Headache hangover

When I was eleven I was in PE at R.E.Tobler Elementary. It was a warm spring day and my fifth grade class had our two PE preps one right after the other each week. After a water break with my classmates I started to notice part of my face felt tingley numb and I mentioned it to some of my friends. I am sure I felt it in the tip of my nose, first, which was so bizarre to me since only half of my tip was numb feeling. Before long my entire right side (even half my tongue) from my waist up was numb and the PE teacher pawned me off to the school nurse. My dad, who taught at the school, called my mom to come and pick me up. I definitely got from both of them the "I think she's faking vibe" especially because I didn't feel too badly. I vaguely remember a little headache, and I could move my arms, but didn't have a lot of strength in my hands to, say, squeeze anything. Anyway, the pediatrician ends up sending me to the hospital to be admitted for all these tests because they think I had a stroke. After all these tests and consultations the powers at be diagnosed me with migraine headaches. Now, if you get migraine headaches, you feel my pain. For the past (nearly) twenty years, I get these sudden, funky headaches that affect my vision, still give body numbness, and leave me with a monstrous hangover. My dad, who has always had headaches (thanks for THOSE genes, Dad!) and my mom were always very compassionate. I've tried to figure my triggers so as to avoid a migraine and have decided stobe lights, jalapenos, and HORMONES are my top three for sure-as-heck gonna get a migraine. But that's no guarantee, either, stress or fatigue can bring one on just as easily, so there's really no way to avoid them if you're a mom of four with a life and a to-do list. One time I had to come home from a church dance, another time a sleepover, and yesterday I had to cancel my visiting teaching appointment. Tyler has learned to be great, especially since he doesn't get headaches (I think he's had maybe five in the ten and a half years we've been married) and just asks that I pump the drugs as soon as I get the tell-tale blindspot in my eyes that mean I will be slammed shortly thereafter with a headache. Now, don't get me wrong, I have compassion for those with headaches. I am prone to the normal ones, too, but it rubs me the wrong way when people claim migraines over a bad headache. Migraines are my can't-even-lay-your-head-down, no-medicine-really-works, make-you-wanna-vomit (and sometimes do), just-gotta-sleep-it-off-headache. There are people out there who get struck with these more than I do, so let me just say "HOLLA!" to you. Anyway, so yeah, yesterday I had a migraine and today I am feeling the "my brain was swollen and now it can rattle around in the space the headache created within my skull" after effects. SIgh. More later, my ten minutes is up and time to get the kids shakin'!