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Migraines are weird…
Sep. 7th, 2020 10:40 amI’m sitting and doing a mental post Mortem on this headache.
If you’ve never had a migraine, nor anyone who does, they are not just a headache. Classic migraine, which is what I have, is a neurologic condition. Other than being male, my description could be found in a textbook. My headaches started during puberty, there was a family history (in my case on both sides of the family), there’s a warning aura, in my case visual (scotomata, a combination of flashing lights and jagged lines across my visual field), and there are known triggers. My very first migraine happened half an hour into a wine and cheese party my freshman year in college. Tyramine, a decarboxylated amino acid found in both aged cheese and red wine is a specific trigger for many.
I, like my mother, can also have visual triggers. I absolutely abhor op-art, and strobe lights. Mom often had trouble with fluorescent lights especially towards the time a bulb needs to be replaced. I learned the hard way never to drive across a north south bridge at sunset or sunrise. Similarly driving past regularly spaced trees at dawn or dusk. Visual field testing for glaucoma is no picnic & I have to premedicate with a couple of cups of coffee to be on the safe side.
I am fortunate that I generally appear to be responsive to caffeine. For years I relied on triptan medications, also highly effective for me when the occasional migraine aura began. As a young man, my residency was an absolutely miserable experience because constant fatigue and sleep disruption are common migraine provokers. Daily periods of meditation, some thing I rarely had time for during my residency, were successful preventatives when I could do them.
One of the early medications that I was given back in the early 70s was caffeinated ergotamine tablets which almost always was successful in aborting a headache. There were unfortunately limits in how often you could use it. When our godchildren were young, I was caught during a trip to the San Diego zoo by an aura, when I had no triptans on hand to treat it. In a moment of panic, I remembered that Cafergot had once been effective for me and decided to slam some caffeine to see if I could prevent the headache. Two pots of coffee later, the aura was successfully aborted, & the headache avoided. Since headaches at this point in my life are infrequent, & triptans expensive, whilst coffee Is readily available, caffeine is now my usual go to. Pissing like a racehorse is decidedly preferable to cowering in a dark closet.
In any event, I am suspecting my moments on the deck this morning looking out onto the redwoods on the near side of the deck railing, shimmering in the early morning sunlight, probably was the equivalent of driving across the Golden Gate bridge at dusk. Note to self, next time face the house instead.
If you’ve never had a migraine, nor anyone who does, they are not just a headache. Classic migraine, which is what I have, is a neurologic condition. Other than being male, my description could be found in a textbook. My headaches started during puberty, there was a family history (in my case on both sides of the family), there’s a warning aura, in my case visual (scotomata, a combination of flashing lights and jagged lines across my visual field), and there are known triggers. My very first migraine happened half an hour into a wine and cheese party my freshman year in college. Tyramine, a decarboxylated amino acid found in both aged cheese and red wine is a specific trigger for many.
I, like my mother, can also have visual triggers. I absolutely abhor op-art, and strobe lights. Mom often had trouble with fluorescent lights especially towards the time a bulb needs to be replaced. I learned the hard way never to drive across a north south bridge at sunset or sunrise. Similarly driving past regularly spaced trees at dawn or dusk. Visual field testing for glaucoma is no picnic & I have to premedicate with a couple of cups of coffee to be on the safe side.
I am fortunate that I generally appear to be responsive to caffeine. For years I relied on triptan medications, also highly effective for me when the occasional migraine aura began. As a young man, my residency was an absolutely miserable experience because constant fatigue and sleep disruption are common migraine provokers. Daily periods of meditation, some thing I rarely had time for during my residency, were successful preventatives when I could do them.
One of the early medications that I was given back in the early 70s was caffeinated ergotamine tablets which almost always was successful in aborting a headache. There were unfortunately limits in how often you could use it. When our godchildren were young, I was caught during a trip to the San Diego zoo by an aura, when I had no triptans on hand to treat it. In a moment of panic, I remembered that Cafergot had once been effective for me and decided to slam some caffeine to see if I could prevent the headache. Two pots of coffee later, the aura was successfully aborted, & the headache avoided. Since headaches at this point in my life are infrequent, & triptans expensive, whilst coffee Is readily available, caffeine is now my usual go to. Pissing like a racehorse is decidedly preferable to cowering in a dark closet.
In any event, I am suspecting my moments on the deck this morning looking out onto the redwoods on the near side of the deck railing, shimmering in the early morning sunlight, probably was the equivalent of driving across the Golden Gate bridge at dusk. Note to self, next time face the house instead.
