Bleurgh

[nym_wibbly]

I've been showing assorted signs of menopause since my late 30's, not helped by growing obesity.  In the past year, my periods have become irregular, or rather I think one ovary has gone on strike while the other is still chugging away trying to make me have babies.  I still get all the cyclical nasties, but I only get the relief that comes with a bleed every other month (ish). Classy as ever, body.  Cheers for that.  This week, I've had worse migraines than I've had in some time.  Two possible reasons: a particularly nasty hormonal duel inside my body, or that I've recently started having fruit juice again thanks to the milk delivery.  I can find out which easily enough by trying fruit juice once the rest calms down in a week or so.

In the meantime, I'm a pathetic ball of hormonal mood-misery, migraine whack-a-mole going on twelve days, and now cramps.  I've needed hormonal control for this shit for most of my life, and been unable to have it because of my high risk of breast/ovarian cancer (and, later, my obesity too).  Menopause proper will be a relief, I can tell you, and since my mother's migraines became less frequent/severe after her ovaries packed in for good, I live in hope that mine might too - and that some of my other problems, which I suspect are rooted in migraine, might settle down too.

When I have a migraine, or am on the verge of one, lying down makes it worse.  So I wound up staying up until midnight, way past my usual bedtime, and making through a viewing of Doctor Zhivago.  I've seen it all before, just never all in one go.  Even back in the days when I could routinely sit through a film, I had trouble making it through that one  So that's one thing off the bucket list.

Comments

[luthien]

Sorry you're having such a bad time of it. :(

Have you tried a European pillow to keep your head vertical? (Or is it your head having contact with the pillow that's the problem?) I got one out for D when he was congested with a cold and couldn't lie down to sleep and he found it really helpful.

Take care. *hug*

[nym_wibbly]

I've tried all kinds of pillows, but mostly end up piling them up in the corner between the bed and the wall and dozing sitting up! I think it's a blood pressure thing. If I go down more than 45 degrees, my head wants to explode. I'm thinking of getting one of those weird inflatable travel pillows that you half hug, half faceplant in while sitting in your airline seat. Could be handy after the breast op, too, since I'm a side sleeper and won't be able to use either side for a while. :P

To be honest, it's been a long time since my migraines were this bad - the preventative drugs have made Imigran much more effective, and this is only the second time in a year that a cluster has gone out of control. I'm hoping it's temporary. :/

[(Anonymous)]

I was just thinking of you, wondering if you were unwell. :/ I'm keeping everything crossed that things calm down for you!

(Ovaries are the worst. Mine are getting so desperate that they keep cutting my cycle shorter and shorter, as if that would wake me up to the urgency of the situation...Ha bloody ha.)

-i

[nym_wibbly]

Maybe I should reconsider losing the ovaries along with the bewbs!

[aeonwren]

I hope the migraines subside and that you feel better soon!

[extryn]

It's almost reassuring to know I'm not the only person who can't lie down if a migraine is Bad. Some part of me is a little amazed at how much pain a tiny change in head level can create, and the rest of me is trying very hard to remember that this isn't lethal. Apparently. Probably.

Unfortunately, that also means I vividly remember how mind-breakingly Bad those sorts of migraines are. It's like an out-of-body experience of sheer misery. Really, really hope you get some relief soon. *offers codeine and broth*

[nym_wibbly]

I can't say I get terrible pain, but I do feel unbelievably awful - and for up to a week at a time - if a migraine goes out of control. I've been more stable and responsive to sumatriptan while on atenolol/pizotifen. But I've also been a zombie. :/

Horizontal + migraine = bad. Not fatal? How many of us stroke out each year without anyone joining the dots, I wunner?

Are you home safe yet? Britain seems to be heading for the Snowpocalypse.