Ouch.

Have you ever experienced a pounding headache after a night of indulgence? Your head actually pounds with each heart beat. You feel as if someone in your cranium has a little sledge hammer that they are enjoying pounding in one area over and over and over.  You just want to go back to bed, go asleep and pray that your head isn't going to explode off your neck, though, if that would make you feel better, you would actually go for it.  

Well, that's a bit how my migraine headaches are, but unfortunately without overindulgence in beverages and fun from the night before.

And unfortunately, I have been battling them since high school.

(Jack sitting at my feet while I had a headache one day. Jack read his book while I tried to grab a little shut eye, but could not because my head hurt too bad to fall asleep. Should he be reading The Simpsons? Probably not. But at that point he could have picked up a Stephen King novel and I would have been ok with it as long as he didn't make a sound!)

In high school, I would get a warning before a headache would come on, called aura vision. It is actually when my peripheral vision is gone. I can only see straight ahead. If you cup your hands around your eyes, that is what it is like for me...but I can't see my hands, only black on the sides, with little "light" spots floating in the rest of my vision. You know how you see a little floating light after a camera flash? That is what my vision will do...that's the "aura vision" part. The loss of vision isn't painful at all, but I do get an upset stomach jut thinking about that pain that is going to be coming in about an hour. The "loss" of vision lasts about an hour and  slowly goes away. I then have about 30 minutes max. until the pain starts. Then I am done for the day. 

 (Moose lays by the couch when I have a headache. It's as if she knows something is wrong.)

What do I mean about being done for the day?
I can't do anything, but try to sleep. There are days that I cannot sleep because the pain is so severe.

I try everything to get rid of a headache. Ice packs, heat packs, pushing against my head, caffeine, water, pressure points, hot baths, no light, Tylenol, ibuprofen, sudafed. I finally went to the doctor and got a prescription. Nothing. Did not work. So frustrated!!

Went back to the Dr. and we tried another prescription.
 Finally, some relief!! It was the best feeling ever to finally get some relief from the pain! I have to say, that I am a "lucky" migraine headache sufferer. I have friends and know people that have chronic migraines and cannot get any relief or have headaches for days. My heart goes out to them. 

My friend's 12 year old daughter has been diagnosed with chronic migraines. She can get through 3-4 half days of school due to the pain being so intolerable that she needs to go home and sleep. She often sleeps all day on Friday and then will get up on Saturday, still with a headache, but a tolerable one.  She is an example of someone who isn't able to find relief from medication. It's heart breaking and at this time life changing, and so unfair. 

I have had people say things to me like:
Just take a Tylenol.
Your headaches can't be that bad.
Can't you work though it?
You just don't want to (fill in the blank.)
You'll be fine in an hour.
You just want to nap.

To those people I have a few words: