I spent most of yesterday evening curled up in bed.
I was doing fine. I’d had a really stressful day, but things had all gone better than I had hoped and I was happy about it. Justin and I stopped at the grocery store for a few items and I was energetic and playful.
And then we got up to the apartment and started tidying a few things up. And suddenly I wasn’t feeling nearly as well anymore. My head started to pound a little and I got more and more lethargic. Justin thought it was because the house is such a wreck, so he buzzed around the house chattering and cleaning while I took care of the kitchen—figuring that if the house was tidier, then I would feel better. Normally, it’s a great plan. But after about 10 minutes, I crawled up on the end of the bed and covered my head with my hands and cried.
Justin came in to see what was happening, worried that he had done something wrong. And then went and brought me some Advil Migraine and a glass of water, covered me in a few blankets, and left me to rest.
I can’t remember when I’ve had a headache hit me like that. The best I’ve been able to think about how it started is to compare it to cutting yourself with a really sharp knife. At first, it doesn’t really hurt. But you know that you’ve done some serious damage to yourself and if you don’t do something soon, it’s not going to be pretty. Last night, it felt like I’d cut the top of my head off with a sharp knife. For about five minutes, it was just this sharp pain through the front of my skull. And then the pounding started and the stabbing pain through the sides and the vice-like pressure on my temples. And the dizziness. And I was so cold and so tired.
I didn’t move for about two hours. I must have fallen asleep at some point in there because I remember looking around and thinking that it had gotten dark really suddenly. Justin said he came in to check on me and I was completely out. I don’t remember it at all. But around 9:00, I got up to use the bathroom and get a sweatshirt. I grabbed a book and curled back up in bed to read, using the light in the bathroom because the light beside the bed would probably be too bright.
Justin came in a little while later to check on me and saw that I was awake. He offered to tuck me under the covers where I’d be more comfortable, but I was hungry. So he made me soup and I made the cream for his creamed tuna on toast, we sat and chatted for a little while, and then I went back to bed.
It completely scattered my plans for the evening, but I don’t know why it happened or what I could have done to prevent it, so there’s no point in me being frustrated about it.
Today I’m feeling much better. I got plenty of rest, so I’m more alert than normal. There’s still pressure at my temples, enough that I keep worrying that the headache is going to sneak back up on me while I’m at work. I should probably just take some Advil to see if it’ll clear up, but for some reason I’m avoiding that. Mostly, I’m just hoping that I won’t have a headache again tonight so I can get some things accomplished.