10 Different Types of Migraine Attack

Not all migraines are created equal.

Not every sufferer goes through the same symptoms.

Not every attack is considered to be the same type of migraine attack.

There are at least 10 different types of migraine attack. You could be having an attack and not even know it. An attack can cause your nose to sponetously start running or your sinuses to become congested. Then when within minutes all nasal symptoms pass. And considering that migraine attacks can cause stroke, coma, aneurysm or death it's pretty important to know that there are different ways that Migraineurs suffer.

I'm just going to list of the 10 types of attack then I'll go into detail about them on subsequent posts.

Types of Migraine Attack
◊ Acephalgic or "Silent Migraine" - no headache actually occurs but the sufferer has other symptoms.

◊ Abdominal Migraine - usually suffered by children although adults have them too. They present as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

◊ Basilar-Type Migraine - the attack that is marked by an aura which is generated from the sufferers brain stem. These attacks can cause temporary blindness and decreased levels of consciousness.

◊ Hemiplegic Migraine - a rare form of attack. These attacks mimic a stroke, epilepsy and other neurological conditions. Sufferers can have residual limb weakness after attacks. (I can attest to the hideousness of these attacks they put you in the hospital.)

◊ Migraine with Aura aka "Classic Migraine" - a genetic neurological disease marked by severe headaches as well as visual, sensory and speech symptoms.

◊ Migraine without Aura aka "Common Migraine" - characterized by headaches that occur on one side in the head and are pulsating or throbbing.

◊ Optical, Ocular, and Opthalmic Migraine - this particular classification is still being defined better and its thought that these may be part of or a symptom of the Acephalgic type Migraine which effects vision. Some sufferers report visual disturbances only ranging from mild to severe.

◊ Retinal Migraine - Another visual disturbance attack, marked by disturbance in only one eye monocular. Complaints range from seeing flashing lights, visual disturbances and temporary blindness.

◊ Status Migrainous - an attack that lasts 72 hours or longer. This is the condition most likely to do grievous harm and people suffering from these MUST seek immediate medical treatment to reduce to chances of stroke, coma or death.

◊ Transformed Migraine - attacks that become increasing frequent. They are daily attacks that vary in intensity from mild to severe debilitating migraine attacks.

I hope that I provided some insight to the types of known migraine attacks. As I said I hope to go more in depth on the different types. If anyone has any interest of a particular type of attack please say so and we can start there.

You've actually just met the four types of attack I suffer from - Acephalgic, Hemiplegic, Status, and currently Transformed. As I write this I am on day 112 (no joke) of my Transformed migraine attack. It's kicking my butt and I'm trying to kick it back but the attack wins in the end because there is no cure on temporary treatments.

I want to know that I am not the only person going through this nightmare. I keep a detailed list of my symptoms for my Neurologist and she always says, "You're not alone." But it's not like we migrainuers are meeting up at Starbucks for coffee talking about the what and how of our disease. We just live with it. We should talk about it - work to find a cause and a cure for it.