What to do...

Headache today.
Trying not to take Relpax and I might have waited too long for it to be any use anyway.
I had a big day of Getting Things Done planned.
I've been busy with one project and another on the weekends the past few months and my apartment shows it. It's been bugging me, so I made an ambitious to-do list this morning.
I got a few things checked off, and was on my way to drop off recycling and Goodwill donations and pick up cedar sachets so I could put away my winter clothes. But my head was starting to hurt.
As usual, deciding what to do was not easy.
My first impulse was to continue what I had planned, and take Relpax if it seemed like things were getting out of hand. After all, I had some good Getting Things Done momentum going on.
But then I thought maybe I should go pick up the cedar sachets on my bike. Exercise sometimes helps and even if it doesn't, it's always good to get in a work out... right?
So I went and it was good to be on my bike, even though the pain didn't abate much if at all.
On my way home, the dilemma intensified.
I knew if I was going to take it, I would have to take it soon.
But sometimes the exercise cure takes a little time to work.
So I got home and poured a glass of water and sat on the back steps pondering the question.
Maybe it doesn't seem like much of a dilemma to anyone else, but I really don't like taking Relpax, (except for the getting rid of the headache part) because of the side effects; I don't think I should take Relpax, because the side effects make me worry that it's doing something bad to me in the long term; and then of course there is the issue of rebound headaches, which makes me avoid taking it if I possibly can.
So here I am. My head hurts and I was planning to go to a party tonight.
Bummer.
On the bright side, there's a very pleasant breeze blowing in my window for mid-June in Southeast Texas...
If I thought anyone was reading this, I'd ask you to send me healing energy or pray for me or whatever sort of positive thinking you prefer.
I'll take whatever goodness the universe has to offer.

Fun with riddles!

Q: How are headaches like potato chips?
A: It's impossible to stop at just one, no matter how much you want to!

Okay, not such a funny joke.
Saturday, the day of my last post, the Relpax never really did the trick. I suspect it kept the migraine from developing to its full, vomit-inducing potential, but it was still bad enough that I spent most of the day -- from about 2 p.m. on -- laying in bed, sleeping off and on and reading when I could.

Sunday was okay. I woke and rose from bed rather gingerly, waiting to see what my head was going to do. There was a bit of an ache, but I think it was mainly a leftover kind of deal. So I went about my day, got some things done, laundry, dishes, feeding the plants. I even went out for a bit in the late afternoon to fulfill a social obligation.

But by about 8 p.m., a very definite pain was developing. Hoping for the best, I went to bed about 11. When I got up to pee around 5 a.m., it seemed like everything was fine.

I woke around 8 a.m. and lay in bed reading for nearly an hour. By the time I got up it was clear that the headache was still hanging around making a nuisance of itself.

I have so many things I wanted to get done today. If I take the Relpax, I might dodge the pain, but it usually zaps any motivation. If I don't... well, who really knows?

The trouble is, if I'm going to have any reasonable expectation of the Relpax working, I have to take it before I eat. But that means I either have to fast until I decide it's warranted, or take it before I'm really even sure I need to.

Honestly, I think one of the most annoying things about my migraines is all the choices I have to make. I'm really not very good at decisions.

This morning I said to Hell with it and took a risk.

I decided to see if I could knock the sucker out with exercise before I gave in and drank the Koolaid (so to speak).

I needed fuel to exercise, and I decided a smoothie might be a good compromise. Unfortunately, all I had was chocolate soy milk (bought in a weak moment, it has been sitting in my fridge unopened for months). Now, I don't think chocolate is a "trigger" for me, but since it is for some people, I'm a little superstitious about it (another bad effect of migraines on me -- I've been meaning to write about that for a while now -- sigh...)

But by this point I was all gung-ho on my plan. I'd made a decision and I wasn't going to be derailed by details.

I made the smoothie, laced up my running shoes and headed out into the sultry late Southeast Texas spring. I decided to walk at a brisk pace to a running/walking track about a mile or so from my house, run around that, maybe twice, then run home.

On the way there, I could already tell that my body was not really up for a run. For one thing, I'd strained my back a bit hauling around bags of mulch for my garden and shoveling the same.
So as I was passing the nearly empty parking garage at St. E, I had a brilliant idea: I'd walk up the levels -- it would be nearly as strenuous as running, but without the impact.

So I did that. Just to up the ante, I even walked up the stairs a time or two. Then I continued on to the walking track, breaking into a low jog once or twice, then backing down when my lower back throbbed in protest. All through this, my head still hurt.

I got home and it still hurt.

Paid some bills, sorted through some papers -- still hurts.

Well, I tried.

I think the exercise cure works best for tension headaches -- though I was really hoping a good endorphin release might do the trick. Maybe I didn't go long enough or hard enough, but it was getting rather hot and exhausting myself in the heat might backfire and just make it worse.

So now I'm back to square one. Take the Relpax? Or risk it?

Sunday

It's Sunday and as usual I have a long to-do list, a lot of distractions -- and pain behind my eyes.
It isn't bad. Just bad enough to keep me at home, frittering away my day with not-too-demanding tasks like laundry and paying my bills, between rest breaks mostly spent laying on my bed reading one thing or another.
Is the pain going to get worse? Or will it go away?
I don't know.
I think maybe exercising would help, but I feel just crappy enough that the effort to get dressed and get out on my bicycle is uninviting. Because of course, if it doesn't help, the exertion will be unpleasant to my achy-breaky head. It's also a very bright, slightly breezy day. A pretty day really, but one that seems a little abrasive, someone.
So I'm in limbo. Can't decide what to do.
I've spent too many weekends like this and it depresses me. That doesn't help anything. Being depressed only makes it harder to make an effort.
I know.
Poor me.
I have a load of wash in the drier, just about done and a couple of bills that need to be paid, then I will get dressed and get on my bike and go for a ride.
If it doesn't help -- at least I tried. And it's not a bad thing to get a little exercise, after all.