Migraines

Migraines SUCK.

Can I just tell you what a migraine is not? A migraine is not just a bad headache. People like to throw the word 'migraine' around as though it's a really bad paper cut. Wrong.

Sometimes migraines don't even start out with a headache. Sometimes migraines begin with what's called an 'aura' or visual disturbance. But whatever, this isn't supposed to be a lesson in what a migraine is.

When the pain hits - it's excruciating. I often end up puking, and then being driven to the ER. Going to the hospital for me, is a pretty normal occurrence. Rob used to freak out a little when I said I needed to go to the hospital, but now it's almost like a date. Woohoo!! Someone will come take care of the kids, and we can spend a quiet, painful night in the ER. Yay.

I remember one specific youth event. I was coming down with a migraine, and I knew I needed to go home. As I was waiting for my parents to come pick me up, another girl told me that she actually had a migraine too. I was like, really?? Because you were JUST yelling and running around and laughing. Oh, and the bright lights and noise doesn't seem to bother you? Interesting. I'm about to vomit all over you and your Billabong sweater.

My migraines are MS related. That means that for some reason, the preventative medications that most people can take to relieve them of their migraines, don't work for me. I've tried them. It also doesn't help that I don't stomach medications very well. Each form of medication that I tried made me severely dizzy, throw up, or feel like my heart was about to beat out of my chest. Not fun. So where does that leave me? With pain relievers. And they work - some of the time. The only downside is that I still get a migraine! Migraines don't just last for a couple of hours. Migraines, and their 'after-effects' can last for 2 days. So that blows. The pain goes away (praise the Lord), but you still feel incredibly drained.

Being a mom of 2 is proving to be a lot harder than I originally thought. It's a huge huge blessing, and I'm so glad that I get to me a mommy to 2 boys, but being a sick mom is HARD.