Symptoms of Stomach Migraines

Author: Jody Ehrhardt

Stomach migraines also called abdominal migraines, are an abdominal disorder characterised by many of the same symptoms as a headache migraine. The main difference between the two migraines is the presence or lack of head pain. Stomach migraines are never accompanied by head pain or aching.

What is a Stomach Migraine?

Stomach migraines are abdominal pain that lasts from one to two days in the absence of any other digestive cause. These abdominal attacks come on without warning and subside just as naturally. The pain is never brought on by diet, activity, or other illness. Another key feature of an abdominal migraine is its frequency or pattern. Stomach migraines occur at least one or two times per month, follow a similar pattern in symptom onset, and feature an intense pain that interferes with normal activity. Between attacks of abdominal migraines the individual is healthy and completely symptom free.

Digestive Symptom Checker

Describe your stomach or digestive symptoms and we will help you understand what might be going on and when to see your GP.

Try our Digestive Symptom Checker free, here on this site →

Common Symptoms of a Stomach Migraine

There are eight symptoms that are most characteristic of stomach migraines. These symptoms include severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation or diarrhoea, vision problems (such as sensitivity to light), dizziness, and fever. In some cases sufferers may also complain of an increased sensitivity to sound and a general feeling of soreness of the body. Some individuals have also reported experiencing a flushing of the face, or a loss of colour to the face, also known as pallor.

Since the symptoms of this disorder are very similar to the symptoms of influenza and other digestive disorders it is important to track your symptoms for the appearance of a pattern. Once a pattern has been established you will need to make an appointment to discuss your symptoms with a doctor for diagnosis.

Once symptoms develop the most common, and most effective, way to find relief involves resting. Individuals who relax in a dark, quiet room seem to find relief more quickly than those who are exposed to light, sound, or other stimulation. Doctors are also hopeful about prescription treatment. Recent studies have shown that two different drugs, Propranolol and Pizotifen, may be effective for controlling the symptoms of stomach migraines.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Who's at Risk for Stomach Migraines?

The onset of stomach migraines is most commonly seen in the early childhood years. Most sufferers are diagnosed before puberty begins, however some cases do develop during the teen years and even into young adulthood. When stomach migraines begin in early childhood the symptoms seem to reach a peak of severity and duration between the ages of ten and twelve years. After that the symptoms tend to decrease as time goes on and disappear completely by adulthood. In some cases, however, the abdominal migraines stop but are replaced with head migraines.

Both males and females are equally at risk for developing abdominal migraines, however family history does seem to play an important role in the formation of the disorder. Stomach migraines are more commonly inherited from the mother so if a woman suffered from stomach migraines as a child the chance that her children will also develop them increases greatly.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Digestive Symptom Checker lets you describe your stomach or digestive symptoms and we will help you understand what might be going on and when to see your GP. Try it now →

17 questions

Ask Tummy Trouble a Question

Sjones 26/05/2018 at 3:52 am

When I started menopause 8yesrs ago I had my first stomach attack. With me I start to sweat profusely then comes the pain so severe I can't hardly stand it. The only thing that stops the pain is going to emergency room for morphene. Has anyone had any success with any type of prescription meds?

mama 08/07/2017 at 5:54 pm

This comment is in response to "Soggy"s testimony from 6/6/17. It would be worthwhile to check into PCOS (poly cistic ovarian syndrome with insulin resistance) since she had a cyst (I assume on her ovary). Not all doctors recognize this syndrome. My 16 year old has been sick with nausea & lack of appetite for 5 months after having the flu and has had all the testing which has come up with nothing wrong with her gall bladder, no ulcers, no celiac disease, blood tests all normal, food allergies tested, but an ultrasound showed she has a cyst on her ovary. I'm going to take her to a doctor that knows a lot about PCOS with insulin resistance. Her menstrual cycle is irregular and she feels sicker on her period so I'm wondering if that has a lot to do with it. She also became severely constipated in March and was hospitalized 6 days and now has to constantly take something to keep her regular. She too has been diagnosed with abdominal migraine but she has never had migraine headaches nor has anyone in our family. The GI doc says the flu virus affected her digestive system and the nerves so she has abd. migraine (for 5 months???) The medication she's on helps some but she is nauseous everyday and cannot eat the foods she used to eat. She missed the 2nd semester of her sophomore year because she felt too sick every day to go. She was 123 lbs. last November and is now 113. The doctor never seems alarmed and I tell her that my daughter can't eat very much and a lot of foods bother her stomach but that gets no reaction from the doctor! Her energy has drained, she's weak, tired, pale, can't go anywhere and doesn't enjoy eating anymore. Before this she could play softball, she had been a cheerleader for 2 years, she could run faster than anyone in her class but not now. It doesn't seem to bother the doctors!! Everything I read about abdominal migraine says it shouldn't last longer than a week. I'm going to keep digging and try to find out what is really wrong with her. It does seem hormonal to me too. This has totally disrupted our life and I feel that this has gone on this long only because of the incompetency of the medical community. Plus all the waiting to get into a doc, wait on the test, wait on the result and not all doc's have the same information. I hope your daughter gets the proper treatment some day, I know what you're going through and it truly does make you worry.

