Migraines differ from person to person, but the pain associated with migraines tends to be pretty distinct.
They shouldn’t have any vomiting and they are usually less severe.
Migraines tend to fluctuate in frequency and severity throughout a person’s life.
A single migraine episode can last hours or even days andcan go through different stages, too.
But in the case of a typical migraine, your standard headache treatment probably won’t work.
Most people would prefer to lay down and even go to sleep, Dr. Weber describes.
My patients tend to describe migraine pain as severe pain that is crushing, pounding, and/or throbbing.
Some say it radiates from front to back, or vice versa.
The top of my skull feels like it’s being pressed down on.
I definitely have to avoid looking directly at light.
Thankfully, I do not feel nauseous.
I have to avoid all light or it just feels like someone is stabbing me.
My friends dad (a pediatrician) told me to see a neurologist.
I did when I got to New York for college and was diagnosed withmigraines without auraand chronic daily headache.
The first symptoms were pain and nausea, always around one eye.
My neck also hurt all the time.
Then I generally get sweaty and nauseous and anxious, a bit like Imhaving a panic attack.
Sometimes I get weird symptoms like a runny nose and sneezing.
I have to avoid all light or it just feels like someone is stabbing me.
Last year I had a big meeting and was taking an Uber to work.
I woke up with a migraine but thought I caught it in time with medication.
Ten minutes into the car ride, the pain got so bad.
But we were stuck in traffic on an L.A. freeway.
I was meditating and trying anything I could to calm it down but the Uber driver wouldnt stop talking.
It was a nightmare but I was in too much pain to care.
It begins to be such intense pain that I feel nauseous.
Mary, 26
I tend to get them most often at the end of the day.
(I have only actually gotten sick a handful of times since I was diagnosed.)
When I stood, the rush of standing up caused so much pain that I threw up.
As I tried to fall asleep, I was crying from being in so much pain.
Dominique, 28
I didn’t know the difference between a headache and a migraine until I was older.
They were just bad headaches to me.
It wasn’t until college that I got my first aura migraine, which was the scariest symptom ever.
Sometimes it’s localized to one side; other times it’s the full head.
Its such a wild thing to have this pain with no trauma, because it feels like an injury.
The sensation is like a helmet on your head that just keeps getting tighter.
Even voices can make it worse.
In December, I was driving back from the University of Michigan after being at a conference.
Around 3 P.M., the migraine hit.
But I had no choice other than to drive (in a snowstorm) the two hours back home.
I had to pull over and vomit off the side of the highway.
The rest of the drive home I honestly almost blacked out because the pain was so intense.
My head felt like someone was taking a hammer to it.
I remember calling my husband crying like a baby.
One time, I was in the shower and almost slipped and fell because of my loss of vision.
I cried out and one of my roommates came running and she helped walk me to my bed.
Its honestly difficult to manage [migraines] as they come at random times every few months.
Manny, 27
I started getting migraines the first year I got out of college.
I officially received a diagnosis a year later when I finally went to the doctor.
I now know that this is whats called an aura.
A migraine feels like someone grabbed a hot rod and pressed it against one side of your head.
Its a pulsating pain that you feel with every heartbeat mixed with intense nausea and dizziness.
At least with the stomach bug and the flu you know what to expect and can mitigate that.
The first time it happened I thought I’d been roofied.
Ilana, 29
Ocular migrainesare like seeing the world in slow motion.
The first time it happened I thought I’d been roofied.
I moved my hand in front of my face and there were sixteen hands trailing in front of me.
It was bizarre, especially sinceI wasn’t in painlike you would be with a normal migraine.
And nothing makes that pressure go away.
One incident with my ocular migraines was at a park on a sunny day.
I was walking and suddenly this dark figure walked into my line of vision and out.
It [looked like] a black shape of a person, but I was totally alone.
It totally creeped me out.
It’s as if there’s a glass shattered in front of me and I can’t see.
I went to a neurologist, who classified it as a classic migraine.
The first symptom is a disturbing aura that takes over my vision.
It’s as if there’s a glass shattered in front of me and I can’t see.
My vision literally disappears or I see a psychedelic pattern.
That lasts for about 20 minutes.
(I always listen to theHamiltonsoundtrack because it distracts me.)
Then, the headache comes on one side of my forehead.
Its literally the worst pain you might imagine; I have a really high pain tolerance.
Anywhere from 4 to 5 hours later I will get really nauseous and then vomit.
After I puke, I usually feel better, and almost deliriously happy that it’s over.
I got three in one day when I was on vacation in Hawaii.
That was horrible because I didn’t have my medication with me.
And I couldn’t look at the sunset or scenery because it looked like my aura.
It honestly feels like I cannot function.
Emily, 31
The worst migraine felt like my head was going to explode.
It honestly feels like I cannot function.
It’s very hard to think or talk to people, especially if I am in the office.
Other times, if it is particularly nasty, I attempt to sleep it off.
It can be so distracting and painful that it’s almost impossible to think or carry on a conversation.
Amanda, 27
I’ve always had frequent headaches, but the migraines started around age 22.
It can be so distracting and painful that it’s almost impossible to think or carry on a conversation.
Then, my sensitivity to light and smell become increasingly worse, which sometimes will lead to nausea.
Often, my migraines seem to come out of nowhere and advance very quickly.
One distinct memory I have is getting a migraine right before a date.
It feels like needles stabbing the back of my eyeballs and enormous pressure surrounding my entire head.
I laid there until someone found me.
Every motion hurt, and doing a task such as showering seemed impossible.
It feels like needles stabbing the back of my eyeballs and enormous pressure surrounding my entire head.
Sometimes it feels as if my brain is swelling.
Sarah, 30
My migraines started around age 19.
I would see flashes or my computer screen would be blurry all of a sudden.
Later I learned what I was experiencing was called an aura.
After an aura, Id vomit or dry-heave.
I feel a sharp pain that comes with pressure all around my head.
Sometimes it feels as if my brain is swelling.
Light and sounds are the worst.
A good migraine lasts two days; my worst has lasted five days.
One time I was out to dinner with a friend.
I unlocked my front door and ran to the bathroom.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
