Wait… That’s a Migraine Symptom?

When most people hear the word migraine, they think of one thing: a very bad headache.

But anyone who lives with migraine knows that the reality is very different.

Migraine is a complex neurological condition that affects the entire nervous system, and the migraine symptoms can go far beyond head pain. In fact, some migraine attacks can occur with very little head pain at all. Instead, they come with a wide range of sensory, neurological and cognitive symptoms that can make everyday life incredibly difficult to manage.

One of the most confusing things about migraine is that symptoms can change from attack to attack. What you experience one time may be completely different the next. Some attacks may start with visual disturbances, others with extreme fatigue, nausea, or overwhelming sensitivity to light and sound.

For many people, migraine feels unpredictable and misunderstood. It can be exhausting trying to explain symptoms that aren’t always visible to others, especially when the condition is often dismissed as “just a headache.”

The truth is that migraine can affect how you see, hear, think, feel and function, sometimes long before the head pain even begins.

So if you’ve ever found yourself thinking:

“Wait… that’s a migraine symptom too?”

You’re not alone.

Here are some migraine symptoms that surprise people the most.

Numbness and Tingling

Numbness and tingling can be a symptom of migraine aura, and it can feel very alarming if you experience it for the first time.

The first time it happened to me, I was at home with my children. It started as a small tingling sensation in my index finger. Then it slowly spread to the next finger, then the next, until my whole hand was affected. The sensation continued moving up my arm. Shortly after, it started on the other side of my body in the same way, beginning in my index finger and spreading through my hand and arm. It eventually moved across my face, lips, tongue and even my legs.

What made it particularly frightening was that I didn’t have any head pain at the time, so migraine wasn’t even on my mind. If you’ve never experienced it before, this type of spreading numbness can feel very scary. But for many people with migraine, sensory aura like this can occur before the headache phase or sometimes even without head pain at all.

This symptom is often associated with migraine with aura, where neurological symptoms occur before or during the migraine attack. The tingling may begin in one area, such as the fingers, and gradually move up the arm or across the face.

Although it can feel alarming, especially the first time it happens, this sensory disturbance is a recognized part of migraine for many people.

Food Cravings

Many people notice unusual food cravings before a migraine attack begins.

These cravings can appear hours or even a day before the headache starts and are part of the prodrome phase of migraine, when the brain is already beginning to change.

People commonly report cravings for things like:

• Chocolate
• Salty foods
• Sugary snacks
• Carbohydrates

Interestingly, these cravings are sometimes mistaken as the cause of the migraine, when in reality they may be an early warning sign that the migraine process has already started.

Excessive Yawning

Yawning may seem like a strange migraine symptom, but it is actually quite common.

Frequent or uncontrollable yawning can occur hours before the migraine pain begins and is another sign of the prodrome phase.

This happens because migraine involves changes in brain chemicals, particularly dopamine, which plays a role in regulating yawning and alertness.

For many people, repeated yawning is one of the earliest signals that a migraine attack may be developing.

Vertigo

Vertigo can be another symptom of migraine, particularly in people who experience vestibular migraine, where the parts of the brain responsible for balance are affected.

The first time I experienced vertigo was when I was out at a farm with my children. I had gone into a room to change my little one’s nappy and suddenly everything started spinning. I was completely alone and the sensation was overwhelming. It was my first vertigo attack linked to migraine, and at the time I had no idea what was happening.

After that first episode, the vertigo continued for almost a month, which was incredibly difficult to manage. Now it occasionally returns during migraine attacks. Like many migraine symptoms, it shows how migraine can affect far more than just head pain, disrupting balance and the brain’s sensory systems.

During these episodes, people may feel as though the room is spinning, rocking, or moving even when they are completely still. It can also come with dizziness, nausea, difficulty focusing, or a feeling of being unsteady on your feet.

For some people, vertigo happens before the headache phase of a migraine. For others, it can occur during or even without head pain at all. 

Brain Fog

Many people with migraine experience cognitive symptoms that are often described as “brain fog.”

This can include:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Trouble finding words
• Slowed thinking
• Feeling mentally detached or confused

For some people, brain fog appears hours or even days before the migraine attack, during what is known as the prodrome phase. Others experience it during the migraine itself or in the recovery phase afterwards.

Brain fog can make work, conversations, and decision-making extremely challenging, which is one of the reasons migraine can be so disruptive to daily life.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is another symptom that some people experience with migraine. It usually presents as a ringing, buzzing, or humming sound in the ears, even when there is no external noise.

During a migraine attack, changes in the brain’s sensory processing and nerve signaling can affect how sound is perceived. This can make existing tinnitus worse or cause temporary ringing in the ears that appears before, during, or after an attack.

For some people, tinnitus occurs alongside other sensory symptoms such as sound sensitivity, dizziness, or vertigo, highlighting how migraine can affect multiple sensory pathways in the brain

Nausea and Digestive Issues

Migraine frequently affects the digestive system.

