Hang-over...And Not the Fun Kind

I think I had my first migraine headache last night.

I come from a long line of migraine sufferers. My mom has had migraines since she was a child. Both my sisters have them occasionally. Every one of my aunts and uncles have them. I am sure I have numerous cousins who have them. I am the sole hold-out. I had never had a migraine before prior to last night.

I've had headaches that I've said were migraines. They were merely sinus headaches or the occasional tension headache. Allergy headaches. More an annoyance than anything else. Certainly nothing debilitating. Last night was something altogether different.

I had had a bit of a sinus headache all day. Nothing major. As I was cooking dinner at about 5:00, my head began throbbing. Within a few minutes, I began feeling nauseous. I immediately went to lie down on the couch while Ruanita was bathing the kids. I tried a wet washcloth on my head. I tried an ice pack. I was convinced that if I could take enough Ibuprofen and lie on the couch long enough, it would go away. But it didn't go away. I tried lying in Sophie's bed for a few minutes. I wanted to have dinner with my family, so I did not want to go upstairs to bed.

Eventually, however, the headache won out. With a meatloaf in the oven and Ruanita left with the task of feeding the kids and getting them ready for bed, I headed upstairs to bed. The mere act of walking up the stairs made me have to rush to the toilet, certain that I was going to throw up my guts. However, since I have been doing Weight Watchers and had not eaten dinner yet, my stomach was completely empty at 6pm. There was nothing to come up. I gagged several times and then stumbled to my bed.

As I lay there, my head throbbed. You know that feeling when you accidentally hit your thumb with a hammer? It hurts, but there is also a throbbing/pulsing sensation. That is exactly how my head felt. The ceiling fan was on in my bedroom. Normally, I would not notice the fan at all. However, last night it seemed to be the loudest thing I had ever heard. Scratching, whining, grinding noise. I couldn't get out of bed to turn it off. So I lay there reciting Our Fathers and Hail Marys and Glory Bes (what I do when I can't sleep--a throw-back to my Catholic school upbringing).

Eventually I did fall asleep. When I did, I slept the sleep of the dead. I did not dream. I don't think I moved. I was comatose for almost twelve hours. I do not remember the last time I slept twelve hours straight. I was probably a teenager. Or maybe in college--though I remember pulling more all-nighters than sleeping jags.

Today, I stayed home from work. The bulk of my headache is gone, but I feel hung over. Exhausted, despite sleeping 12 hours. Achy. Completely hung over, minus the cotton-mouth sensation and all of the drunken revelry that usually proceeds a hang-over.

No fun.