer from migraines complain of headaches and pain. However, weakness is an uncommon symptom among them. Still, some patients have reported feeling weak during a migraine, and on rare occasions, have reported feeling paralysis in limbs. In a study among forty-seven patients in 1992, thirteen percent reported weakness in their limbs, and eleven percent reported lack of control of their arms and legs. Weakness and paralysis can be either localized or generalized. The term localized means that the pain is felt in a specific location or muscle, whereas generalized is weakness or paralysis within a small region of the body or a limb such as an arm or leg.