Edith Piaf knit. This is a photograph of her knitting in her hospital bed after having stomach surgery. If you haven't seen La Vie en Rose, go out and see it. But don't see it, say, in the early hours of a beautiful day. You will cry. (I cried when I saw the preview even.) You'll well up throughout the movie, and at the end, the very end, you won't be able to drag yourself from the dark of the theatre.I won't spoil all the knitting episodes in the film. I will leave those delights for you to find.
I spent most of Thursday in bed. In her book, The White Album, Joan Didion has a fabulous essay called "In Bed." I was in bed for the reason Didion gave in her essay. I had what the doctors call a migraine. I refuse to believe they are migraines. Doctors will not listen to me when I try to them them that the headaches are related to my cycle. They just want to give me a prescription; I don't take my migraine medicine--it makes me feel as if an enormous pressure is being exerted on my brain and I immediately become nauseated. The medicine doesn't make the headache go away anyhow--it stays, beating dull, hibernating behind my eye.
I usually get headaches on my right side. They usually aren't too bad; I can go about my day, uncomfortable, but functional, usually squinting and distracted and feeling as if I'm underwater. This time, the headache started on my left side. I kept seeing what looked like fluttering bat's wings in the corner of left eye. Then the left side of my face went numb. So I made myself take my medicine and lie in the dark of my bedroom.
I wish I could have knit.
I cried because I was so upset that I couldn't get anything done. Didion, in her essay, says that no one will understand why you don't just take an aspirin, why you just don't shake it off. They have no idea. Believe me, I would always rather be knitting if I could.
12 comments:
i had my first migraine april, complete with weird flashing lights. it was also on my left side. i feel so terrible that I ever thought people with migraines were being overdramatic. it is a new level of misery.
Your headache might be related to calcium levels. I tend to get a bad calcium headache about one week after my period starts. Is this Too Much Information? Perhaps. But I take a calcium supplement (Os-Cal or similar) and it goes away. Might be worth trying if your situation matches... Take care! :)
Yes, people who are not stricken with the pain of headaches have no idea how much they can rule your life, sorry to hear about that, and thanks for the film rec!
I'm so sorry. Whether they are migraines or not I can sympathize, I have had migraines since my early twenties, they are debilitating (and NEVER related to my cycle, purely stress). Hope that rest in bed helps.
Ow, that sounds really really painful and unpleasant! I hope you feel better soon and can get back to knitting!
I drink a giant Coke (real, not diet), take several Excedrin, and lay in the quiet dark. I snap at my friends and relatives when they call me to see how I am doing... the answer being, "I was okay until the phone rang." Very unpleasant. I'm sorry you didn't feel well. I get them about once a year only, but when I do, they really derail me.
de-lurking... I really feel bad for you. I get bad sinus headaches and had a "spinal headache" for 3 days after having my last child. The woman who caused it refused to do a simple procedure that would have made the headache stop within about 5 minutes, because she swore she hadn't punctred my spine. My wish for her and anyone who doesn't understand the pain of migraines or any other headache from the depths of h*ll is that they one day suffer for one day from what they think isn't as bad as the person suffering from it makes it out to be. *Hugs to you*
I have had one migrain in my life and I will NEVER forget how miserable I was. I feel for anyone who gets them. Hope it is gone and you are able to knit...
If the fluttering continues or if you see spots, please get to an eye doctor and have your retinas checked. Just a little motherly concern. Hope you are feeling 100% now.
I have heard of many folks who have cycle related migraines! You are not alone! I never had them until after I had my first child, then somehow my hormones changed permanently and now I can't eat chocolate or I get the headache blinding spots and all. Good luck.
Sorry for your pain… I can sympathize. I get migraines as well but they are related to stress. I found a brilliant cure (purely by accident) I went in to see my Family Dr. who also happens to be an Dr of Osteopathy. I had developed a blinding pounding headache. I had so much stress held in my shoulders and neck that it had pinched something and that was causing the problem. He worked on my neck and the migraine was lifting before I left the office.
Not all migraines are created equal. Mine are barometric pressure related (as in weather change/altitude change) and like senora fuerte said for me caffine is the best cure. But for some caffine is the cause of theirs. It's a crap-shoot as to what will work the best. I have been to half doz. Dr's and finally found one that understood the true nature of mine, I now take a light dose of Topomax and the headaches are less often and less intense.
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