7 Migraine Types

We tend to think that migraines are always painful, rendering us horizontal and keeping the sufferer there for hours. But that's not always the case. There are several types of migraines and not all of them include painful headaches.

In addition to the common and well-known migraine headache, people can suffer from menstrual migraines, hemiplegic migraines, ocular migraines, visual migraines and abdominal migraines. Not all of these conditions are painful but all are certainly disruptive. Let's look at each in turn.

Migraine With and Without Aura

A migraine headache (the most known type of migraine) feels like someone's locked a vice grip around your head and is slowly crushing your skull. Along with the pain, many people feel at least some degree of nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. Some even vomit.

Only about one-third of migraine sufferers experience an aura before the pain strikes. This usually comes in the form of noticeable changes in vision, manifesting as dark spots, sparkles, circular bands of zigzags or tunnel vision. Some people experience areas of numbness, blurred vision or difficulty speaking.

Migraine auras have their pros and cons. On the positive end, a warning can help sufferers prepare for what’s to come — allowing them to get home and find a comfortable place to rest until the migraine passes or allowing them to take medication in the hope of staving off the episode. Some find that taking magnesium when at the first sign of an aura can prevent an actual migraine attack. But the negative end of auras is a doozy: Because of the vascular changes that cause migraine aura, they can double or even triple a woman’s stroke risk.

Menstrual Migraine

Women who suffer from menstrual migraines are likely to find their headaches striking at the tail-end of PMS or during the first few days of their period. This appears to be triggered by the drop in estrogen that occurs before menstruation and/or the spike of prostaglandin soon thereafter. Some women find taking an NSAID during the final PMS days can reduce headache onset, while others resort to hormonal therapy to keep their estrogen fluctuations minimized.

Hemiplegic Migraine

A hemiplegic migraine in itself isn’t painful, although it typically coincides with a migraine headache. The symptoms are terrifyingly similar to those of a stroke: weakness on one side of the body, numbness, tingling, changes in vision, confusion and difficulties with speech. The episode usually lasts around a day, although the duration can vary anywhere from an hour to as long as a few days. Hemiplegic migraines often run in families.

Ocular and Visual Migraines

Ocular and visual migraines are generally painless. Ocular migraines usually present as a small blind spot in one eye, sometimes increasing in size or causing total blindness in that eye. It can be a disruptive and disorienting experience, but the episode usually doesn’t last longer than an hour.

Visual migraines are the same as migraine auras, but they can occur without a headache and usually only last for about 30 minutes. You can tell the difference between ocular and visual migraines by checking to see if the disturbance is in one or both eyes: If it’s in one eye, it’s likely an ocular migraine; if it’s in both, it’s probably a visual migraine or aura.

Abdominal Migraine

Abdominal migraines are most common in children and begin with abdominal pain, paleness, appetite loss, nausea and vomiting. Attacks last between 2 and 72 hours. Between 50% and 70% of abdominal migraines develop into migraine headaches. When the attacks are frequent, preventive medications may be prescribed.

Migraines come in a variety of types, and every one of them is a drag but some may be a herald of more serious problems. The thing is though, not everyone realizes that their symptoms are migraines. So talk to a doctor about different types of migraines and see if there are preventative measures possible, such as a daily magnesium supplement or prescription medication.

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