What is a migraine equivalent?
A migraine equivalent refers to a recurring neurologic deficit that lasts about as long as a migraine, but is not associated with pain and is not due to any other medical problem. For example, some people (usually children) get “abdominal migraines”. These are episodes of upset stomach, sometimes with nausea and vomiting, that lasts for hours and then goes away for days or weeks or months. They are often relieved with migraine medicines. It is not uncommon for people to undergo elaborate and expensive work-ups looking for obscure causes for this kind of complaint. It is a diagnosis that should be made by a neurologist since there are other things that can present in a similar fashion.
