Doosey. That’s the adjective for the morning. I woke up, fed the dogs, took my medicine, saw my reflection in the mirror and decided a nap on the couch was in order.
Napping for most should be pleasant. A good snooze on the couch with the window breeze blowing, a dog napping at your feet… for me, it was more like all that with head thrashing and leg spazzing and some mental part of my brain saying, “You have to wake up and take more medicine,” only to not wake up enough to do that, fall back asleep again, repeating the cycle with the acknowledgement of some part of my brain saying, “You’re experiencing a migraine! Get up and take something or this will get worse.” Other part of brain, “Shussh, I’m sleeping and I already took my morning Verapamil.” Then head pain, leg spaz, head thrash, wakie wakie. “GET UP.” Fall asleep. Some delirious part of me got my phone to call my sister. There are only certain people who can deal with you showing your face but not communicating.
“Oh hey, you’re not doing so well huh?”
Head nod, eyes shutting as I start to fall asleep again. “Did you take anything?” Head nod, attempt at eye opening. “Talk to me,” I get out, thinking perhaps following conversation is the trick to getting my sleepy brain to wake up. And so she describes her day, and I try and listen. Eventually, I wake up to a full spazm, toes, abs, arms–nearly losing the phone but damn if that doesn’t wake the brain. “Thanks!” I say, then hang up.
Phase 1 complete.
Commence Phase 2: Stay awake and find Excedrin Migraine & quick release Verapamil.
Options: Make it to kitchen & car or try and make it upstairs.
Due to the hula dancing head tossing a headache around like a circus juggler, I commit to the first path–figuring it’s both safer and takes less effort. In the kitchen I find tension headache meds, then make it to my car only to come up empty of excedrin migraine. Quick release verapamil is there which hopefully will start the process towards becoming functional but I haven’t taken tension headache stuff before, so I call sister #2 (nurse) and she doesn’t respond. I call her again. “What? I’m trying to sleep.” “I need…” struggle to speak, “Can I take tension headache to fix migraine or do I need to trrr… trr…” can’t get the damn words out. “Yeah, try, I get it.” “Go upstairs,” I finish. “Yeah, don’t go upstairs. Do you have Advil?” she asks. I nod (more vigorously then the hula bob). “Take that and the tension and you basically make excedrin migraine.” “Thanks,” I say. “Ok, love you, bye!” she hangs up. Phase 2 complete.
I think maybe meditating will help but instantly reject that idea as I might fall asleep again, so I just wait in my car–passenger side–as my police friend told me once that is smarter than on the driver’s side. My eyes drift closed and I force them open again. “Stay awake.” I say out loud. Time passes and I try another friend to see if I can follow conversation and can talk back. I do moderately ok. Sister #2 calls back to check on me and we talk through her grocery trip and me feeling like sandbags are on me, until eventually I pull my walker from the back seat and work my way back inside.
“Maybe I’ll go for a bike ride today,” I say.
“Um, maybe you don’t,” sister says.
And I laugh a bit because maybe she’s right.