Friday, March 09, 2007
Bad Auras
Far from the usual charming nature ("nerdy") of my posts, but I found this site incredibly helpful--The Daily Headache. I've had migraines since I was a high school senior, and I can still remember my first one. I was working at Express, at a Sunday night seasonal meeting, when I got a small headache. It got worse and worse, until I could finally barely see straight. All I could think about was how long the meeting was taking. Finally, I remember stumbling back out to the car and crumpling into bed, bewildered.
About a month later came the second one at school. I had slid down in the wooden desk of my AP Euro class when the teacher looked up and said, "You? Look green. Go home." Despite having never left school before and being an honor student, I had to walk to the back of the school to get a tardy pass because the Dean didn't believe me. The principal intercepted me in the hallway, sobbing and unable to make it back. When he sat me down to call my dad for help, I couldn't remember the number. Probably half of Blue Cross got a call from me that day, randomly trying numbers until I found someone who knew him.
After that, the migraines came and went; sometimes one a month, sometimes 2 weeks' worth, or sometimes none for half a year. They mostly followed the same pattern, save my second year of teaching when I developed a month-long cluster headache that would suddenly interrupt my driving or a lecture and just as suddenly leave. My longsuffering 8th period class got used to sitting in the room with the lights off, shades pulled, and whispering. Previously uncontrollable, they were remarkably and thankfully compliant in the face of pain. Of course, the morning I decided to go to the doctor, it was gone.
In the last few years, whether it's that my life has slowed down enough or it's age, I've noticed a variety of accompanying symptoms and the differing nature of each headache. Before, they were so reliably similar. This past weekend I realized there was one on the way because my words started slurring together. After 2 days of fighting it, I had bloodshot eyes and was in a total daze. I got nothing done the first 2 days of the workweek. Memory loss, nausea, non-existant smells, dehydration... It's enough to make you feel mad.
But, on a search today, I stumbled across this great list of all the varying symptoms, pre-, during, and post-migraine. Lo and behold, I am not insane. It's just a bullet list so it's a quick read, but very reassuring and helpful if you deal with migraines personally or second-handedly.
Migraine's Other Symptoms
Other facts:
* Over 50% of migraineurs in a study were triggered by the weather
* Only a small percentage of sinus headaches are true sinus headaches, while the rest are really migraines
* They're hereditary--1 parent is 50% chance, 2 parents is 75%, close relative 20% (I had both parents and 2 grandparents with them)
Thank heavens there's so much research coming out on these lately, but there is still a long way to go.
For now, at least I know I'm not crazy. In regards to this, anyway.
About a month later came the second one at school. I had slid down in the wooden desk of my AP Euro class when the teacher looked up and said, "You? Look green. Go home." Despite having never left school before and being an honor student, I had to walk to the back of the school to get a tardy pass because the Dean didn't believe me. The principal intercepted me in the hallway, sobbing and unable to make it back. When he sat me down to call my dad for help, I couldn't remember the number. Probably half of Blue Cross got a call from me that day, randomly trying numbers until I found someone who knew him.
After that, the migraines came and went; sometimes one a month, sometimes 2 weeks' worth, or sometimes none for half a year. They mostly followed the same pattern, save my second year of teaching when I developed a month-long cluster headache that would suddenly interrupt my driving or a lecture and just as suddenly leave. My longsuffering 8th period class got used to sitting in the room with the lights off, shades pulled, and whispering. Previously uncontrollable, they were remarkably and thankfully compliant in the face of pain. Of course, the morning I decided to go to the doctor, it was gone.
In the last few years, whether it's that my life has slowed down enough or it's age, I've noticed a variety of accompanying symptoms and the differing nature of each headache. Before, they were so reliably similar. This past weekend I realized there was one on the way because my words started slurring together. After 2 days of fighting it, I had bloodshot eyes and was in a total daze. I got nothing done the first 2 days of the workweek. Memory loss, nausea, non-existant smells, dehydration... It's enough to make you feel mad.
But, on a search today, I stumbled across this great list of all the varying symptoms, pre-, during, and post-migraine. Lo and behold, I am not insane. It's just a bullet list so it's a quick read, but very reassuring and helpful if you deal with migraines personally or second-handedly.
Migraine's Other Symptoms
Other facts:
* Over 50% of migraineurs in a study were triggered by the weather
* Only a small percentage of sinus headaches are true sinus headaches, while the rest are really migraines
* They're hereditary--1 parent is 50% chance, 2 parents is 75%, close relative 20% (I had both parents and 2 grandparents with them)
Thank heavens there's so much research coming out on these lately, but there is still a long way to go.
For now, at least I know I'm not crazy. In regards to this, anyway.
Comments:
Post a Comment
