Migraine symptoms by stage and easy strategies for relief

Migraines have four main stages – prodromal phase (before the attack), aura phase, attack phase, and postdrome phase. Not all patients go through all four stages. In this post, I list migraine symptoms by stage. The helpful tips for migraine relief are broken out into two sections. Tips for phase 1&2 following the symptoms listed and then tips for phase 3&4 following the accompanying symptoms listed. You can always be prepared to respond to the attack with full force.

 

Stage 1: Prodromal phase migraine symptoms

It usually happened a few hours to a day before the migraine attack. Symptoms include:

• The feeling of unusual productivity & excitement
• Feelings of sadness, depression, and irritability
• Thirst
• Higher than normal sleepiness with lots of yawning (I get this one a lot)
• Cravings for specific foods (I crave bread products a lot before the attack)
• Need to pee more often

Stage 2: Aura phase migraine symptoms

Aura phase begins before the headache or comes along with it. 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 people experience aura with their migraines. Some of the common migraine symptoms in aura phase include:

• Changes in vision and visual disturbances (like seeing sparkling lights, flashing, blind spots in vision, losing vision in one eye)
• Skin sensations – like feeling pins and needles on one side of the body, numbness, sensitivity to hold and cold
• Language challenges – like trouble finding the right word, issues with concentration, expression of thoughts etc.

The other day, when my migraine symptoms were coming on, I could not think of a simple word for almost two minutes – it was the word “portal” and it seemed to be right there, at the tip of my tongue, but would not register with my brain. 

 

Tips for migraine symptoms relief in phases 1 & 2:

Paying attention to the prodromal and aura phases could help you time your medication intake and lower the intensity of pain during the attack. It can also help the physician to provide a more accurate diagnosis to you – so tell your doctor about all the symptoms no matter how obscure they seem.

 

Have your acute migraine medications always on hand.

I have some in my purse, in my car, and in my bathroom – just so I can have access at any time. If you experienced migraines, you know that at times the pain is so intense, you can’t even move. Having your meds nearby is critical.

 

I take my acute medications as soon as I notice the symptoms.

For my specific migraine type, the prodromal and aura phases are a warning that pain is on the way. Having waited to take my meds in hopes that it would just go away on its own, I ended up in ER with unmanageable migraines way too often. One of the biggest myths about migraine treatments that my doctor dispelled for me was about waiting to treat. It helped me to avoid a “multi-day headache” numerous times after I found the right physician and the right care. Note, there are some migraine types that require a different treatment protocol. Please, talk to your doctor about when you should take the medication.

Use simple guided imagery meditation to take the edge off irritability, sadness, or unusual excitement.

Listening to a 5-minute grounding, guided imagery meditation can help you to get more in tune with your body. This in turn can further help with the early treatment of acute migraine symptoms. Here is just one example of such quick and easy grounding meditation.

Ride the wave of productivity if you can.

I learned not to fight the unusual productivity that comes with my migraines. Instead, I harness it. The work, house chores, kid duties, and even extra awesome creative ideas – all happen for me during the prodromal and aura stages of my migraines. As soon as I notice those symptoms, I allow myself to be this productive, knowing that the next period will likely be a lot less productive and come with pain management strategies.

Stage 3: The attack phase migraine symptoms

The intense pain comes accompanied by sense, light, and smell sensitivity. Here are just some of the challenging migraine symptoms that happen during the attack phase.

• Throbbing pain, often on one side of the head/face/neck
• Pain above the eyes, around the temple area, neck, and lower face
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Lightheadedness, fainting
• Pain that gets worse with physical activity or leaning forward

This is why a migraine is not just a headache. It is a complex neurological condition that needs medical attention and a solid treatment plan along with an accurate diagnosis.

 

Stage 4: Prodromal phase migraine symptoms

• Euphoria from pain relief
• Extreme tiredness
• Sluggishness
• Confusion

Tips for migraine symptoms relief in phases 3 & 4:

Work on pain relief!

Make sure to take your prescribed medications or your natural remedies to start the process of relieving pain. Enough said!

 

Give your sensory overload a break.

It is best to get into a quiet, dark room. But let’s be realistic! You may be at work when a migraine hits. Offices are full of bright lights, noise and computer screen. And if you are working a job that requires you to be on your feet like nursing, retail, etc., enduring an attack can be even more challenging. How can you get away?

1. There are smaller ways to reduce sensory overload. Put on sunglasses! I always carry a pair on me.
2. You could go into your car for a while!
3. Finally, go into an empty conference room and/or beak room and turn the light off. Even 15-20 min could help you relax and relieve the sensory attack. Grab an ice pack too!

Combat nausea and vomiting

Nausea often can be helped with natural remedies like ginger and mint. I drink ginger tea from yogi and headache halo from david’s tea. There are many forms of ginger like candy and tincture. If you have nothing on hand, even breath mints can be helpful in a pinch.

There are special medications if you tend to vomit a lot during migraine. My doctor prescribed Zofran for me, but you should consult your doctor as to which medication is best for you. A lot of medications can interact with each other, so it is important for you to speak with your physician first.

 

Be ready for tiredness in the postdrome stage.

1. Be kind to yourself. The postdrome phase could come with elation that the pain is finally gone, but it often comes with a feeling of complete exhaustion from enduring the attack. You will need to re-examine your expectations of yourself post-attack phase.
2. See big things in small things! When I was a young single mom, success post-migraine attack meant my daughter was fed, bathed, and safe. At work, I did mindless tasks during this phase like filing my expenses or organizing some folders. Some days, success meant that I had one warm meal that I didn’t vomit back out. Again, see big things in most minuscule of things!
3. Have some frozen ready meals for those days!
4. Have health-boosting drinks or supplements for sluggishness. I take energy plus immunity health shots for VIVE organic.

WebMD said it well: Since many of the symptoms found in these stages of migraines can also occur in very serious conditions such as stroke or seizures, seek immediate medical help for any new symptoms, or ones that have never been evaluated by your doctor.