Migraine Symptoms

During the different phases of a migraine, various symptoms can occur. Here, you’ll learn about the typical symptoms and what individuals affected by migraines have shared about their experiences.

Reading time: 8 minutes

Last updated: October 13, 2024

The Phases of a Migraine Attack and Their Symptoms

A migraine attack typically lasts 4–72 hours and can be divided into different phases, each with its own set of symptoms:

Prodrome Phase: The impending migraine attack may signal itself a few days in advance with so-called “warning signs,” such as cravings or appetite changes.
Aura Phase: For migraines with aura, this additional phase includes sensory disturbances and other neurological deficits that occur before the headache.
Pain Phase: This phase is characterized by moderate to severe, unilateral, pulsating, or throbbing headaches, along with various accompanying symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, or weakness.
Postdrome Phase: Exhaustion often leads to a sleep phase as the migraine subsides, and the pain diminishes.

Common Migraine Symptoms

Not every person with migraines experiences the full range of symptoms, but the following list highlights some that can accompany the intense, one-sided, pulsating, or throbbing headaches:

Gastrointestinal Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, food cravings, loss of appetite, increased thirst, frequent urination
Circulatory Issues: Dizziness, sweating, chills, unsteady gait, concentration difficulties, rapid pulse, weakness, pallor, skin redness, excessive yawning, alternating hot and cold flashes, fatigue, sleep disturbances, exhaustion
Neurological Symptoms: Vision, speech, and perception disturbances; visual phenomena; flashes of light; double vision; numbness; tingling; abnormal sensations; paralysis; uncontrollable twitching; neck pain
Mood Changes: Irritability, mood swings, crankiness, depressive moods, hyperactivity, or lethargy
Sensitivities: Sensitivity to light, sound, or smells

These symptoms are anything but fun. However, they sometimes lead to funny, bizarre, or embarrassing moments in public. We’ve asked people with migraines to share some of these experiences.

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Stories from People Living with Migraines

Neurological Deficits

“I was attending a seminar at university when I experienced my first aura. I wasn’t quite sure what was happening but had to use all my strength to appear normal. Then I was asked a question, and everything fell apart—I couldn’t form a single coherent sentence. The instructor looked at me like I was an alien.”
“The worst incident was at my daycare job. It started suddenly while I was reading to a child. I couldn’t recognize the letters anymore and saw a glittering spot. It was such a severe aura attack that I couldn’t remember my name or anything else.”

Sensitivities

“Whenever I have a migraine, I struggle with extreme light sensitivity. The phone screen was way too bright, and I could barely make out the letters. When I replied to my mom’s message, she called me angrily, asking if I was drunk at noon!”

Gastrointestinal Symptoms

“When I get a migraine, I experience insane food cravings. I eat everything in sight, in random combinations. Once at a birthday party, I raided the buffet and was asked three times if I was pregnant because I paired chocolate cake with tomato-mozzarella salad.”
“I had a migraine at work and took the train home. I was so dizzy and nauseous that I threw up on the train and then fainted. When I woke up in my vomit, everyone assumed I was drunk. No one considered I might have a migraine.”

Circulatory Issues

“I always get dizzy during a migraine attack and struggle to walk straight. On my way home, I stumbled over a rock, bumped into a traffic light, and fell. A mom with her child nearby asked, ‘Mommy, what’s wrong with that lady? Can’t she walk normally?’ I would’ve laughed if it hadn’t hurt so much.”
“When a migraine starts, I shake uncontrollably. During my internship, I dropped a glass of water in an important meeting. The water spilled all over critical documents.”

Mood Swings

“I feel embarrassed when I constantly have to ask for medication. It makes me feel like an addict, even though it’s a normal condition.”
“At 15, I had a migraine on the subway. The pain hit suddenly, and I hoped I wouldn’t get nauseous. I grabbed a plastic bag from my backpack and vomited into it. Everyone stared at me, assuming I was a delinquent.”

Effective Migraine Prevention with Diet

While these stories are entertaining, you likely want to do everything possible to reduce your migraine attacks. The Ebby app offers a non-medication-based prevention method to reduce the frequency of your migraines without risks or side effects.

This app provides personalized dietary recommendations to help you adopt a low-glycemic eating pattern, keeping your blood sugar stable. Studies show that large blood sugar fluctuations can contribute to migraines, and a stable blood sugar level may help prevent them.

With the Ebby app, you can use a glucose sensor to monitor your body’s response to your favorite meals. The app ranks foods using a traffic-light system and offers educational resources and a headache diary to help you understand your migraines better.

Conclusion

The most common migraine symptoms include severe, unilateral headaches, light and sound sensitivity, nausea, and vomiting. The intensity and combination of symptoms during an attack vary widely between individuals.

In the prodrome phase, cravings may signal an impending attack. The pain phase brings typical symptoms, and the postdrome phase often involves exhaustion and a need for sleep. For those with aura, an additional phase occurs before the pain, involving sensory disturbances and neurological deficits.

To prevent attacks and alleviate symptoms, we recommend the Ebby app, which uses personalized dietary guidance to stabilize blood sugar levels and reduce migraine days. Ask your healthcare provider for a prescription today.

Sources

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Siva, Z.O. et al. (2018): Determinants of Glucose Metabolism and the Role of NPY in the Progression of Insulin Resistance in Chronic Migraine. In: Cephalalgia38 (11), S. 1773–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/0333102417748928.
Yilmaz, N. et al. (2011): Impaired Oxidative Balance and Association of Blood Glucose, Insulin and HOMA-IR Index in Migraine. In: Biochem. Med., 21, S. 145–151.
Bongiovanni, D. et al. (2021): Effectiveness of Ketogenic Diet in Treatment of Patients with Refractory Chronic Migraine. In: Neurol Sci, doi:10.1007/s10072-021-05078-5.
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About the Author

Miriam Jansen

Miriam had to give up her job due to chronic migraines - and became a migraine expert during this time. The migraine helped her to make a radical change in her life: She now lives as a digital nomad in her bus and works as a copywriter & as a shepherdess on an alp.