Here it comes again

photo credit: migraine-headache-pain.jpg via photopin (license)

I have, over time, eliminated a lot of the junk that causes migraines. I stay away from most dairy, I don't drink juice because of the tannin, no wine or beer, and I absolutely stay away from artificial sweeteners, which can be found on the coating of most pain relievers (picture me washing it off by hand before swallowing, rather a pain when my head is throbbing at 4 a.m.) I don't smoke, don't consume food with high levels of MSG. I stay away from too much chocolate and sugar. Basically, I eat boring and safe. When I get a migraine it's usually due to monthly hormones, but I'm not perfect, sometimes I ate the chocolate and the sugar . . . and some of the other stuff.

They always come in the morning: I wake up and feel that acidic, creeping pain—usually on one side of the face—and force myself out of bed and to the nearest bottle of Excedrin. Then the coffee. Then I wait. No bright lights, no loud TV or talking. No perfumes or spicy foods. Everything has to be bland and balanced or the pain will grow, or worse, I'll vomit.

If you look at the post before this one, you will see what it's like to write under the duress of a migraine. Honestly, I thought I read through that post and thought everything looked fine, but this morning I see there's an entire section where the sentences are completely ineligible. Try writing a whole book like that, or editing like that. And it's not just writing, it's everything numbers and letters. Yesterday, I had to type in my Facebook password numerous times. When you have a migraine, the world turns upside down and you grasp at things; you think you've got them, but you don't. All you want is for the pain to stop, and when it does life is so sweet, so beautiful. Food tastes good again, music is bliss, you appreciate being alive. Ironically enough, but I've done some of my best creative writing while under a three-day migraine. Maybe it's the Excedrin, I don't know, but the muse shows up and says, "Let's roll." Maybe I'm in crazy zone . . . Whatever it is, at least there's some kind of reimbursement for this pain. So anyway, I'm leaving yesterday's post as-is because it's just such a perfect example of my brain during one of these episodes.

Thanks for reading. I wish you a wonderful day!