Welcome to the world of PIP (Person in Pain). Hover over each of the parts of the body. Then click on the articles for the most up-to-date information for pain and pain management.

Different Kinds of Migraines

A migraine headache is a severe type of debilitating headache that are usually accompanied by other symptoms, such as sensitivity to light and sound and nausea. There are many different types of migraine headaches.

These different types of migraines can be basically classified into two categories: migraine without aura and migraine with aura. A migraine aura is a group of “warning signs” that may be different in different people. These symptoms occur before the headache pain sets in and last for less than an hour. Migraine aura usually involves changes in vision such as light sensitivity or blurred vision, feeling generally sick or having changes in your other senses. Migraines without noticeable auras are more common, affecting about 60 to 70 percent of migraine sufferers.

A person is considered to have chronic migraines if they have a migraine headache on 15 or more days per month. People with chronic migraine headaches may be recommended for different treatments than people who have acute migraines less frequently.

There are also rare types of migraines that have other neurological symptoms that can mimic the symptoms of other neurological conditions. The symptoms can be scary and a cause for a neurological examination to rule out life-threatening conditions, such as stroke and vision loss. These types of migraines may or may not have warning signs or auras.

When someone is affected by migraines and also experience abdominal pain that is not explained by another medical condition, this is called an abdominal migraine. Abdominal migraines are much more common in children with migraines than adults with migraines.

A hemiplegic migraine is a migraine headache with paralysis or sensory changes such as numbness or tingling on one side of the body. The symptoms of a hemiplegic migraine can resemble stroke symptoms, although no permanent paralysis or nerve damage results.

A retinal migraine is a migraine with vision loss. The vision loss is temporary and usually only affects one eye. The vision loss may be partial or complete during the duration of the migraine headache.

A basilar artery migraine can result in symptoms of confusion, loss of balance, difficulty speaking and dizziness. Frequently, hormone changes in women are the trigger for basilar artery migraines.

Ophthalmoplegic migraine is a type of migraine that causes temporary paralysis of the eye muscles. The symptoms can be mistaken for other serious conditions causing eye paralysis and vision loss, such as optic nerve compression or an aneurism.

Status migrainosus is an extremely severe migraine that often lasts longer than 72 hours and often results in ER visits. This type of migraine is rare and is typically caused by withdrawal from certain medications or side effects of certain medications in people who are prone to migraines.

Thanks for visiting Pain.com, your pain management resource!