to understand silent migraine it helps to know the four distinct phases of migraines. prodrome. the "prodrome" phase warns that a migraine is coming. symptoms include changes in your mental state such as irritability or confusion and physical signs such as thirst or diarrhea. one out of every four migraine sufferers experiences prodrome symptoms as early as 24 hours before the migraine pain attacks. aura. the phenomenon called aura is best known for its unusual visual symptoms. but other sensory motor and language disturbances can occur. about one in five migraine sufferers experiences aura. aura is a phase that typically lasts about an hour. pain. migraine pain itself is often on one side of the head. it's often a throbbing pain and may be accompanied by nausea vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. the pain phase can last from several to 72 hours. resolution. after a migraine many people experience deep fatigue and general malaise for up to 24 hours. not all migraines follow this pattern. there are migraines with and without aura. there are also migraines with and without pain. even within the same person migraines are extremely unpredictable.
what are the phases of a migraine?