Symptoms can include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Stomach discomfort
• Loss of appetite

This happens because migraine involves the brainstem and parts of the nervous system that regulate digestion.

For some people, nausea can actually be one of the most debilitating symptoms of an attack.

Light Sensitivity (Photophobia)

Light sensitivity is one of the most common migraine symptoms, yet it is often misunderstood.

During a migraine attack, the brain becomes extremely sensitive to certain wavelengths of light, particularly in the blue and blue-green spectrum. Bright indoor lighting, screens, fluorescent lights, or sunlight can suddenly feel overwhelming or even painful.

For many people, this symptom appears before the migraine headache starts, acting as an early warning sign that an attack may be developing.

Light sensitivity can also persist between attacks, especially in people living with chronic migraine. This can make everyday environments like offices, supermarkets, hospitals or public transport difficult to tolerate.

Managing light exposure is therefore a key part of migraine management. Tools such as FL-41 lenses are often used to filter specific wavelengths of light that can trigger or worsen symptoms. Browse our collection of FL-41 migraine glasses designed to help manage light sensitivity.

Sensitivity to Sound and Smell

During a migraine attack, the brain can become hypersensitive to sensory input.

This means normal sounds or smells can suddenly feel overwhelming. Everyday noises like conversation, traffic or background music may become difficult to tolerate.

Strong smells such as perfume, cleaning products or food can also trigger or worsen symptoms for many people.

Some people with migraine also experience something called phantosmia, which is the perception of a smell that isn’t actually present. These are sometimes described as phantom smells or olfactory hallucinations. People may suddenly smell things like smoke, burning, chemicals or strong perfumes even though there is no real source.

Phantosmia can occur before or during a migraine attack and may act as a warning sign that a migraine is developing.

This heightened sensory processing is one of the reasons many people with migraine need to retreat to a quiet, low-stimulus environment during an attack.

Visual Disturbances (Migraine Aura)

Some people experience visual symptoms known as migraine aura.

Aura can include:

• Flashing lights
• Zig-zag patterns
• Blind spots
• Blurred or distorted vision

These symptoms usually develop gradually and may last between 5 and 60 minutes.

My first experience of visual aura happened when I was at university. I was standing on the train platform waiting to travel home when I suddenly noticed a small colored spot with zigzag lines in my vision. At first, it was small, but it slowly began to expand and move across my sight.

Even though I recognized it as a migraine symptom, it was still scary. I was alone and about to get on a train, and the aura eventually grew into a large blind spot that made it very difficult to see properly.

Aura can be frightening if you experience it for the first time, particularly because it affects vision so dramatically. However, it is a recognized part of migraine for many people.

Extreme Fatigue

Another symptom that often surprises people is overwhelming fatigue.

Many people feel deeply exhausted during and after a migraine attack. Even when the head pain subsides, the body and brain may take hours or days to recover.

This recovery phase is known as the postdrome, sometimes referred to as a “migraine hangover.”

During this stage people often feel:

• Drained
• Foggy
• Sensitive to light or sound
• Unable to concentrate

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is a rare but recognized neurological symptom that can occur in people with migraine, particularly those who experience migraine with aura.

During an episode, the brain temporarily processes visual and spatial information differently. Objects may appear larger or smaller than they really are, or seem closer or farther away than they should. Some people also experience changes in how their own body feels, where hands or limbs can seem unusually big, small, or distorted.

These episodes are usually temporary and linked to the way migraine affects the brain’s visual processing areas. The name comes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, where the character Alice experiences similar changes in perception.

Allodynia

Allodynia is a symptom where normally harmless touch becomes painful during a migraine attack. It occurs because the nervous system becomes more sensitive as migraine progresses.

People experiencing allodynia may find that simple things like brushing their hair, wearing glasses, resting their head on a pillow, or even light pressure on the scalp suddenly feel uncomfortable or painful.

This happens because migraine can amplify sensory signals in the brain, causing ordinary sensations to be interpreted as pain. 

Migraine Is More Than Head Pain

Understanding migraine symptoms is important not only for those living with the condition but also for the people around them.

Migraine is often invisible. Someone may look completely fine on the outside while experiencing intense sensory discomfort, cognitive difficulties or neurological symptoms internally.

Raising awareness of the full range of migraine symptoms helps challenge the idea that migraine is “just a headache” and encourages greater empathy and understanding for those affected.

Final Thoughts

If you live with migraine and recognize some of these symptoms, it can be reassuring to know that you are not imagining them.

Migraine is a complex neurological condition, and symptoms can vary widely from person to person and from attack to attack.

The more we talk openly about these experiences, the more we help others understand the real impact migraine can have on everyday life.

And sometimes the most validating moment is simply realizing:

“Wait… that’s a migraine symptom too.”