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Highlights
Migraine Symptom Map
Aura
Fatigue
Food Cravings
Hives
Mood Changes
Vertigo
Vision Changes
Weakness
Migraine symptoms: an overview
Because there are different types of migraines, there are different migraine symptoms. Everyone who suffers from migraines will not have each symptom. Because there is no specific test for migraines, keeping track of symptoms is key in the diagnosis of migraines. It is important that you seek a professional diagnosis because several migraine symptoms are also symptoms of other disorders and diseases.
Seek immediate medical attention if you experience a severe pain or symptom that you’ve never felt before, it could be a sign of a serious medical condition.
The most common migraine symptoms are:
- Throbbing, pulsating pain – 85 percent
- Light sensitivity – 80 percent
- Sound sensitivity – 76 percent
- Nausea – 73 percent
- Pain on one side – 59 percent
- Vision changes, blurred vision – 44 percent
- Aura – 36 percent
- Vomiting – 29 percent
(Note: These figures are from the American Migraine Study II of almost 4,000 migraine sufferers in 1999)
What you should do if you experience migraine symptoms:
- Keep track of each migraine attack in a journal. Write down the date and time the pain occurs, what you were doing immediately before the pain started, if anything changed about your normal routine and how long the pain lasts.
- Also write down any migraine symptoms you experience, such as vision change, nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity etc.
- Write down what makes your migraine symptoms improve and what makes them worsen.
- Does your migraine journal show a pattern? For example, are there certain foods that trigger migraines? Or do the migraines occur after a certain change in your routine such as increased stress, a sleepless night or after skipping meals?
- Try avoiding any migraine triggers you identified, to see if the migraines go away.
- Find out if anyone in your immediate family is a migraine sufferer, since migraines tend to run in families.
- If the migraines continue, take all of the information you’ve gathered to a doctor who specializes in treating migraines.
A list of common migraine symptoms
- Sensitivity to light, particularly bright lights ”photophobia”
- Sensitivity to sound, particularly loud sounds ”phonophobia”
- Sensitivity to smell
- Aura
- Vision changes
- Numbness, tingling
- Weakness
- Pain on one side of the head
- Throbbing Pain
- Vertigo
- Feeling lightheaded or dizzy
- Nausea with or without vomiting
- Puffy eyelid
- Difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea – constipation
- Mood changes
- Food cravings
- Hives
- Fever
- Neck pain
Written by: Otesa Miles / Reviewed by: John-Claude Krusz, PhD, MD | Last review date: November 2010. Click the References Link below for a complete list of references.
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"I had my first migraine when I was 12. I thought I was going blind, the spots in my vision all grouped together and everything went black. The pain was intense and felt like my head would crack open above my right eye." 
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