Day 6 - 140 -- Hurt

An interesting Monday of a long weekend spent practicing presentations and polishing the phrasing. It was also day 2 of a migraine. I felt very weary even after sitting to do the talking and realized how 'down' I seemed to feel. I decided that I was just very, very tired. Then when I made supper, I realized that my head hurt -- a lot. So the weariness, sad, and exhausted feelings were likely part of that whole migraine package. I'd felt similarly the day before, too. It just takes a while to notice this on my own. Others who have similar episodes or those who know me well can often tell that something is 'off' long before I realize what is happening. One might think that this would be the other way around, don't you think? <sigh>.

I've pledged to pay more attention to what is happening inside me, yet that is very easy to say and less easy to do. Often, when others notice something, if might be something in my facial expression, that I can't see without living in front of a mirror -- a bit of a narcissistic fix that. Migraines don't always come with pain at the onset. I can be overly tired for 2 or 3 days before head pain begins, showing that something neurological is working away before the main symptom happens. I have learned to recognize excessive yawning as a sign. With the additional sleep disruptions of late, feeling tired seems reasonable. Parsing the lack of sleep from the pre-headache fatigue can be difficult. Other symptoms occur often and I've been able to recognize these -- especially when they come in clusters. So, maybe I am recognizing some signs of impending pain, but I'll admit that the reduced cognitive functioning can make such recognition a bit iffy at times. <smile>

A song came to mind that fit the weary-sad-fatigue feeling with the actual head pain. It made me smile, but that might just be the brain malfunctioning <smile>. Enjoy!

Everybody Hurts -- R.E.M.