Symptoms of Classic migraine

List of symptoms of Classic migraine:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Classic migraine includes the 17 symptoms listed below:

• Intense headache - throbbing, or pounding in the forehead, temple, ear, jaw, or around the eye.
• One-sided headache - that may move to the other side over time.
• Nausea
• Weakness
• Vision disturbance
• Light sensitivity
• Aura - a set of specific symptoms affecting the brain and vision that will precede the onset of certain types of migraines, including:
  • Flashing lights
  • Seeing zigzag lines
  • Temporary vision loss
  • Speech difficulty
  • Arm tingling
  • Arm weakness
  • Leg weakness
  • Tingling face
  • Tingling hands
  • Confusion

Note that Classic migraine symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Classic migraine signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Classic migraine

Do I have Classic migraine?

• Classic migraine: Introduction
• Classic migraine: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Classic migraine
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Classic migraine
• More about Classic migraine

Wrongly Diagnosed with Classic migraine?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Classic migraine includes:

• Basilar artery migraine - these are often misdiagnosed as classic migraine.
• Common migraine
• Headache
• Tension headache
• Cluster headache

See the full list of 6 alternative diagnoses for Classic migraine

More about symptoms of Classic migraine:

More information about symptoms of Classic migraine and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Classic migraine
• Underlying causes of Classic migraine

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Arm tingling - see all causes of Arm paresthesia
• Arm weakness - see all causes of Arm weakness
• Aura - see all causes of Aura
• Confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Flashing lights - see all causes of Flashes
• Intense headache - see all causes of Headache
• Leg weakness - see all causes of Leg weakness
• Light sensitivity - see all causes of Photophobia
• Nausea - see all causes of Nausea
• One-sided headache - see all causes of Headache
• Seeing zigzag lines - see all causes of Vision distortion
• Speech difficulty - see all causes of Speech symptoms
• Temporary vision loss - see all causes of Impaired vision
• Tingling face - see all causes of Tingling face
• Tingling hands - see all causes of Tingling hands
• Vision disturbance - see all causes of Vision changes
• Weakness - see all causes of Weakness

Medical Books Online about Classic migraine

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Classic migraine are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Classic migraine.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Classic migraine: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Classic migraine.

Headache: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Initially, migraine headaches usually produce unilateral, pulsating pain, which later becomes more generalized. They’re commonly preceded by a scintillating scotoma, hemianopsia, unilateral paresthesia, or speech disorders. The patient may experience irritability, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. (See Clinical features of migraine headaches.)

Both muscle contraction and traction-inflammatory vascular headaches produce a dull, persistent ache, tender spots on the head and neck, and a feeling of tightness around the head, with a characteristic “hatband” distribution. The pain is usually severe and unrelenting. If caused by intracranial bleeding, these headaches may result in neurologic deficits, such as paresthesia and muscle weakness; narcotics may fail to relieve pain in these cases. If caused by a tumor, pain is most severe when the patient awakens.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Headache: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Migraine headaches and muscle contraction headaches have different signs and symptoms.

Migraine headache

Initially, a migraine headache usually produces unilateral, pulsating pain that later becomes more generalized. The headache is commonly preceded by a scintillating scotoma, hemianopsia, unilateral paresthesia, or speech disorders. The patient may experience irritability, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. (See Clinical features of headache, page 364.)

Muscle contraction headache

A muscle contraction headache produces a dull, persistent ache; tender spots on the head and neck; and a feeling of tightness around the head, with a characteristic “hatband” distribution. The pain is usually severe and unrelenting.

If caused by intracranial bleeding, the muscle contraction headache may result in neurologic deficits, such as paresthesia and muscle weakness; narcotics fail to relieve the pain in these cases. If the headache is caused by a tumor, pain is most severe when the patient awakens.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Classic migraine:

neurological symptoms 10 to 30 minutes before a classic migraine attack. These symptoms are called an aura. The person may see flashing lights or zigzag lines, or may temporarily lose vision. Other classic symptoms include speech difficulty, weakness of an arm or leg, tingling of the face or hands, and confusion.

The pain of a classic migraine headache may be described as intense, throbbing, or pounding and is felt in the forehead, temple, ear, jaw, or around the eye. Classic migraine starts on one side of the head but may eventually spread to the other side. An attack lasts 1 to 2 pain-wracked days. (Source: excerpt from Headache - Hope Through Research: NINDS)

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Classic migraine
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Classic migraine
• How serious is Classic migraine?
• More about Classic migraine
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Classic migraine:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Classic migraine. This signs and symptoms information for Classic migraine has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Classic migraine signs or Classic migraine symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Classic migraine may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Classic migraine symptoms.