After over 19 migraine-free years, I have started suffering from them again. And what a resurgence! When I was a teenager, I had about three migraines (with aura) every spring and summer, and then they were over until the next year. My last migraine was during the summer of 1987, right before I started St. John’s. I don’t think this is insignificant, given how terrible my teens were and the promise, largely fulfilled, of St. John’s as a better place.
On November 25, 2006, I experienced a slight disturbance of vision that I attributed to having glanced into the sun. I went about my Saturday errands, walked over to the Post Office, bought some stamps, and as I walked back home realized that no sunspot would last 15 minutes. Remembering that my friend J. used to say that caffeine helped a migraine, I stopped at Diesel on my way home, bought a double expresso, drank it in a gulp, and went straight home and went to bed, stopping only to tell the Red-Haired Boy, “I believe I have a migraine. Please don’t make any noise.”
When I woke up, I felt better, but my head was sore when I bent over.
Thus began my adult journey into the world of migraines.
In spite of all efforts at prevention, thoughts about triggers, attempts to eat and sleep regularly, a great reduction of stress on my job, supplementation with magnesium and riboflavin, I am still having three migraines a month. And even the abortive drug of choice, Imitrex, only works sometimes. Plus it’s useless if I don’t take it at the first sign of a migraine, the first inkling that my vision is disturbed, and I am beginning to think that if the Imitrex doesn’t get rid of the migraine, it actually makes it worse.
I am starting this journal as therapy for myself and to help others. But being sick, really sick, 3 or 4 days a month has also led me to contemplate the nature of health and illness. Migraine is well suited to these kinds of musings, since it is a fully, but temporarily, debilitating condition punctuated by periods of good health. A migraineur, then, has insight into both worlds.
I invite comments, but do screen them for spam.
Migraine aura picture from 
Well, I worked my way to the start of your blog after beginning with the end near the Gary Taubes link. Except that you are much younger and I have narrow feet , we have or had many parallels in our physical worlds. While you wouldn’t have known from my external life (professional, executive, reliable, blah, blah blah….)I suffered with outrageous, vomiting, head in the trashcan migraines about 3 times a month from the age 17 until about 5 years ago. Now, I have about 2 a year for which I use Migranal nasal spray. Where did the migraines go? I guess they went the same place my estrogen did…as I moved through about 10 years of menopause, they just faded away. At one time, I was taking 300mg of Inderal daily. The night hallucinations Inderal at that dose induced were worth the prevention of headaches. But it was low carb that brought me to your blog. I know that sugar is just like poison for me (sounds more dramatic than I am, but it’s true) and have over the years been on and off low carb meal plans. I , too, was faced with tipping off the edge of health (peripheral neuropathy, threat of diabetes and about 20 pounds overweight) due to insulin/glucose issues. Went on Avandia for a few months but have decided that I can manage my issues with a little discipline and protein. Anyway, thanks for your wonderfully descriptive blog. I get it. I like it.
Comment by Quietrunning — September 30, 2007 @ 2:23 am |