Soggy 06/06/2017 at 8:54 pm

My 14 year old daughter has since the age of 8 had terrible sickness,constipation,diaorreah,abdominal pain,fever,muscle pain the list is endless!....had test for inflammatory bowel disease,crohns,amongst a few,scans for appendix you name it in past 5-6 years she's had it.treat for 2 years for irritable bowel but made no difference whatsoever. To cut a long story short she's now being treated for abdominal migranes. Been on proponalol for a few months and I must say her flare ups have decreased. She has in the past been severely impacted and been hospitalised 5 times with the exact same symptoms! Projectile vomiting at her worst with extreme pain,big black circles under her eyes,palor very pale,literally has to crawl to the toilet in that much pain.shes also had a 7.5 cm cyst in the past which dispersed itself(phew) ....hormones are in my eyes a huge factor in all this and I'm hoping and praying her symptoms ease now she's been finally diagnosed and is on the correct treatment...( trying her on a contraception pill too ,3rd one upto yet !!! And as a result of her being in bed for long periods of time...flare ups for Tori last between 1-5 days ....end result when I can't do anything more for her is ..hospital admission...then a further 5 days in there....she's now receiving physio on her knees & legs because her muscles haven't formed and her legs are very weak! So I feel your pain parents ...good luck with your treatment hope you also find the correct diagnosis :-)

NeverToOld 12/02/2017 at 12:04 am

I am 59 years old and I suffer from migraines as well as abdominal migraines. I was 37 when I had my first migraine imediatly upon being injured at work. I was diagnosed Dec 2015. My mother nor her mother or any other family members suffer from migraines. And nobody has abdominal. My first migraine lasted three months. And then 20-25 days a month. With three or four abdominal migraines thrown in each month. At fifty nine I still have to many of each but things have slowed down in the last year or two. My last one, I had a migraine anoying me and teasing me for about nine days. I took a muscle relaxant and sleeping pill. Fell into a good sleep. One hour latter I came up out of my bed, having to vomit. The migraine had moved out of my head and into my stomach. For the next 14 hours I threw up every 10 minutes with this horrible pain in my stomach. Fourteen hours latter it moved back into my head to stay for a couple more days. I did not have this experience as a child.

JoJo Editor 17/11/2016 at 11:02 am

@Taffy - my daughter has terrible stomach problems and pain over five years, we found it was down to gluten and wheat. Keeping a diary of food triggers will really help, so you're doing the right things. It took us years of hospital tests (that came to nothing in her case) and different diets to decifer the cause - but it was definitely worth it in the end as it not only got rid of her stomach issues, it also got rid of the anxiety and depression she was suffering from at the same time. I personally believe diet is incredibly important to our welfare and that our bodies let us know if it doesn't like something. Keep going to the hospital for tests in case it is something other than diet. The docs wont let her take Ibuprofen (or Asprin) because it can damage the stomach lining if taken on an empty stomach, so stick to Paracetamol as it's safer. You might want to ask the docs if it is an allergy, such as celiac disease, which they can test for. Good luck, keep doing what you're doing, you'll get there in the end.

taffy 16/11/2016 at 9:03 am

My 11 year old daughter has been suffering with stomach pains for two years now on and off, we have been told it stomach migraine.She is often off school with it and actually the school are very unsympathetic, i am pretty sure they think we have made it up.
Anyway last night i called the out of ours doctor who in turn sent for an ambulance and took her in to hospital, after blood tests and urine tests was told its definitely not appendix, shes not constipated so its stomach migraine, they sent us home with paracetamol and nurofen told us NOT TO TAKE IBUPROFEN, as this could make things worse. The doctor said they will arrange scans for her for the second time just to check there is not an underlying problem.There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why she gets this but it seems to be lasting longer and longer, this time she has had the pains for eight days in total, she did go to school but was sent home.
My biggest headache out of all this is that I know the school think its a made up condition. Anyway started keeping a diary in the hope we can narrow it down and find out the triggers, not sure if it is food related, she has been in that much pain she hasn't actually eaten for three days and the pain still there although this morning it seems to have subsided a little bit and she has actually got a bit of colour in her cheeks. touch wood the pain is on its way out.

TummyTrouble Editor 05/11/2015 at 10:49 am

I'm afraid we cannot comment upon this. If this sickness continues, you should continue to see her GP in order to get a diagnosis.

kimfs 04/11/2015 at 8:59 am

My 14 year old daughter , was diagnosed with a 5cm ovarian cyst 8 months ago. The cyst has now gone but ever since she keeps getting these episodes of sickness . They happen at the same time usually between 12 pm & 2am & the symptoms consist of severe sickness , stomach pain & generally feeling unwell , they can last for a few hours to a full day . She has had various blood tests done & all have come back normal . Could it be stomach migraine

Nai Nai 28/02/2015 at 11:01 am

First of all I feel sorry for the people who have this .
Second of all it never happened to me , so ,how does this happen,
What is the cause of it.

