FOUR STAGES of a MIGRAINE ATTACK // The SYMPTOMS I get in each Migraine Phase

Hey there, it's Jen (almost migraine jen) and I'm thrilled to have you back on my channel - Momming with Migraine. Today, we're delving into a topic that's incredibly important for anyone who experiences migraine - the stages and symptoms of a migraine attack.
Have you ever thought of migraine as "just a headache?" You should probably start thinking again. Migraine is a complex neurological phenomenon that goes way beyond a simple throbbing in the head. It's like a puzzle with four distinct pieces, each representing a different stage of the migraine experience.
Together, let's break down these stages one by one, shedding light on the unique symptoms that can crop up during each phase. So, if you've been struggling with migraines and are eager to better understand your body and its responses, you're in the right place.
Hit that play button, and while you're at it, make sure to hit subscribe and ring that bell so you're in the loop whenever I drop more truth bombs about handling migraines.
If you HAVE POTS and SUSPECT A LEAK, watch this:
○ POTS vs. Spinal CSF Leaks: • POTS and Spinal CSF Le...
○ Main WEBSITE: mommingwithmigraine.com
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SOME PREVIOUS VIDEOS…
Other Spinal CSF Leak Diagnosis Roller Coaster videos (2022):
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High Cranial Pressure (IIH) (2021):
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○ Getting OFF Diamox: • IIH + No More Brain Pr...
○ Passing the Tilt Table Test: • PROGRESS CHECK // At-H...
○ Vestibular Therapy: • EXERCISES FOR VERTIGO ...
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○ Migraine Life Modifications: • Day-to-Day LIFE MODIFI...
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Content ID Code: 8KWKY9ITDPXJWRQL
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NOTE: Though I talk about medical topics, nothing on my channel is meant as medical advice (for all statements, past or future). I am a patient sharing my personal experiences, but I am not a doctor nor am I medically trained. My channel is for entertainment and community only.
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[@LedgerAndLace]

Every once in a while I have the super-energy, feel-no-pain, "Oh! This is what it feels like to be NORMAL" feeling and then I realize it's another version of a prodrome. It's rare, so I forget until I remember. Yawning is a consistent symptom. "Oh, I guess I'm boring you" is always the joke if I'm talking to someone, no matter how often I explain. A buzzing sensation in my hands and feet, clumsy and walking in to door jams or tripping on nothing. Last year I broke my foot and kept re-injuring it. And then there's the BRAIN FOG! I can't think. I sit and think about thinking. I can't do basic math. And I definitely get irritable. I didn't use to get auras, but colours would be so VIBRANT. Like one day the trees were screaming green at me, it made me nauseous. But another time, I was coming out of an office and saw these sweet petunias and they were so beautiful, and I was just staring at them. Then I realized that I needed to get home. Now the aura faze looks like a general fog. Which is what I'm seeing right now. I could write more, but that's all I got. Thanks for doing this video, Jen!

[@Planes_onlyplanes]

My dad says before he has a migraine I'm gonna be sick it happens a lot like that his come from his work he lifts really heavy boxes

[@lolly1450]

I get the "stuffy" sinuses too. nearly every time, in fact. This is my first warning sign most of the times. And the worst symptom for me is the sensitivity to smell. EVERITHING stinks and I smell things that I never knew even have a smell... 🤢

[@clevicaro6415]

Same here 😅

[@MommingwithMigraine]

oof so hard to deal with!! I get that way with sounds. I hear things I'm never usually able to hear. And then I'm almost deaf from the stuffiness. What a strange condition! SO MUCH MORE THAN A HEADACHE!

[@lolly1450]

@@MommingwithMigraine SO true!

[@soniczforever5470]

The sensitivity to smell sucks weigh 36 kilo over that have a lousy appetite. I give out yards over smells when a headache has or is about to start and then I cant eat. Stomach turns. Sometimes I get sick. I got a daith piercing in ear would recommend not that bad migraines reduced. Maybe Give a try. 🙂 still smell like a bloodhound though.

[@allisonharranmua8193]

Thank you for explaining this so well. I use your channel to explain things to people in my life regarding my migraines because you really do a great job at saying what I can't always explain.

[@serenitygoodwyn]

I sometimes lose the ability to feel emotion, literally I think someone could put a gun to my head and I'd feel nothing. It's quite weird and disconcerting. It's also a problem with relationships because I have no empathy, not so bad with my husband because I can warn him I'm having that symptom so he knows I'm not going to be emotionally responsive to him for a while but much more problematic with work colleagues etc as that's impossible to explain without sounding crazy. It's very disconcerting, fortunately it doesn't occur with every migraine just the bad ones. I'm not sure in what phase it occurs as I generally don't get a headache and I get a migraine daily, it's just the severity that changes, so they all seem to run into each other.

