You can see now when the blood supply is reduced the symptoms described above could bring on a frightful experience.Let's take a close look at the photo to the right showing the basilar artery. The vertebral arteries, one on each side of the body, go through the vertebral column which is the spine, in the back of the neck, and enter the skull through the hole at the base of the skull called the foramen magnum.

Once inside the skull, the two vertebral arteries join up to form the basilar artery, as you can see, at the base of the medulla oblongata.

(IF you ever watched the animated movie Madagascar,you heard the medulla oblongata mention.)

The basilar artery supplies arterial branches to the brain stem, cerebellum, and occipital lobes, which control the autonomic nervous system such as the level of conscious, coordination, balance and vision.

So you see why you have all of the symptoms above when this attack begins.

Basilar artery migraineurs are more likely to have migraine related strokes.It is not known for sure but smoking, and birth control pills may be contributing factors in this.

Find a headache specialist to diagnose your basilar artery migraine. You don't want a missed diagnose on this. In some sites they will suggest taking triptans for the pain. But triptans constrict the arteries. And with this headache the cause of your trouble is constriction of the basilar artery. I would not advise taking triptans unless your doctor gives you the go ahead. Use common sense. Wishing you a pain free day.