Mom’s Out of Commission

Through the course of my life I’ve been cursed with debilitating migraines. At one point, I had to be hospitalized for an entire week because I had an eight week long migraine! I mean, serious stuff with this migraine business. Since I’ve been in the baby making phase of my life, I have only had a few minor tales to tell (including two when we moved which is obviously an incredibly stressful time). I’ve mentally conditioned myself to believe that the migraine time of my life has passed me.

Running on the treadmill yesterday evening my vision started to change. I adjusted to slow down and nothing changed. I continued to run trying to will myself into thinking that it was a fluke thing. Upon completion I took ibuprofen, just in case, and proceeded as normal. By the time I made it home, I was experiencing a full blown migraine. Fortunately Adam was home by then and I was able to throw my children at him and head straight for bed.

I survived. I’m more or less alright. But I now have a new sense of paranoia that I thought I could retire. My life does not allow for me to be down and out. I bitch and moan about it when I think about having a cold…a cold where the worst that happens is I stick my kids in front of the tv and try to recover. A migraine puts me in the state of complete inability to do anything but barricade myself in bed with the lights out. “Hey kids, you mind fending for yourself while Dad is another state? Mom’s out of commission.” Hm…I’m sure that will work.

I’m “almost” back to normal after yesterday’s episode. I’m feeling like I may never recover from it entirely because now I know it’s a possibility. I could out of the blue experience something so completely out of my control that will leave me knocked out and I am the only adult responsible for all these little people…and sometimes the occasional extra little person too! The fear of that is enough to do me in!

Someone mentioned to me that dehydration plays a big role in headaches. Needless to say, I have never been more hydrated than I am today. I work very hard each and everyday to lead a healthy existence. I work out, eat right and try to find the occasional outlet for stress reduction. I can’t help but feel like the thought of a potential migraine is going to be a dark cloud that follows me around for awhile.