skigirl 29/03/2013 at 5:20 pm

my son is 14 yrs old ,has had stomach aches for years, we have had 2 endoscopys that were normal. tried naturopatathic, helped somewhat. we just started bio- feedback, and they
think he has abdominal migraines. he will get nauseous after he gets up or after breakfast,
sometimes he throws up, very tired, bad taste in mouth, and then sometimes will get a headache, flushed cheeks and feels warm. He usually feels better in the afternoon and
evening but sometimes stomach ache returns. he has just missed 3 weeks of school
and this is very upsetting. going to see a neurologist next week. i feel so bad for him,
he likes school and friends but he just feels crappy. does anyone have any good advice.?

lynn 19/12/2012 at 9:35 pm

Please help, I have just had my daughter to see paediatric dr. who thinks my 7 year old daughter is suffering from abdominal migraines! she is also referring her for scans on her abdomin just to make sure there is nothing else wrong but this is affecting our family life big time. my daughter has not had a full week at school for 6 weeks now and this has been going on for about 3 months. I also have been told to give her ibupfron and paracetamol when in pain until I go back in march to find out if she needs prescription medication. I would appreciate any ways of comforting your child when this is happening, I have tried a hot pad on her tummy but this doesnt seem to help that much. Not looking forward to xmas at the moment as feeling a bit stressed about everything/

telltale 22/08/2012 at 9:46 am

I also disagree with the statement in the article saying it's not food related, some food most definitely is a trigger for my 6 year old daughter. I also think there may be a link with lack of sleep and stress. My daughter began over a year ago with stomach pains which lasted for days, sometimes with vomiting. She was diagnosed with constipation and prescribed movicol satchets. When the episodes continued I knew it wasn't constipation and started keeping a food diary thinking she may have a food allergy. Following an attack I took her to see her GP and showed him the diary, he could see that she had eaten quite a bit of dishes with cheese in it and queried adominal migraine. He advised the '4 C's exclusion diet' - exclude Cheese, Chocolate, Citrus fruits and Caffeine from the diet. The attacks became less frequent and when she had an attack nine times out of ten we could pin point it to food she had eaten which had the trigger in it.

Edie 17/08/2012 at 4:49 pm

I have read with interest about signs and symptoms my grandson 11yrs has been suffering for the past year with abdominal pain on and off. Hes been to the Drs quite a few times but we have just been told probably a virus!!!!! looking what others have stated I can identify with it all. I have told his mum about this site but she will go to the drs again next time it flares up but she doesnt want Dr to think she is doing the diagnosis for him has anyone any advice. I know some Drs get annoyed when being told what to investigate!!

tubs 23/03/2012 at 5:40 pm

My grand daughter has just spent 4 days in hospital with terrible stomach pains, she has had lots of tests done and they cant find any reason for the pain. She is being discharged in a few hours but still does not have any diagnosis. It was thought at first she had appendicitus but they have ruled that out, pain so bad they put her on morphine, but stopped all pain relief yesterday. Sending her home advising paracets and ibrufen which was not helping before admittenace to hospital. Her poor Mum just doesnt know what to do to help her. She is 12 years old and normally healthy.

shay 05/09/2011 at 12:18 am

I have read this article and I'm sorry but I am failing to understand what the difference between this and 'cyclical vomiting syndrome' is. I have suffered CVS for 9 years now and all the symptoms noted on here and generally the whole article seem extremely similar to CVS. I'm now starting to wonder if its the same illness but different names?

sue79 18/07/2011 at 3:00 pm

Thanks for your comment I have just took my daughter to the doctor she has been going dizzy then she is sick then she sleeps for hours and has abdominal pain the doctor has said it could be abdominal migraine or epilepsy ? How is your son now?

Cat 09/05/2011 at 8:15 am

Sorry, as a mother of an acute abdominal migraine sufferer I have to disagree with your comment that "stomach migraines are never brought on by diet." in my son's case diet is the main trigger, and I think there are many, many sufferers out there who are being let to believe that what they eat does not matter, which is wrong. ANY food high in amines is a potential trigger. In my son's case he avoids pork, cheese, yeast, citrus, caffeine, shellfish (among others).anything processed or containing AMINES (specifically TYRAMINE.) The good news? He regulates his migraines through diet NOT drugs, and has been migraine free (with 2 exceptions) for a year. AND he can tolerate small amounts of amines eg. chocolate, the occasional pizza. BUT it really is a case of trial and error, as every child is different.

Ask Tummy Trouble a question

Ask our editorial team a question and we will reply with our advice. Tell us as much about your situation as you can: the more detail you give, the more useful our answer can be.

You do not need to use your real name. Please do not include your full address, phone number, email address, or the names of other people. We may edit or remove identifying details for privacy and legal reasons.

Comments are moderated before publication.

Digestive Symptom Checker Tool

Rising Incidence of Stomach Cancer

How Cauda Equina Syndrome Affects the Stomach

The Causes of Diarrhoea

Stomach Bloating and Gas

Symptoms of Acid Reflux

Symptoms of Crohn's Disease