Transient Aphasia: A Journey from the First Time to the Present

By Amanda Workman

2 min read

Transient aphasia is a migraine symptom that hit me like a brick wall out of nowhere. Over the last several years, I have learned to handle this new migraine-related symptom when it chooses to rear its ugly head in my direction.

What is transient aphasia?

Transient aphasia is one of the many kinds of aphasia. It is a symptom of migraine with aura which "causes a temporary inability or decreased ability to speak, comprehend, or read." This means that the person experiencing the aphasia can have either limited or no ability to communicate with someone else. Transient aphasia is more common in people who have migraine with aura.¹

When was my first experience with it?

My first episode of transient aphasia was in February 2021. Like most people, I did not know what aphasia was at the time. I was in Ohio visiting my mother when I felt the prodrome symptoms starting. Unfortunately, I normally experience a grocery list of prodrome symptoms, but I do not always experience an aura with my migraine.

A speech bubble with a question and one with an ellipsis.

That day, all my usual prodrome and aura symptoms crashed into me, with the addition of transient aphasia. It hit me out of nowhere. I was in the middle of texting with my sister when I realized that all of a sudden nothing was coming out correctly.

How did the aphasia feel?

I went to my mother with tears streaming down my face. I knew what I wanted to say to her, but it was like my brain could not communicate with the rest of my body. She knew I had a migraine coming on because I had mentioned it prior to things getting bad. The only thing I knew to do was to hand her my insurance cards.

How did the urgent care respond?

Luckily, my mother took my insurance cards and called around locally to find an urgent care center that would treat my migraine. When we arrived at the urgent care center, my mother informed them that I had a bad migraine but there was also something else going on.

When I tried to speak, it still came out all mixed up. The medical staff were able to identify what was happening to me. They did run some tests to make sure it was aphasia and not a stroke. Eventually, they gave me the migraine cocktail that always helps me and sent us home.

Do I still experience aphasia with migraine?

Sometimes the aphasia slams into me out of nowhere, hard and fast. Other times, the aphasia slowly starts much like my brain being taken over by a heavy fog.

Now it has been 2.5 years since that initial transient aphasia episode. Most of my family and friends know that I experience transient aphasia. I try to make sure those around me are aware when I start experiencing the first few signs that I have prodrome starting. This is helpful because if I do experience an aura with aphasia, they will understand faster when I start stumbling over my words.

A speech bubble full of static next to a speech bubble with a question mark.

Does it feel as scary as the first time?

My first experience with transient aphasia was full of extreme fear, both for myself and my mother, because we did not understand what was going on. Today, it is only ever frustrating to not be able to communicate at the desired time. I at least now live with the understanding that my ability to communicate will return.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

Prettymomma Member
Thank you so much Amanda for writing this article. I experience this at times with my migraines. It can be especially scary for those that are caring for me when I am experiencing this. One tool that we have made a priority is that my phone would have a stylus. As you know the headache is so bad that you can only speak garbley gook and no one can really understand you, nor can you think clear enough to communicate, and not even with the stylus on my phone. But afterwards when I go to the hospital and they give me the migraine cocktail, it does get better but...... I have experienced of upwards to 2 to 3 weeks of not being able to speak except to just stutter so with that, that is when we use the tool of my cell phone with stylus. We were worried that it had taken so long to regain my speech, but thankfully it did return. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience, take care😀
1. Prettymomma Member
 <inline-mention username="Holly Harding" user-id="3755969"/> Well.. It does not always work for me. Sometimes I can't even write, but as I begin to get a little better, I can. And yes, when I am in the midst of an attack or even for some time later (which totally varies) I can't get my thoughts together enough to write. But I can answer simple yes and no questions or something on a small thinking level. When I lost my ability to speak for 3 weeks, when my whopper of a migraine left and was replaced with a much more mild one I could write but not speak. I still was bedridden but I could write small notes with my stylus. I find that it in most cases it is easier to write than speak. Speaking causes my brain to just be overwhelmed. It takes a lot more energy for me to talk. One of the first signs of my speech starting to go is stuttering. When I start doing that I try to just quiet myself down and not talk for awhile. But even that doesn't help sometimes. Nonetheless, we have found that a stylus is a very valuable tool to have in my headache toolkit.
2. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="Prettymomma" user-id="7002652"/> Thank you for explaining this in more depth. It makes good sense that adding another tool would prove helpful - even if - while in the throes of an attack - we have to wait things out. It sounds like it comes in handy when the storm clears. Grateful for this idea! Warmly - Holly (team member)