Tell me about your headache

[kate_schaefer]

Okay, this isn't about me. This is about you. What was your worst headache ever? Do you know what caused it? Did anything you did to get rid of it have an effect? How long did it take to go away?

There is no downside to being told that whatever made my head hurt, it wasn't going to kill me. That's totally a good thing. There is a downside to having my head still hurt more than a week later. There are no monster explosions inside my head; it doesn't hurt that appallingly intense way still. It does hurt, though, and it makes it hard to think. It's hard to do anything. I cannot possibly have been sympathetic enough to people with headaches in the past. I am so sorry, you all.

Historically, I don't get headaches. I didn't, anyway; I guess I have to change my perspective now. We didn't even have ibuprofen in the house. If I'm going to have this unwelcome addition to my life, I'm going to have to learn how to live with it.

So tell me stories, please. I feel your pain.

Dammit.

Comments

[intelligentrix.livejournal.com]

I used to get terrible migraines as a child that continued through my college years and into my time in NYC. They typically lasted a day, but were so painful--with accompanying symptoms of nausea, and sensitivity to light, sound and motion--that I would sometimes lie on the bathroom floor because the tiles were cool and I was close to the commode just in case I needed to throw up.

The very worst one, however, was during my last year in NYC, after I foolishly got a shot of Depo-Provera. I didn't figure out the cause for several weeks, during which time I saw a neurologist several times a week, had an MRI and a spinal tap. I did finally figure out that it was the shot, but the headache lasted 3 months and I lost my job. I was in so much pain that I couldn't even deal with the paperwork for medical leave.

The upside is that I have not had such a crippling migraine since and their severity has greatly decreased. Now I only get them when I've foolishly stayed up far too late on the computer or watching TV with my neck at an odd angle, and even then they go away with the judicious application of AC&Cs.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

Gack. Migraines sound like a special place in hell. I don't think this is a migraine, but I am mildly encouraged by all the strategies others have reported for managing migraine recurrence.