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Migraines without the headache

I hear online that it's not uncommon, however. I feel like my migraines have been getting progressively worse of late.

Normally, I get a arc type aura in my left peripheral as an early warning sign. From there the pain will follow when the aura passes. This can range anywhere between 10 minutes to around an hour post aura.
I have also noticed pre symptoms such as, strange tastes and cravings, hypersensitivity to light, sound but primarily smell. Excessive yawning and general fatigue. My mood most certainly changes, however I also suffer with Borderline Personality Disorder which means I can never tell if a mood change is due to that or whether it is migraine related.

The migraine attack itself can vary from extreme pain to moderate but still difficult to deal with pain. This can also be accompanied with extreme to mild nausea, dizziness, confusion and many other neurological symptoms. (pins and needles are often there as well) frequent mood changes during the episode (this is odd and I've never heard it mentioned by other people before, as embarrassing as it is I can sometimes be overwhelmed with emotion and tell my family how much I care for them like I am on my death bed or something) extreme fatigue during the migraine attack is common. These symptoms typically last anywhere between 4-6 hours.

Now, I came here because over the past three days I have been suffering with what I can only describe as a painless migraine. I have had no arc type aura, instead I have had quite the light show. Moments where I have looked at my computer screen and thought "Oh god, here it comes, this is it" only to see the aura instantly disappear. These look similar to the arc aura that some of you may be familiar with, except they're very small and short lived. Over the three days I have had on and off fatigue, tingling and a mild loss of sensation (from a short while) on the right side of my face. Mild Aching in my neck and upper back and tinnitus, on and off but really quite loud when it gets going.

I believe I am suffering with a migraine but without the pain and I am wondering if anyone else has ever suffered with the same symptoms. I have been to my doctor with similar symptoms in the past and the doctor has told me to ignore the symptoms and that they are Neurological symptoms from a migraine but without the headache. I did some research online to find that this is possible but again I am wondering if anyone else has ever suffered with the same problem?

I get that this is a little long winded, but I am also here to offer some relief in things that I have found to help with my migraines.

This might seem strange but we all know the wonders of a cold cloth on over our forehead. (speaking of forehead, I recommend a product called 4head. It's a godsend) I find that accompanying this with a hot water bottle tucked under the back of your neck helps relieve muscle tension around that area potentially allowing for better blood flow. I have found this make difference with pain management.

Another thing is applying pressure to certain parts of your head, between the eyebrows, the left and right side of your head above the hears, temples and the point between your eyebrows are all areas that seem to temporarily give me a break from the pain. No miracles here I'm afraid, it'll only give you about 20 seconds of relief which restarts when you change the point of pressure on your head.
I think this works because you're stimulating different nerves In a different way which reduces the stimulation of pain receptors responsible for headaches and migraines. (just a theory)

Anyway, I am new to the community and I am hoping to get some ideas and help from this community whilst offering some insight myself. I believe that a migraine community is much needed and I find that talking about your symptoms with others really helps you understand what is unusual and what is not unusual when it comes to migraines.
Many people believe it's "just a headache" so it's nice to be able to talk to people that know it's so much more than that.

  1. Hi Clements1991,

    Welcome to the Migraine.com discussion forum and thank you for sharing your journey and tips with us!

    When we have new and/or different symptoms, it's always a good idea to discuss them with the doctor so he can make sure everything checks out OK. Having said that, the symptoms you've mentioned can be part of a migraine attack with and without the headache phase. Silent migraine can have all the other symptoms except the headache phase. We have a section in this discussion forum about silent migraine you can see here; https://migraine.com/topic/silent-migraine/.

    And you're right - migraine is so much more than a headache.

    We look forward to hearing more from you,
    Nancy

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