So I had like this epic ten-day (but likely more...more on that in a minute) migraine. I was basically like a human vampire. It was super sunny outside and when I was in my office that has windows, the blinds were CLOSED. Minimal lighting always. In my office that doesn't have windows, I conducted business as if I was living in a cave. Light could not be in my direct eye line, and so that made for some dark sessions and supervisions. If I could have held sessions in the pitch dark, that would have been ideal. The sensitivity to light was brutal. There was one day that I was sitting on my couch wearing sunglasses and crocheting.
It was more than that, though. Just this...sense of malaise. I felt like absolute shit.
What makes me suspicious about this? I finally got in with my headache doctor and we were able to have a conversation about what the actual fuck is going on here. I'm tired of having to go to urgent care to get a shot. I'm tired of getting migraines that send me to the ER every few months. Taking my triptan three times in one week is not a good idea and it turns out resulted in a rebound migraine, because that's what happens when your pain is out of control and you take that three times in one week and also the fucking triptan doesn't work, as it turns out.
At least I found out the trigger. I had a dentist appointment over April break, the first since before brain surgery. What's relevant about this is that after my brain surgery, I haven't been able to open my mouth all the way, ever. I used to have a super poppy jaw (thanks TMJ) and I have not had said popping in my jaw since December 14, 2021.
Guess what you have to open your mouth ALLLLL THE WAY OPEN FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME for. My jaw hurt for four days. Day two was when the migraine started.
No cavities though, and my dentist called me boring and said I need to floss more. I have one cavity and one fractured tooth that I can keep controlled by wearing my invisalign retainers at night because I grind and clench.
I wonder why.
BACK TO MY SUSPICION.
I am at this headache appointment after the most genuinely hilarious Boston drive I've ever had in spite of having a debilitating migraine and if I'd had five pairs of sunglasses I would have found a way to wear all five if it would have made my world darker. I seriously laughed out loud when I was stopped so close to a car that our bumpers were nearly touching AND SOMEONE STILL TRIED TO CUT ME OFF and then literally 30 seconds later walked by someone walking EIGHT TINY DOGS ALL AT ONCE. At our appointment, she's like "Well obviously first on the agenda is to get the symptoms under control. Here's some predisone. Then I think it's time for prevention. We're going to give you a new emergency pill. It's another triptan, but I want to try at least three different ones to say officially that they don't work. You're also going to start taking a daily dose of magnesium and a beta blocker." (Fun fact about me: I LOVE BETA BLOCKERS. I had a weird heart thing about five years ago and my doctor at the time put me on one for a little while to stop it and YOU KNOW WHAT I HAD NONE OF? DEBILITATING ANXIETY. HEYOOOO. YES PLEASE.)
So my migraine is gone, but it's Barfy Grumpfest 2024 over here until I'm off the prednisone on Wednesday.
Here's the suspicion: I had no idea my light sensitivity was as bad as it was until I didn't have it anymore. I was able to have the curtains open. I no longer needed to avoid garlic or silver. You know what's great? THAT. FULL CONFIRMATION THAT I AM NOT IN FACT ACTUALLY A VAMPIRE.
Is it possible that I've been feeling light sensitivity for longer than I've been admitting? Have I been having an aura-free migraine for weeks?
Very possible.
But for now, I revel in my migraine-freeness and hope that this new plan works and I can have some time where I both am pain free and don't hate everything that moves or breathes in my presence.
