I have to say, when it started, I couldn't believe that the New York Times had an entire blog about migraines. How much is there to say about a bad headache? But it's actually kind of fascinating.
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This actually makes me think better of the Times. I've had migraines as long as I can remember (hereditary, my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother all suffered). No where near as frequently, but still, a bad one is something I never want to repeat.
dunno, I'd say it's more a bad headache the way being kicked in the shins compares to breaking your leg...
I think a whole blog is more a comiseration thing, because, yup, miserable. It's also kind of a codeword, to let people know you are about to go down quick. There are those of us that can't take the meds, and so there is no option for dealing with the pain. I salute those that work through it, though I can't. Too many nerve side effects, I guess. The other part of it not being like a really nasty headache, is sometimes they last for days, weeks, more. Thankfully my longest was only for a week... There is also clustering, where you start to feel better only to have a re-currence club you, over and over again. It's hard to explain to anyone else what it is like when odd bright flashes of light start obscuring the vision in one eye, and then the other... The first time, especially if you are in high school, you think that you must be too young to have a stroke. If you are lucky you have someone to guide you through it.
we could build a factory, and make misery...
For those who have never had a migraine, the pain feels like having an ice cream headache that never goes away, and then comes the nausea, and the numbness in your face and hands, not necessarily in that order, in my case.
Of course, if you've never had an ice cream headache ... well, lucky you.