Welcome Back Cookie

Like most bloggers, I have a routine that I use to get ready to write. I grab a cup of coffee and fire up my laptop.  I check my usual social media sites - LinkedIn, Facebook, Google + and Twitter - and I check my email. Then I’m usually ready to settle down and start writing.

But I knew that wasn’t the case on Friday. You see, I woke up with a headache. And for me, headaches come in two varieties – the kind where you can pop two Tylenol and keep on going, and the kind where all you can do is spend the next two or three days in a dark, quiet room. Friday’s headache was of the latter variety.

Those of you who are familiar with the “headache from hell” don’t need me to tell you what I was experiencing was a migraine. According to Wikipedia, migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches and nausea. It is about three times more common in women than in men.

The typical migraine headache is unilateral (affecting one half of the head), pulsating in nature, and lasting from two to 72 hours. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light, sound or smells. The symptoms are generally aggravated by routine activity.

Migraines affect more than 10% of people worldwide. In the U.S., about 6% of men and 18% of women experience a migraine in a given year. However, these figures vary substantially with age. 

Below the age of 12, approximately 5% of children suffer from migraine attacks with little apparent difference between boys and girls. A rapid growth in incidence for girls occurs after puberty and increases throughout early adulthood.

By middle age, 25% of women experience a migraine at least once a year compared to less than 10% of men.  After menopause, incidence in women tends decline dramatically, so that after age 70, equal numbers of men and women suffer attacks with prevalence returning to about 5%.

All of this is my way of saying I know that I am not the only one who suffers from excruciating headaches. I am sure that many of you also deal with the same issue.

My way of dealing with it is to basically “ride it out”. Once it becomes apparent that an over-the-counter medication is not going to kick my headache, I generally retreat to my bedroom for up to 72 hours – the amount of time necessary for the migraine to run its course. Of course, I get to experience all the wonderful symptoms too – nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light, sound and smells. 

But eventually, I do emerge feeling somewhat like Persephone must have felt when she returned from Hades each spring. And knowing that I will most likely be returning to my own personal hell sometime in the future.

Image via www.californiaheadache.com