Here's a little known thing about migraine for people who don't have migraines (you know, those people who think it's "just a headache"): Nausea and vomiting are a signature motif of the migraine experience.
It's something I don't talk about too much, cause it's kind of gross, really, so what better place than here to spew? (So to speak...)
This weekend, when I spent a great deal of time staring into my toilet bowl (only to realize it was disgustingly dirty -- one of the first things I did when I came out of it was to give a good scrubbing) I started thinking about all the places I've puked.
There's my apartment, of course, but that's to be expected. During a bad migraine I usually make a little nest of blankets or towels on the bathroom floor so I can rest up before dragging myself back to bed.
I pulled over and puked out the car door on my way home from work one day. I puked in a restroom stall at work once. I was just happy no one walked in mid-puke -- I'm sure they would have thought the worst.
By far the nicest place I've puked was the Crowne Plaza hotel in Alexandria, Va. If you're going to have a migraine, I recommend the Crowne Plaza. The bed was comfortable, the room was dark and cool and smelled nice, and the bathroom was beautiful and immaculate. Also, they let me check out late when I explained about the migraine situation.
The worst place I've puked was in a port-a-potty in Austin, Tx, but maybe it's not fair to include that because it was from food poisoning, not migraine. Worst place I've puked from migraine was probably a roadside in Louisiana. That or a rest stop in Louisiana. It's a toss up. Nothing against Louisiana, however. I have a great affection for the state otherwise. That Napoleonic Code rocks!
Oh, and I puked on a sidewalk in Washington D.C. A lady looked at me like I had the plague, but I suppose that's to be expected when one vomits on the sidewalk. Funny thing about that was, I felt like upchuck was imminent, so I crouched down, but nothing came up, so I stood again. I took two steps and water just started shooting out my mouth. That was actually one of the more pleasant vomiting experiences I've had, because I'd been drinking a ton of water. Water (in large amounts) is the easiest thing to puke, followed by vanilla ice cream or milkshake. Lentil soup is awful to barf up, as are jalapenos. Oddly, cranberry juice makes for an unpleasant puking experience. Really, most foods are significantly worse coming up than going down.
I puked in a park near my house (same trip at the Louisiana rest stop barf break -- tried to make it home to the privacy of my own toilet, but no dice).
I puked at a Texas truck stop -- fortunately it was a fairly nice, new, clean truck stop, so it wasn't so bad.
Puking and travel seem to go hand in hand, and I think I know why that is -- I've noticed activity and exposure to light tend to increase nausea, so if I have a migraine while I'm traveling, I'm a lot more likely to be in situations where I'm forced to be up and around and out in the harsh light of day.
There are actually a couple of good things about puking during a migraine. For one, it breaks up the monotony a little. When you're lying in bed and you keep looking at the clock and every minute feels like 10, taking a puke break eats up some time, and changes the scenery a bit. Also, it is tiring so sometimes I can fall asleep for a little while after a good puke, which also passes the time painlessly. Other than that, there's really not much to be said for it.
