When the headache wins

When the headache wins, no amount of sun/light protection (sunglasses, shades, hat brims, eyelids) is enough to block even minuscule amounts of light.

When the headache wins, no prescription, no matter how strong, is sufficient to banish the pain totally.

When the headache wins, vision is a unique blend of terror and torture. Driving in twilight with headlights coming at you (because you hoped to make it home from your knitting group before it got too bad but you really wanted to finish that row of knitting first) is incredibly difficult. (Did I mention that migraines make you stupid, too?)

Even the thought of eating my favorite comfort foods (lime Tostitos or home-popped, buttered and salted popcorn with a dash of Parmesan cheese)… elevates nausea to a gagging level.

When the headache wins, I retreat to the darkest den in my home, crawl under the covers, and weakly whimper. And moan.

Migraines are not a charming disability. One does not lounge back on a chaise in silk pajamas or negligee (I don’t even own one of those), lace-edged hankie to pale brow, looking frail. One definitely *feels* frail, but the actual look is one of haggard pain with grayish blotches in wrinkled whatever-I-last-wore-still-on-me garments. I may or may not have managed to get a cool cloth to cover my brow. Said cloth frequently drips down on pillow because I do not have the strength to wring it out properly.

Do not get me started on the plethora of pharmaceutical chemicals  OTC medications, and God help me – actual migraine prescriptions in my arsenal. Purveyors of migraine medicines delight in making packaging deceitfully difficult to open. Damn it peoples! I am in pain here, more fumble-fingered and uncoordinated than usual because of said pain, and you want me to open individual blister packs without a hacksaw? Once freed, the pill pops up and arcs over to snuggle and hide in the midst of a dust rhino under the bed! I’d scream but that would hurt way too much.

More (totally justified) whining ensues.

——

Twelve hours (and three doses of meds) later:
I am up and semi-functional, but not headache free. I can move about the house, as long as I stay away from the gloriously sun-drenched windows because it still hurts to look at light. Yes. I wear sunglasses inside.

I could totally understand becoming a hard core drug addict if it could promise prompt relief from migraines.

Vogue Knitting Live Conference Report – Part 2

or
migrain city
If you had to choose a city to have a migraine in (not that anyone in their right mind would CHOOSE to have a migraine), I bet NYC would be rock bottom on the list. The many things that make NYC such a fabulous place (the sights, the lights, the sounds, the smells!) are also what makes it migraine hell (the sights, the lights, the sounds, the smells!)

Packed in a small hotel room with 16 women competing for the most powerful perfume award is guaranteed to incubate a migraine of mammoth proportions in those susceptible. Like me.

Struggling to make sense of the new knitting technique with clumsy fingers clutching two strands of sock yarn (she did tell us to bring worsted weight but I forgot that detail) while battling a migraine is not recommended, but I managed to hang in for the whole class, absorbing enough to duplicate the efforts later. The three hour class felt like it would never end.

I packed the meds. I always pack the meds. But I do not always carry them with me. They were across town, an uptown subway in brutally cold and windy NYC away. And brilliantly sunny. Don’t forget the sunny.

I made it back to the West Side apartment I was staying at (thanks, Pat!). I don’t remember locking the door behind me (thank God for doorman in the lobby, secure buildings!). I do remember fighting to open the blister pack the pill comes in and swallowing almost a half liter of water to make sure it went down.

Then I laid down carefully and waited fitfully for the pain to subside. Only two hours later I felt human again. For a migraine episode, that’s not too bad. Unfortunately it meant I missed one of seminar classes I paid for and dearly wished to attend. Pain wins hands down when the pain is a migraine.

Next up: VK LIVE Knitteratti

Migraines suck

Migraines suck. Migraines that take multiple doses of toxic-level pharmaceuticals to recede *at all* suck big time.   Guess which one I had today? Since I am posting, you can assume it has slunk to a distance.

Sometimes they grow on me. Sometimes I start the day with a minor sinus headache, and not quite enough sleep, and it mushrooms from there. That would be today. I crawled home… and collapsed with the meds, a cold compress, and a quilt. It took three hours, but I am now pain-free.

I am also wide awake now (if a mite fuzzy headed), when I should be in bed sleeping. This means I will be somewhat sleep-deprived again tomorrow (sigh).

I blame work for the increase in migraine frequency.  The rest of my life is hunky dory!

Docious at One Week