life with talking trees

I have had headaches all my life.

As a person with a "chronic illness" (I don't think headaches are considered chronic but the term applies here) I have done what many other sufferers have done: I have a categorical system of description for the myriad forms of pain I receive.

My first migraine occurred after my first child was born. I was getting ready to go to class, looking over the book when suddenly I realized I couldn't read. Letters on the page were disappearing and making it impossible to decypher what was right in front of me. It was like reading phonetic Chinese written backwards. I found this curious and interesting. I told my husband and roomate what was happenning. My roommate said "oh... you're getting a migraine attack. You might as well forget class and go lie down"
"that's ridiculous," I said, "I've never had a migraine in my life! I don't have a headache, just these weird floaty sparkles"
"Trust me, that's a migraine about to happen. Go lie down"
I was chuckling when I went up the stairs. As soon as I got there, I was ravenously hungry. I grabbed a bowl of frozen cherries and started munching. I must have eaten a pound of cherries when the nausea hit me. Then the pain started. It was amazing. I lay down on the bed holding my face and covering my eyes. It was like my first nervous breakdown but without all the tiredness and confusion. It was bright, searing pain. I thought my eyeballs were going to implode. After about an hour, I went and threw up violently. Then it was over. I was exhausted.

I didn't have another migraine for a good ten years. Soon before my third child was born. After that, it was another eight years, during my hospital visit of Spinal meningitis. Ever since that hospital stay, I've been getting migraines at least once a week. I finally went to the doctor and got a prescription and the meds are wonderful. I love Imitrex (even though I don't love the price)

Now, everytime I feel a twinge in my neck, or a dull thudding in my temples, I wonder "is this a migraine building up, or is this just a 'regular headache'?"

Because, see, I still get "regular" headaches too. That never stopped. I stopped taking tylenol/aspirin/ibuprofen for all but the worst headaches a long time ago. I learned to just go about my business and barely notice it. There's no point in fighting a condition if you're stuck with it forever, right? I'm not interested in being dependant upon pain medication unless I am debilitated by the pain. The question is, how often do I walk around in mild pain and not even know it? How often have I lumbered forth, acting like the hind end of a goat just because I'm in pain and I have learned to dismiss it? Where's the line?

Then there's the issue of migraines specifically. I've been looking up information all over since being told by that neurologist that I have migraines. I've come away impressed by the wealth of advice, research and science dedicated to this problem. After learning so much, I start to wonder have I been having migraines all this time and just didn't know it? is that what my nervous breakdown really was? A three day massive migraine?

No answers, just thinking.

kids gone yesterday. decrepit_doll didn't call me before so okay. Yeah, that kinda brought me down but everyone's telling me "that's probably a good thing..." and I know what they mean. Baph was feeling good. When he asked me about it and I told him, I tried to act casual but he still said "I'm sorry hon..." and you know that actually made me feel better.

We went to the Upstart show. Buncha bands playing but we're there to see Jem.
Jem was great... it was kind of weird because she has such a soft breathy voice and her band was totally tight but after a couple of songs, it sounded damned good. She did a cover of "Master Blaster" by Stevie Wonder and it was really good to hear. They also covered some song by The Stone Roses which was a fabulous end to their set.

Thing was, I started having a neck ache. It ws bugging me and bugging me. After about two hours, it turned into a major pain in the neck. So, okay. We decide to go to the ATM machine so Baph can pay cash for his alcohol. By the time we get to Kroger, I was started to just wish I could lie down. So I lay down in the backseat while he's in the store. By the time he got back, I knew this was serious. I took some Imitrex and sat down in the front seat with his hat covering my eyes.

For the next 45 minutes, I was in hell. Waves, very predictable and familiar waves, hit me over and over again. Even though I was crying and clenching my muscles, a part of me was fascinated by it all. There was the slim poker that would stab me from the base of my skull all the way to the back of my eyeball. Then, there was the icey-cold plates that crept around the sides of my head. There was the lead that was poured straight into my jawbone until it filled up and overflowed into my temples. Then there was the flamethrower that occasionally licked all around my brain. Every now and then I was pretty sure my brain was being squeezed out my chin.

Like I said, it was weirdly fascinating. I got the idea that creatures from another dimension were attempting to gain entry into my skull and thus were trying different methods to crack it open. Of course, it wasn't working so every attempt meant someone else would say "you're doing it wrong, what you need to do is hold the flamethrower like this before you turn it on, here let me show you" then another alien would pipe up with "No, I realy think we just didn't pour enough lead into her jawbone, ya gotta make sure it's loaded up properly" so another one butts in with "aw what do you know? I'm telling you the poker will work! Heat it up and let ME have a try with it!"

I assume that argument was weirdly entertaining to them as well.

After 45 minutes and two tylenol later, my head clears up and I'm sitting with a head full of medication and leftover endorphins. Nice feeling!

I practically floated on air I was feeling so good. That whole "yeah but once the pain's gone see, that's why I do it" kinda made sense to me then. Only kinda. I giggled, I was languid, I ate, I laughed, I laid down on the grass and enjoyed the music. It was grand.