[@raxxhh]

Same

[@achopman5949]

Early symptoms for me are a high blood pressure, being busy like the whole house cleaning. Second is indeed aura, black dots with lighting that get worse till I can't see anything and stays 30 minutes. Than kicks nausea in, a weird feeling in my head like brainfog, can't eat or drink anything because everything has a terrible taste and everything smells bad, I smell also things that are not there like cigarette smoke or gas, always bad smells. Headache kicks in, mostly right and on the top of my head. Something weird is, if I go to my bed, it's even worse! Don't know if that's also the feeling of being alone, everybody has 'fun' except me or something else but the best for me is staying in the living room, no music or TV and have my (service)dog with me, who also is a migraine alert dog (seizure dog and PTSD) sometimes I can lay on my couch. Sometimes it's 2 days (terrible headache) and than the day after or 2, the hangover... I have reading glasses, I can't put them on my nose because it hurt so much, I can wear my contacts, so I am so happy that I don't wear glasses for the whole day. I like it if people are talking, just listen to them astrack me from everything that is going on in my head and body. I get migraine's often 2 or 3 times a week. Headache free or brainfog free days are very less in my life! Greetings from the Netherlands 💜

[@MommingwithMigraine]

Ooh yes the nesting, totally part of the giddiness! Look at all of your symptoms. This disease is so much more than a headache and it has so many different presentations. Thanks for sharing your migraine story! Cheers!

[@laurag6996]

I get “typical” migraine w. aura, sensitivity to light, nausea etc… but I also get a myriad of seizure-like symptoms such as, sudden limb weakness, falling down, gait changes, episodes of sudden sleep that pull me under and feel like anesthesia and are scary, body jerks, speech difficulties, and many more… neurologists can’t figure me out for 14 years. Jen, you are so interesting to watch/listen to because I’ve been following your journey from the start and have wondered if our issues might be similar. When you are “migraine Jen”, I see how you are cognitively diminished, confused, not your normal, high functioning, Jen. I get that way too. I’m desperate for help so I pour over each video you post in hopes for some new info I can bring to my doctors to help figure me out. Thank you, Jen for your insightful videos and for being YOU! 🙂 For any other migrainers out there… does anyone else experience these debilitating, neurological symptoms? I can’t tell if they are “ migraine phases” or not… thanks 🌼 God Bless

[@MommingwithMigraine]

You're welcome!! I wish I could give you a hug!! It's so bittersweet when I come across someone like you who makes me feel less alone but obviously I hate that you are experiencing this!! I have videos about my brain fluid leak (CSF LEAK) evaluation and treatment happening now. I hope you find answers.

[@MommingwithMigraine]

oh and BTW my next video is about the symptoms of high cranial pressure vs low cranial pressure and how I try to differentiate them from each other & from the migraine cycle. Releases Tues 8/22/23. you may be interested in that! all just anecdotal like the rest of my channel, but many brains is better than 1!

[@laurag6996]

It’s so cool to see a message from you! You made my day! Thank you! Your videos have made me feel less alone too. You don’t even realize the positive impact you’re having on folks by sharing your personal medical journey. God bless you and your family.

[@MommingwithMigraine]

@@laurag6996 Aww yea thank you! Means a lot to hear kind words from you, too. I'm so happy to have you here =) God bless. Hope we both make huge progress soon.

[@lreppy10]

Some of my more unusual migraine symptoms… Sometimes food doesn’t taste right. Sometimes it tastes like chemicals or just tastes wrong. I think that might be during prodrome or aura. Sometimes I’m in a stage where I don’t have a headache, but if I trip a little on something, and my body jumps a little, I feel a big jolt of head pain - like it was waiting silently to be triggered. I think that is the post-drome phase. It is hard to tell the phases apart because I have chronic migraines. My most frequent trigger is smells. I have to use scent free soap, shampoo, moisturizer, antiperspirant, laundry detergent, cleaners, etc. I really miss the enjoyment of scents. I used to LOVE the fragrance of a fresh pine/ Christmas tree. I can’t tolerate it anymore.

