Headaches or Migraines in Laguna Hills

Millions of people have migraines all over America; a great number of them seek migraine relief in Laguna Hills. Despite its high prevalence rate, only a few migraineurs know that each migraine episode differs in stages or phases.
Learning the four phases of a migraine can help you manage your condition better. Not only that, but it can also help you find the appropriate and effective care for each episode, stopping your symptoms from worsening.
This blog post will explore the four stages of a migraine episode, their duration, and where to seek professional help.

Recognize the Four Phases of a Migraine Episode in Laguna Hills

Migraine is complex and may progress in four phases: prodrome, aura, headache, and postdrome. Every phase shows a variety of symptoms and each symptom differs in severity. However, not every migraine episode includes all of these stages. If you want to achieve migraine relief in Laguna Hills, you must first understand each migraine phase. Below are the four migraine phases.

First Phase: Prodrome

Duration: Several hours to days

The first phase of a migraine attack, prodrome begins when you notice some changes in your body and mental state. The symptoms you go through don’t feel right. Others refer to the prodrome phase as a warning period that another debilitating migraine is about to begin.

An important note to keep in mind, not everyone will experience this migraine phase. Likewise, not every migraine episode will involve prodrome, even for those who have experienced it in the past.

Symptoms

• Fatigue
• Too much yawning
• Irrational food cravings
• Concentration and memory problems
• Muscle stiffness
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Depression
• Increased thirst
• Extreme sensitivity to light and sound
• Difficulty speaking
• Interrupted sleep pattern
• Anger
• Irritability

Recognizing these prodrome symptoms can help you prevent a full-blown migraine attack. Unfortunately, it is a little bit hard to identify some of these symptoms because they may stem from other factors, including stress.
Nevertheless, you can take the best preventative action when you can spot these early warning signs. For example, you can take a medication to prevent your migraine symptoms from worsening or attain early migraine relief in Laguna Hills.

Second Phase: Aura

Duration: 5 minutes up to 1 hour

As many as one-fourth of migraineurs experience the aura phase. Any sort of disturbance characterizes this stage, including visual, auditory, and sensory disturbances. Visual disturbances may be in the form of bright and flickering lights, colored lights, random light spots, or even partial loss of sight. Migraineurs who go through the aura phase may also experience problems related to balance and speech.

Symptoms

• Seeing flashes of bright lights
• Tinnitus (hearing a ringing sound inside the ear)
• Experiencing disturbing physical sensations such as weakness, numbness, or tingling
• Having difficulty forming, finding, or understanding certain words

This phase can last to an hour. But sometimes, it doesn’t just end there. The aura phase can also combine with the headache phase, the most disturbing period of a migraine attack.

Third Phase: Headache

Duration: 4 hours to 3 days

The attack or the headache phase is the most debilitating stage of a migraine. A throbbing headache typically occurs on one side of the head. But over time, the pain can move to the other areas of the head during a full-blown migraine attack.

The intensity of a migraine headache varies. The pain can be barely noticeable at first, but it can become more severe as your episode progresses. Others lose the words to describe the intensity of their pain. Some may describe their pain as drilling, throbbing, stabbing, crushing, and exploding. It may sound like an exaggeration, but it is the reality that some migraine patients have to go through with a migraine episode.

Symptoms

• Throbbing pain
• Pain that worsens with movement
• Extreme sensitivity to light and sound
• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Insomnia
• Muscle weakness and stiffness
• Irritability
• Anger
• Anxiety
• Depressed mood
• Nasal congestion

Fourth Phase: Postdrome

Duration: 1 day to 2 days

The postdrome phase is the last stage. However, a migraineurs suffering doesn’t end here. This stage can affect you for 1-2 days. Known as the “migraine hangover” phase, it resembles the symptoms of a typical hangover. Unlike the previous phases, almost every migraine sufferer experiences the postdrome stage.

Symptoms

• Intense fatigue
• Concentration problem
• Comprehension difficulty
• Euphoric moods
• Depressed moods
• Muscle stiffness
• Body aches
• Frequent feelings of discomfort

Take the Next Step: Visit Us for Migraine Relief in Laguna Hills

Most migraine patients have no clue that an upper neck misalignment is connected to migraine. An off-centered topmost bones of the spine (the C1 and C2 vertebrae in the upper neck) can badly affect the function of the nervous system, causing a migraine to develop. You can misalign your upper neck if you use poor posture, stress yourself too much, or have a neck injury.

Many people enjoy migraine relief in Laguna Hills through upper cervical chiropractic corrections. This gentle way of adjusting the upper neck bones releases pressure off the spine. Using the NUCCA chiropractic technique, Precision Spinal Care precisely locates and corrects upper neck misalignment. Once this issue is fixed, natural body healing can begin.

Upper cervical chiropractic care can be a beneficial therapy to regain your full function and quality of life. Book an online appointment with us today or call our office at (949) 215-4349.