Sunday 10 April 2011

My First Migraine (Do Not Want!)

I wasn't going to post about this but then reconsidered and decided to get the details down while they were still fresh in my memory.

I come from a background that frowned on any recognition of any kind of malady.
Which was fine until, aged 10, a pelvic abscess nearly killed me.
One of my siblings accused me of 'putting it on' when I got to the unable to walk stage, a mad aunt declared that I was suffering from 'growing-pains' and the only reason I ended up at the doctors was because my father got sick of carrying me about.
The doctor called an ambulance straight away and I spent a month in hospital before having my appendix removed.

So, when I developed a headache last Friday (1st of April I kid you not) I shrugged my shoulders and got on with decorating the back room.
The headache got worse but I just assumed it would melt away before I had to go to the folk club.

At the folk club the headache ramped up it's intensity and I started feeling sick and dizzy so I bailed out at half-time, went home while I still felt able to drive and tumbled into bed.

I awoke at around 9 am with my head in a spiky vice.
I got out of bed to make a cup of tea and take some tablets from Linda's large and extensive collection of analgesics.
(I'm very wary of accepting any tablet Linda offers me as I once took something she proffered to ease a mild muscle pain and half an hour later found myself unable to move.)

Then my vision shattered, couldn't focus and had a weird circular manifestation blocking out anything I tried to look at.
(I drew a picture of what I was seeing, a bit like the after image you get if you accidentally look at the sun, but I seem to have misplaced it.)
I went back to bed making sure I closed the curtains and slept and slept and slept.

Suffice to say I am now fully recovered but am now obsessed with finding a possible cause for an experience I'm not keen on trying again.
Could anything I'd eaten have triggered it?
I hadn't eaten anything out of the ordinary.
Could the mixture of chemicals and dust from decorating have had an effect?
Possible but unlikely, I've been involved with these kind of elements for years and....

Oh.

6 comments:

The City Folk Club said...

I warned OSM about those volatile organic compounds and airborne particulates associated with home decorating.
Or could it be the disreputable company he keeps on Friday evenings?

No, I don't mean Linda!

Oldfool said...

See to it. I suffered from migraines for much of my young life and only finally sought help when the only reason I did not take a pistol to my head was the puppy I was responsible for. I saw a doctor that was one of the last to actually doctor. He put me on Propranalol since that is what he found helped his identical problems. It is nice to have a doc that has the same problems as you. I haven't had one since. Oh I have had monster headaches but they were self induced. The side effects of Propranalol seems to be that people live longer.

saradwyn3 said...

I get a certain kind of headache around this time of year as the sun reaches a sufficient seasonal angle to stab me directly in the eye. Maybe it's a factor for your migraine as well? I think you're at a similar latitude to myself...Anyway best wishes that it doesn't recur! I thoroughly enjoy your reality interventions sir, keep up the excellence!

Wartime Housewife said...

It may well be inhalation of nasty things, but it may also have a mechanical source,particularly if you've been crawling around, or putting yourself in awkward postures. Either way, I strongly recommend a visit to an osteopath or a chiropracter. It could easily be pressure on a nerve or even a twisted muscle affecting the blood supply to your head. As Oldfool wisely said, see to it. Sooner rather than later please OSM.

Marrock said...

Maybe the shed needs a really good airing out.

Anonymous said...

Oh poor you, I can relate to Migraines, probably was the paint, did you have the windows open???
My advise is to buy some Migralieve, the duo pack, just so they are close at hand if you get another one and don't take any of Linda's tabs, you wouldn't believe what she's made me take in the early days!!!