Silent migraines are quite rare and very hard to understand. Essentially, they are a type of migraine that do not include the normally associated pain for this kind of condition. The reason why this is possible is because migraines themselves are still not understood all that well. Luckily, medical science is evolving and some understanding is now starting to appear about this medical oddity. One thing that is now very much understood is what silent migraines symptoms are. However, why and how they occur remains a mystery.
What Is a Silent Migraine?
Migraines are a type of neurological disorder. They are generally characterized by very bad headaches. However, some people have 'silent migraines,' which means that while they have that particular condition, but do not experience any type of pain. But before looking into silent migraines symptoms, it can be beneficial to learn about the stages of a migraine first.
The first stage is prodome. This is a warning and announces a migraine. People often feel confused or irritable and they can have some physical symptoms, including diarrhea and thirst. Often, prodome will start as much as 24 hours before the actual migraine.
The second phase is aura. This is when strange visual symptoms start to occur. However, some people also suffer disturbances in language, motor and sensory perceptions. Aura is experienced by around 20% of migraine sufferers. Usually, this phase lasts for about an hour.
The third phase is pain. Usually, the pain is noticed on one side only and is generally throbbing in nature. Depending on its severity, some people also experience vomiting, nausea and extreme sensitivity to sound and light. This period usually lasts for a few hours, although some suffer from it for 72 hours.
The final phase is resolution. Once the pain phase has been completed, people tend to experience general malaise and deep fatigue. Usually, this phase lasts for around 24 hours.
This is the most common migraine pattern. However, some people don't experience aura at all, while other people don't experience pain. Migraines are unpredictable, even with the same patient.
Phases of Silent Migraines Symptoms:
In a silent migraine, people tend to experience all the three phases, except for the pain. As such, there are physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, and aura symptoms. Physical symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, food cravings, vomiting, thirst, loss of appetite, chills, increased urination and fatigue. Emotional symptoms include irritability, confusion and euphoria. Finally, aura symptoms include seeing flashing lights, wavy or jagged lines, blind spots, spots or dots in vision, auditory hallucinations, disruptions in hearing, numbness, unusual body sensations, pins-and-needles, distortions in taste or smell, difficulty speaking and remembering words and other language difficulties.
The American Migraine Study was a significant piece of research that involved some 30,000 migraine sufferers. Ninety percent of those who participated said that they were unable to function normally or work when they were suffering from a migraine. Over 50% stated that their migraine symptoms forced them to take bed rest as well. Indeed, even with a silent migraine, a day can be disrupted and the experience can be disturbing.