Silent Migraine

S
ilent migraine is a type of migraine attack that doesn't include a headache. It's usually called migraine aura without headache.

Migraine aura is a term used to describe many of the other symptoms that go along with migraine, but it's usually referring to visual symptoms. This might include seeing zig zags or flashing lights, or having dizziness or vertigo. It's estimated that only about 15% of migraineurs deal with aura.

Silent migraine more often occurs later in life, and more often in men than in women.
So many symptoms in silent migraine, it's prone to misdiagnosis problem. If People were to get a one-sided headache, or any headache, migraine might be suspected. But without the headache stage, the migraine diagnosis is often missed.

It's easy for silent migraine to be mistaken for many other diseases - and that's no help to the patient.

Even those who get "normal" migraine can get silent migraine from time to time. It's estimated that 20% of migraineurs have had a silent migraine. It's easier for someone with a history of migraine to recognize the symptoms.

Silent migraine has not gotten a lot of specific press, probably because it's often simply lumped in with other migraine.
One challenge when it comes to diagnosis is that really do need to rule out other disorders.

Obviously, if had a stroke people need to know about it, not just write it off. Visual disturbances and hallucinations may be due to acephalgic migraine, but there also may be something wrong with eyes. Seizure issues may also come into play.

So if you're getting symptoms like the ones mentioned above - vertigo, visual disturbances, numbness, do see the doctor right away.

There are, however, some things people can do to ensure get a quicker correct diagnosis.
Most importantly, be sure to have a family and personal medical history to show the doctor. Migraine is a genetically based disease. If people have migraine or related diseases in family history, doctor may suspect that people have experienced silent migraine.

Doctor may order tests for to rule an organic disease. This may include a CT scan or MRI, blood tests, and eye exams, depending on the type of symptoms that describe.

Remember that silent migraine is still basically migraine. It's a common misconception that migraine is simply a bad headache - it's actually a neurological disease, and headache is only one possible symptoms. There are various types of treatment that work well for migraine, silent migraine included.

Abortive drugs are often helpful when it comes to silent migraine. Sometimes something as simple as aspirin can stop the symptoms . Usually people want something fast acting, such as a beta-agonist inhalent. Also helpful are sublingual nitroglycerin, meclofenamate and naproxen sodium.

For prevention, calcium channel blockers, a common migraine preventative, may also be helpful. Anti-seizure drugs are sometimes tried, such as topiramate.Talk to doctor about the full range of migraine medication that's available today.