4/14/2016

The Curse of the Chronic Migraine


There is no joy that comes with chronic headaches or to be even more specific, chronic migraines.

I used to get a nasty “knock you off your feet” migraine every few months.  Now I get them a few times a MONTH!  They come on suddenly and most times without warning. Other days, I know they are on their way when I start to yawn and cannot stop.

They are, without a doubt, debilitating. I end up vomiting, crying or both. I have to hide away from sunlight and loud noises for hours.  Sometimes Advil works, sometimes not.

Today was one of those days. I woke up and could feel the beginning of one over my right eye. Within 10 minutes the nausea hit and I was downing 3 Advil faster than you can say Bob’s Your Uncle!  Thankfully the Advil started to work almost immediately and the pain dissipated but the follow up was worse; crippling fatigue. What sucks is when you have no choice but to push through it because of commitments you have made. It's like forcing yourself to wade through cement.  Do you ever get that? Where you have no idea how you can even take one more step?  I do, a lot.   It’s totally different from just feeling tired.  For me its as if someone poured an entire bucket of exhaustion over me and it has seeped into every cell of my body.  The pain of migraines is one thing, the aftermath is another.

I remember growing up and my dad telling me about his brother who suffered from chronic migraines. He had tried everything under the sun but then ventured into the great unknown and consulted with a Chinese Acupuncturist. That must have taken a lot of courage (or he hit rock bottom and had nowhere left to turn) because Chinese medicine was quite a taboo thing “back in the day”. From what I heard, the treatments completed cured his migraines. 

I am not a needle fan. Not many of us are but I absolutely hate them.  Then again, are migraines any better?  If the only treatment that works are mini needles inserted into my body, well I just don’t know. Maybe Advil and I will stay besties for quite a while longer.  Signing off now to go and hide in the dark and pray this head splitter doesn’t come back for another visit today.


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