Migraines.

My cranium feels like it has been used as the ball in a FIFA world cup. One that ended in a kickoff.

I'm awake and upright now (obviously), but I've spent the past two days plus prone and in and out of a state of hazy, painful consciousness. Light hurts, sound hurts, sudden movement hurts, breathing hurts.

My migraines begin with an aura. I see deep red in the area of my peripheral vision. My doctor has no explanation for this phenomenon, most people have auras involving scent or sensation, and although some have visual auras, most are unlike mine.

Lucky me.

It used to be that if I caught it fast enough, and took my prescribed medication, things wouldn't be so bad. Not so much anymore....I think it's time for a stronger med., but that's not the topic of this blog.

Many people, especially women (don't we just get all the breaks?) suffer from migraines....it's really not an uncommon illness. Many more people get headaches, and think they have migraines. Trust me, I don't lose two days work and basically four days of my life over a headache, no matter how bad it is. Migraines have a pathology and must be diagnosed by a medical doctor, there are several conditions that have to be met before the diagnosis is made.

I look like a zombie when I'm fighting a migraine. I bruise, from the inside out. There's no way to mistake this condition, one that interrupts my life, from a headache, which is a speed bump, at most.

The worst of this one is over. I'm feeling more alert, less drugged out. The searing pain inside my skull has abated pretty much, although the actual hurt deep inside the bones won't end for awhile.

If you suffer migraines, you have my sympathy.

If you don't, consider yourself very fortunate.