Anatomy of a headache week

Monday

Tonight we’re planning on going to a writer’s open mike session at Village Books, and we’re both on the list to read.  My first time.

I feel a slight pressure on the left side of my head as I’m preparing dinner.  Pretty soon I’m thinking I should use my Cefaly to try to head this off, whatever it is.  But time is short so I finish cooking, we eat and go.

 

 

We’re at the store a little early to get seats in the rear in case I need to make a quick exit.  I’m browsing the used books when I begin to feel distinctly off.  I’m uneasy with a feeling of impending doom.  My gut is churning and tension is crawling across the tops of my shoulders.  I can’t concentrate, can’t hold still long enough to read the titles before me much less delve deeper into the reviews on the back of the books that might interest me.  I use the bathroom which helps a little but not much.  My discomfort and anxiety mounting by the minute, I move on to a different section of the book shelves and then finally give in and take my seat beside my husband.  I still don’t really have any head pain, but I’ve learned that this supreme agitation and nerviness portend an oncoming migraine.  I wonder if I can make it through the next hour and a half in public, pay attention, read in front of an audience without having to make a run for the door.

As people begin to read, my attention turns to their words and the images they call forth.  I am able to compartmentalize enough to shut out the discomfort.  My turn comes and I get through my short story with a fair amount of composure.  My husband reads after me and then again at the end of the evening, another piece we have worked on together.  I’m happy to have made it through and to hear this story about our son’s unusual education at sea.

At home I put on the Cefaly and half way through the 20 min. session I feel my body begin to calm down.  My head clears and my discomfort resolves.  I have dodged the bullet.

I love to take pictures.  I carry my camera with me everywhere I go throughout the week.  This dreamy image was pure serendipity.  The water reflections were breathtaking, but I had no idea my camera had captured this lovely bird taking wing until I downloaded the day’s “catch” onto my computer.

bird luck

I have a 9:30 am dental appointment for teeth cleaning.  No big deal, but I don’t do well with dental procedures.  I’ve been better lately so I decide to forgo the nitrous oxide, which has been a miracle method to prevent the inevitable post dental headache.  As soon as I finish and walk out of the dentist’s office, I get a little warning throb, which is no big deal, but it’s there.  I go on about my day, run a couple of errands and head home.  I have a dinner date with friends. Good time and good food.  I’m home early and use the Cefaly before bed because there has been a nagging little pain in my left temple off and on all day.

The next morning, early, 4 or 5 am, I awake to a major headache.  I take my abortive, naratriptan, and go back to bed where I spend the better part of the day.  The headache finally resolves around 4 or 5 pm.  The lesson here for me is to ask for nitrous even for cleaning and secondly, as I should know by now, don’t ignore the little ones.  The Cefaly has been working for me but only if I use it at the very beginning of the headache.  Wait, and I’ve effectively eliminated that avenue for averting a migraine.  It’s a hard thing, though, to be perpetually aware and virtually impossible to, then, always make the right choice to deal with a daily headache.  Nearly every day becomes a calculation, when, whether or how to treat what might be the beginnings of the next headache.  Sometimes I just have to live my life and accept the consequences of occasionally ignoring or refusing to interpret each and every little pain or bodily sensation.

Thurs. & Fri.

Saturday

Sunday