[@LoveAuntAshley]

I get Ocular Migraines due to hydrocephalus (excess fluid on the brain). My symptoms usually include: Headache/neckache and shoulder pain My eyes itch like they're filled with sand trouble regulating body temperature (which is actually a symptom of my paralysis but the OM's exacerbate it) Auras vestibular problems (I'm starting to wonder if that's actually a VM cause sometimes I'll get regular headache pain that's NOT behind the eye that cause vestibular probs...I'm gonna have to do some research on that) queasiness that euphoric stage (which I didn't know was a migraine symptom so you taught me something today, thank you!) worsening depression (of course when I'm not euphoric...I actually was diagnosed with depression before being diagnosed with migraine disease/disorder) sensitivity to light and sound tingling in the hands/arms

[@mylifewithmarmalade4624]

Excellent breakdown! I think a lot of people who don’t have migraine don’t realize how long each attack can last when you factor in all 4 stages. I tend to have very long pro and post dromes. So yeah, I might have the classic horrible headache, nausea, dizziness and light sensitivity for only a few hours, but by the time I look at the whole cycle I will be “unwell” for about 4-5 days. I tend to get substantial GI upset as part of prodrome. So that’s always a fun guessing game: possible food poisoning or migraine? Also, I don’t get typical aura, but a low grade Alice In Wonderland Syndrome instead where it’s like my depth perception is just missing. Things seem to be farther or closer than they actually are and the speed of both moving things and time doesn’t seem quite right. It can be very disorienting and downright scary if it starts while I’m driving. Took me years to connect either of these to migraines because they aren’t on the common symptoms list. Point is, track ALL the littlest symptoms, some of the patterns might surprise you.

[@ElijahPerrin80]

I have a bit of a love hate thing with my migraines, I get amazing visualizations and audio hallucinations especially when I get a migraine at night and the night dreams are amazing, I have lived lives inside of my migraine dreams. One thing I notice a lot is time dilatation where an hour feels like a day or more and you can get lost in a memory. I tend to often get pins and needles or numbness, the prodrome while driving can be a challenge but if I worried about my migraines I would never do anything. I do however find like you said I do not pay attention to my symptoms and pain, when someone asks I may say I am ok but if I think about it I am so far from ok, being dissociative is not a bad thing at times. Thank you for all you do.

[@MommingwithMigraine]

You're welcome, I'm sorry you relate. This is so many symptoms you're fighting through. For time dilation, it helps me to have music on, so I always know how fast time is moving. You're right that the dissociating helps sometimes.

[@natalieedelstein]

6:56 and also if your *only* symptom is a headache, it is not migraine by definition

[@MommingwithMigraine]

Yes! Migraine is SOOO MUCH MORE than headache!

[@natalieedelstein]

@MommingwithMigraine 100% I tell people it is more like a sensory processing disorder that affects all senses for simplicity's sake so they understand that it affects more than just your sense of pain (although it is a little more than a sensory processing disorder too).

[@MommingwithMigraine]

@@natalieedelstein that's a great way to describe it

[@natalieedelstein]

@@MommingwithMigraine 😁

[@sarahkwast1250]

I really appreciate how you explain migrains. It is so easy to understand what you describe. ❤ I get two types of headaches. Cluster headaches, which are recurrent headaches that hurt behind my eye or eyebrow on one side of my head. And Icepick headaches, which feel like repeating electric shocks in one temple. I thought I had read that cluster headaches are a type of migraine, but I guess they are actually not. There are so many different types of headaches! It is crazy!

[@MommingwithMigraine]

Thanks!! You're right, it's incredible how many different ways a head can hurt 💜 Cluster headaches are so under-understood by the public, but my cluster friends' experiences they are SUPER intense. My heart goes out to you.

[@sarahkwast1250]

@@MommingwithMigraine ❤️

[@TinyPigy282]

Although I know migraine is so much more than just pain in the forehead/behind the eye, I'm still trying to figure our my symptoms/migraine traits/patterns. I experience around 7-14 migraines a month. It can be impacted by my hormones, the weather/pressure changes, stress etc. I often deal with tension headache and neck pain which can sometimes lead to my typical migraine. I do notice excessive yawning on the leadup to some migraines. A bit more recently I've noticed issues with my coordination and balance while having a migraine and also being more dizzy/spinny. Some of the bad migraines cause nausea and vomiting for me but I can sometimes avoid the migraine progressing by taking my triptan. Although I try to avoid taking it too much, I do sometimes regret not taking it for some migraines as at thr start I'm like it's not that bad and then 6 hrs later I'll be vomiting and unable to sleep regreting past me's choices 😂 The joys of migraines 🙃 😂

[@kimwells8395]

Thank you for doing this video. I have questions for you about my dog and about some extra issues I have been having with my migraines. Could you or would you be willing to answer them?

[@MommingwithMigraine]

You're welcome! I'm happy to help where I can, but I am not qualified to give medical advice and most dog training questions are best fit for someone who trains for a living. That said, I'm happy to share info about my own personal experiences!

