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The Various Kinds of Migraines

Contrary to popular belief, there is so such thing as a migraine headache. There are, in fact, several kinds of headaches that are symptoms of the disease known as migraine. What follows is the list of the various types of migraines that have been diagnosed. Your choice of treatment will depend in great deal upon which kind of migraine you suffer from.

Abdominal Migraine Occurs most typically in children with a family history of migraine. Usually these children grow up to become typical migraine sufferers in adulthood. The attacks are characterized by periodic bouts of abdominal pain lasting for about two hours. Along with the abdominal pain they may have other symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, flushing or pallor.

Nocturnal Migraine Attacks usually occur during the early morning hours, most commonly around 4:00 A.M., often the cause of the patient waking up. Studies indicate a possible link to changes in adrenaline levels. An alteration in the sleeping pattern can also provoke an attacks.

Cyclic Migraine Syndrome Patients with cyclic migraine usually experience ten or more attacks per month. They differ from the similar cluster headache because they last longer aren’t associated with the typical cluster symptoms. Patients do have typical migraine symptoms during these headaches. Lithium carbonate has proven helpful in some cases. Thyroid function and the level of medication should be closely monitored with this type of headache.

Complicated Migraine

A migraine aura normally lasts from 20 minutes to an hour, however some sufferers have been known to experience aura symptoms lasting for two days. The aura also typically ends before the headache itself begins. When migraine aura symptoms are prolonged it is referred to as a complicated migraines. There are several forms of these complicated migraine attacks. There is ophthalmoplegic migraine where patients develop a partial or complete paralysis of the nerves that are needed for eye movement. There is retinal migraine where the patient's visual symptoms occur from the retina itself versus the portion of the brain involved in vision, as is the case for the typical migraine aura.

There is hemiplegic migraine, which can be inherited and has been linked to one of several chromosomes. Patients develop stroke-like symptoms with sensory and/or loss of strength of muscles. There is basilar migraine. Here patients start with a typical migraine aura then progress to developing neurological symptoms related to the bases of the brain called the brainstem. Unlike typical migraine attacks where numbness can occur on one side of the body in this form both sides are affected. The headaches in basilar migraine are often at the back of the head and may result in very severe vomiting.

Basilar Migraine When migraine affects the circulation in back of the brain or neck, it can cause basilar migraine. Occurs most frequently in young women. Symptoms include dizziness, double vision, vertigo, slurred speech, fainting. Some patient have been known to lose consciousness. Status MigraineA migraine that last longer than 72 hours. Repeated doses of dihydroergotamine mesylate (DHE) administered intravenously is one of several medicines that may help to resolve prolonged migraine attacks

Hemiplegic Migraine Very rare and very severe. The sufferer may experience temporary motor paralysis and sensory disturbances on one side of the body preceding the actual headache, often accompanied by numbness or a pins-and-needles sensation. The neurological symptoms subside along with the head pain. There is typically a family history associated with this particular type of headache.

Ocular Migraine Also referred to as migraine aura without headache or retinal migraine. Symptoms include repeated attacks of one-sided blind spots or blindness lasting less than an hour and associated with a headache. It is important to rule out eye disease or a disorder of the blood vessels leading to the eye as possible causes.

Ophthalmoplegic Migraine Very rare and unusual. The pain usually surrounds the eyeball and lasts from a few days to a few months, caused by weakness of the muscles surrounding the eye. It is important to confirm the diagnosis of ophthalmoplegic migraine as similar symptoms can be caused by pressure on the nerves behind the eye.