Katrina's Blog

This morning I'm living with what I call a "Migraine Hangover". Last night out of nowhere I started to feel the tell tale signs of the impending misery of a migraine. If you have never experienced a migraine, it can be hard to understand what the person having one is going through. I got my first migraine as a senior in High School; I thought I was going to die that night! It begins as a funny headache that is always on the right side of my head, behind my right eye extending to the back of my head. By funny, I mean, not a normal take a Tylenol with a glass of water and start to feel better in a half an hour. It’s a "can't do anything else" type of feeling, for me it starts out slow and grows into its full blown monster form. I get the accompanying nausea and almost every time vomiting. I have learned some tricks that when used as soon as I feel the migraine coming can stop the most dreaded (to me) symptom...the vomiting. I use a bag of Ice at the back of my neck and suck on an ice cube. Submerge myself into near scalding water and soak for as long as I can. Hide in a QUIET and DARK place and try to sleep. It's a very strange phenomenon...It's hard to understand how something like a bright light or the sound of someone flipping on a light switch can bounce off the inner walls of my head and make me feel like I just got off the Tea cups at Disneyland!
I've missed out on a number of fun times due to these stinking migraines! Last year at the MAF Women's retreat I was so excited to be able to hang out with all the girls and one of my closest friends Jill. Saturday night, the stay up late and chat and Laugh night, I got a dreaded migraine and ended up hugging the toilet and crawling into bed very early! I can remember one of the first times I missed out on a special event and didn't have a clue what was going on! It was Sandy (my sister-in-law) and Luke's rehearsal dinner. My migraine started during the rehearsal when I accidentally looked up into the bright lights of the church and it triggered something awful in my brain! I ended up hugging a stranger's toilet and then into her bed. I felt terrible and everyone was asking me if I was pregnant but I knew that was not the case...I just didn't know what it was that was happening!
I've found that many things seem to be linked to my migraines...my cycle, stress, bright lights and over tiredness. Last night I'm guessing it was the over tiredness. I know many of you might be thinking..."Isn't there something you can take for this kind or thing?" Yes there is...at one point a few years ago I did have a prescription for migraines. It was very strong even at half the original dose and usually knocked me out! I wasn't supposed to take it during pregnancy (and nursing) and stopped using it when I got pregnant with Grace. I do take an Excedrin migraine or two and that can help take the edge off. The "Migraine Hangover" doesn't always show up the next day, it just depends on if I got a long enough, deep enough sleep after the migraine.
Here is a link to more info about Migraine Headaches. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-headache/DS00120
If anyone you know and Love suffers from these yucky things it might be a good idea to read a bit about them so that you can try to be understanding and help them any way possible. Like last night when I was boiling myself in the tub Lance feed Faith her midnight feeding! (So glad she takes a bottle with no trouble!)