Migraines can be debilitating for those who suffer from them regularly, and for many, migraines can be accompanied by downright scary symptoms.

Holding hands, walking through the park and talking. Sarah Smith isn’t taking any of it for granted.

“It feels good because I didn’t know what was happening, and what would be possible,” Smith said.

In early June, Smith was at home with her boyfriend, Josh, when she started losing control of her body. Her arms and legs twitched uncontrollably, and her eyes darted back and forth.

What You Need To Know

  • Transient aphasia is a temporary condition where a person loses the ability to communicate

  • Many people who suffer from chronic migraines experience aphasia or another aura

  • Migraine sufferers who experience new symptoms should first seek emergency help to rule out stroke or seizure

The scariest part for her was that she couldn’t call out for help. Her ability to communicate just wasn’t there.

After a terrifying two hours, she was able to speak and let out one simple statement that led Josh to take her to the emergency room.

“All I could get out was, ‘brain wrong, wrong, help, please, brain, brain, brain wrong,' ” says Smith.

While it was unlike anything she’d experienced before, this was far from the first time the 30-year-old suffered a medical issue.

Smith has a long history of headaches. She remembers spending a lot of fourth grade in the nurse's office.

“Every couple years, I just kind of get them constantly, and that’s what led up to the episode I had. It was like four days in a row of migraines,” she said.

While Smith says the ER staff initially thought she suffered a series of seizures, a neurologist later diagnosed her with transient aphasia. It’s the temporary loss of the ability to communicate, and it’s often associated with migraines.

Dr. Charles Argoff is a professor of neurology and heads up the Comprehensive Pain Management Center at Albany Medical Center.

“A migraine isn’t just a headache,” says Argoff. “It’s a brain problem, and this is part of a migraine for many people.”

Argoff doesn’t treat Smith, but he’s seen cases like this before. In fact, he estimates around 10% to 20% of his chronic migraine patients have migraines with aura.

A migraine aura could be a variety of symptoms, including loss of vision, loss of the ability to speak or understand, or it could cause a person to pass out.

While there may not be a direct solution for auras, there are certain triggers that cause migraines. But they aren’t the same for everyone.

“It’s so important that people find what triggers their own event,” says Argoff.

Migraine triggers include inconsistent sleep, changing hormones and too much, or a lack of, caffeine and stress.

Argoff says aphasia is something that should be on the radar for anyone who has regular migraines, but if you’re experiencing dangerous symptoms for the first time, get evaluated right away, like Smith did.

“Seek treatment to prevent them, but don’t assume that you know what it is until it’s been evaluated,” says Argoff.

The good news is, he says once the problems have been identified, there’s a lot of help out there for those suffering from chronic migraines. He says some of his chronic migraine patients who experienced auras no longer have them at all after trying new treatments.

“There have been tremendous advances in understanding the neurochemistry behind migraine that have led to new treatments,” says Argoff. “It’s really a new world for people suffering from migraine. It’s really important to recognize what this could be, get evaluated and then avail oneself to the best available treatments, so that it doesn’t happen again.”

Now that Smith knows she’s susceptible to temporary aphasia, she’s on a new migraine medication and is hopeful her condition will improve. She’s also paying extra mind to her “headache hygiene,” ensuring she gets enough sleep and reducing her stress levels.

“I’m just trying to tick everything off the list and hope for the best, because I know these migraines happen. It just kind of like came with the body, so I’ve got to ride ‘em out,” Smith said.