[@stinger223]

I have hydrocephalus, had it since birth. When I was about 10, a piece of my shunt was broken off in my brain and has been lodged in my brain ever since. I am 37 now. I have had what I THOUGHT was migraines for the last 15 years, they have been diagnosed as occipital neuralgia, muscle spasms and just plain old migraines. They seem to go away for a while but then come back. Lately, they have affected my thoughts, my balance, my speech, my mood, everything. The neurologist I see, I think is a putz! I go in, he looks at my last CT scan (from well over a year ago) and he says "Well, I'm not seeing any change in your scan!" I am thinking I may need to see an actual neurosurgeon between all of what I already mentioned, and the fact I haven't seen one since around '97. I was going somewhere with this but I forget....

[@hellomickey6166]

I got so much yawning and weird feeling before the migraine attacks But my aura migraine altered to silent migraine with aure now 😭

[@jamienevill1768]

I was actually having a migraine attack during a phone appointment with a neurologist. I kept stumbling my words or having memory lapses. The attitude was 'Men don't have migraines' and they were more interested in thinking I had depression. I got the report back today, most of which ignored my migraine symptoms, but suggested I seek psychiatric care! Hmmm....Psychiatric care for a migraine? 😞🏥💉💊

[@MommingwithMigraine]

WOW what's worse... this advice, or "have you tried yoga?" 😬😅🥲💜

[@ReigningWomban]

Seek a chiropractor.

[@theseventh5204]

Ive been getting auras quite a bit. I dont get a migraine but im leaking so my head always hurts. I get the C shaped zig zaggy, crystalline aura that grows until it passes the middle of your vision, then grows into the periphery. As its only just started, i have no idea where it fits in to everything. Also, I have now been given a date for my CT myelogram/blood patch...21st of September!

[@MommingwithMigraine]

That's interesting! I've heard of people getting auras without migraine before. congrats on your myelogram appt!! how crazy is this... mine was also scheduled for 9/21 (it has since been moved though). What if we ran into each other in the waiting room =P

[@dianapauly2788]

Im suffering from migraine past 5 months everyday.. I did a CT brain and its normal so my neurologist said its migraine. I feel like floating all the days.. Im totally worried and dont know how will i manage life with this.

[@indepthliterature]

Great video thanks😌😞 weird part about my migraines are they don't last all day like most peoples but they are very painful and debilitating. They come with nasuea and an array of other symptoms but only last for a few hours usually. Is it possible these aren't migraines ?

[@MommingwithMigraine]

The attack phase is typically 4-72 hours - it may not last long at all. At a few hours long, it's totally possible your symptoms are migraines. BUT! It's also possible that they are NOT. You'd have to talk to your doctor to know for sure, and have them rule out other issues (nausea can have serious conditions underlying!)

[@jennifers.7037]

A lot of people with migraine, don't ever experience auras. Just an FYI!

[@MommingwithMigraine]

So true! I didn't for a while!

[@AngieNTheComettes]

In my case migraine isn't just pain - I keep losing concioness (completely or around 75%), don't understand what people are saying, aphasia, problems with coordination and movement, get seizures, etc. Currently have been trying to get the new experimental treatment

[@MommingwithMigraine]

That's so much on one person's shoulders 💜 Hope you find migraine relief with your next steps, whatever they may be!

[@fairy21509]

i get migraines to i get the aura ones and tingling and numbness sickness and throwing up is the worst part for me i also get light smell sensitive the lack of being able to speak is not nice

[@jackielamar7260]

I'm still trying to find your video on how you trained your dog. I can get into the Paetron & it's not in English 😮 I have a lot of the symptoms that you stated. It's horrible

[@MommingwithMigraine]

All my doggy videos should be in the "service dog" playlist! 💜

[@louisevermeulen8752]

Im pregnant and suddenly my vision was getting worse. Saw the docter and they told me it is pregnancy migraine. Never heard of it or experiences something like that. Ps later I did get a little headache, but not that worse as I was expecting. Had more of the other stuff

[@MommingwithMigraine]

I have never heard of pregnancy migraine but have definitely heard of hormonal changes changing the patterns of migraine, so I'm not super surprised. I'm sorry to hear you're having symptoms & I hope you're able to find relief even with the limited options to you during pregnancy. I benefitted a lot from ginger tea during pregnancy... if you are interested in something like that, you could talk to your medical team about whether it would be safe for you, and it may help! (& I have a detailed video on ginger on my channel)

[@crystalbh1043]

My puppy is able to alert my migraines sometimes

[@MommingwithMigraine]

That is sooooo helpful!!

[@erictaylor5462]

Don't drink milk, don't drink wine.

[@KidCity1985]

Don't do chiropractic. Eat meat.

[@edwarddelman5287]

Jen, do you notice a decrease in migraine by treating the CSF leak?

[@MommingwithMigraine]

Absolutely, I had WAY less migraines after my patch. Touched on that in my recovery part 1 video, if you're curious!