Migraine with Aura and its Subtypes

Migraine with Aura and its Subtypes

 

migraine relief in Eagan

Migraine with aura is a prevalent neurological condition that can cause pain and debilitating effects on your everyday life. It affects around 20 percent of people who suffer from migraines and those between 35 and 45 years of age. It can start in childhood or adolescence or cause significant disruptions in your senior years. Several patients seek migraine relief in Eagan for this specific condition alone. Hence, it might be handy to learn as much as you can about it and its symptoms.

 

What is a migraine with aura?

Migraine with aura is a kind of migraine headache that causes visual, sensory, motor, speech, and behavioral disturbances.

The aura is the experience before the headache begins. It often starts with a tingling sensation that spreads throughout your head or body. This may happen on one side of your face or body or all over at once. When this occurs, you may start to see flashing lights or lines in your vision that move around like crazy. These are called scintillating scotomata, which means “flashing blind spots.” They can also be dots or shimmering light bursts lasting just seconds to minutes at a time.

Some people who get migraines notice that they feel different when they get an aura:

  • More tired than usual (hypoesthesia)
  • More sensitive to sound and light (hyperacusis).
  • The olfactory sense might also change, so you might smell things differently than usual (parosmia).

 

What causes migraine with aura?

Migraine with aura rarely stems from stress or anxiety, poor diet, and lack of sleep like the ordinary migraine (also known as migraine without aura). Instead, it is a kind of migraine that surely involves a problem in one’s brain.

To learn more about the connection between head and neck injuries and migraine, download our complimentary e-book by clicking the image below.

Kinds of Migraine with Aura

There are several types of migraine with aura. Each of these types has a different cause. While they all involve migraine symptoms, they have unique triggers.

Migraine with Brainstem Aura 

Migraine with brainstem aura is a rare type of migraine that affects the part of the brain stem responsible for relaying sensory information to other areas of the body. Studies characterize it with its sudden onset of severe head pain, usually accompanied by numbness or weakness on one side of your body.

Migraine with Brainstem Aura Symptoms

Migraines with brainstem aura symptoms include:

  • Sudden onset headache on one side of your head that may last from several minutes up to three hours (or even longer)
  • Numbness on just one side of your face, arm, or leg
  • Speech difficulties

Hemiplegic Migraine

Hemiplegic migraine is a rare type of migraine that causes temporary paralysis on one side of the body or even loss of speech and vision. Researchers believe it stems from a temporary blockage of a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain. 

Hemiplegic migraine tends to occur in children and teenagers but can also affect adults. The condition usually goes away within 24 hours. However, it may take several days for you to recover fully. If you experience frequent attacks with no warning signs or symptoms, your doctor may recommend medications to help prevent these headaches from occurring again.

When experiencing an aura before having an epileptic seizure (also called “epileptic seizure with aura”), your doctor might diagnose you with the following: 

  •  Partial complex seizures (PCS)
  • Simple partial seizures (SP)

Retinal Migraine

A retinal migraine is a form of migraine that causes temporary vision loss. Retinal migraines usually result from a temporary disruption of blood flow in the retina. The most common symptom of retinal migraine is temporary vision loss in one eye, though other symptoms may also be present, including:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
  • A retinal migraine typically lasts less than an hour and does not cause pain. 

 

Avoiding Migraines

Is it possible to avoid migraine attacks altogether? – Yes, it is possible! To do so, you can try the following:

  • Reduce stress and anxiety.
  • Get ample sleep (at least eight hours a night).
  • Eat a balanced diet low in refined sugar, caffeine, red wine, and chocolate; consume foods rich in B complex vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish), magnesium, and zinc.
  • Exercise regularly — try yoga or tai chi if you have migraine with aura; they are both excellent exercises for stress relief and helping to prevent migraines.

 

Migraine with Aura Remedy Options

There are many different forms of migraine relief in Eagan available to anyone suffering or needing help in managing the pain of migraine with aura. Some of the treatment options include (but are not limited to):

Medications

These include triptans, ergotamine derivatives, and analgesics (pain relievers) such as aspirin/ibuprofen/acetaminophen. Some people find that over-the-counter medications are the easiest and most accessible source of migraine relief in Eagan.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy specifically customized to a patient’s needs can be helpful for those who experience neck or shoulder stiffness associated with migraines.

Acupuncture

This alternative route also shows immense potential in reducing headaches associated with migraines. However, studies on it are limited so far, and it remains unclear whether it can alleviate the symptoms better than other relaxation techniques.

Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is another natural option for people seeking migraine relief in Eagan. It focuses not only on the migraine pain but its root cause, making it one of the best options one can get. It works by correcting any misalignment in one’s spine that could be compressing nerves that disrupt the proper functioning of those nerves and their communication to the brain.

 

Best Choice for Migraine Relief in Eagan

For Eagan locals and patients, upper cervical chiropractic care is the best choice for migraine relief – with or without aura. This is because upper cervical care can help relieve the symptoms of migraines with aurae, such as headache pain and sensitivity to light and sound. It can also help prevent migraines in the first place and reduce their frequency after they’ve already started happening.

 

Cornerstone Family Chiropractic

If you are suffering from migraines of any kind, we can help. At Cornerstone Family Chiropractic, Dr. Kristin Fellows has been helping people in the Eagan area improve for years. If you’d like to learn more about our services and what we can do for you, please get in touch with us at (651) 209-9710. You can also send your consultation request or inquiries through our online form.

Our hours of operation are 8:30 am to 8:30 pm every Tuesday through Thursday, 1 pm to 8:30 pm on Mondays, and 8:30 am to 7:30 pm on Fridays. Call us today!

 

To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Fellows, call our Eagan office at (651) 209-9710. You can also click the button below.