A little insult to injury...

This morning I woke up feeling funny.  Annabelle was still sleeping, and Arielle had just had breakfast with Jason.

I came into the living room, and had to shut the blinds. Wow was it bright.

I decided to do my business in the bathroom, and as usual, I grabbed my magazine. (yes i do like to keep myself busy, even if I'm just peeing). As I was reading it, some of the letters were not there. So I thought to myself, "i must of looked at the sun". So I turned my head and started blinking really fast to see if i saw "sun spots" on the wall. Nope. None. So back to the magazines. I start blinking again and some of the letters disappear. I think to myself "holy shit, my retina's are detaching." A moment of panic came upon me. Got up, washed my hands, and decided to brush my teeth. While brushing, i blink non stop to try and figure out what's going on with my right eye. It was only the right eye. I finish brushing and sit down in my bedroom and realize what is happening.

I call Jay and say "your going to have to take Annabelle to the Dr's for her immunization. I'm getting an aura".

Mom was already on her way to watch Arielle, and then I had Jay come pick up Annabelle.

As soon as i hung up with Jason, i dig for my migraine meds. (30 ish dollars a pill-thank god for some coverage). I pop this pill, and it melts on my tongue. I pray and pray that I won't get the headache once the aura stops. (the aura part usually lasts 20mins-45 mins for me-the headache on the other hand lasts all day).

Jason shows up and grabs Belle. I sit on the couch with my mom, but i still feel very funny and really outta body. My mother says "go lay down". So i asked to let me know when Jason brings Belle back and she can head out. By this point my headache was so bad that I thought my head would fall off.

Jason comes home and sees me laying in bed. He says "stay in bed, your mom will make Belle breakfast and I'm heading back to work". So i ask him to tell my mom to wake me when she has to go. (she had plans).

My mother lets me sleep until about 11am. She offers to cancel her plans so that i can rest some more. But i assure her that I'm OK, I'll just keep the blinds closed and the kids can play.

When Jay comes home for lunch, I decide I should probably eat since I'm going to be starving by afternoon. ( I will get to my new "diet" once I'm done babbling about migraines)

At 1pm, I put the kids for a nap and i lay down on the couch. Arielle got up at 3 ish (to be honest i don't quite remember cause i wasn't feeling so good). She asked if she could watch "Higgly town hero's". Of course you can watch TV, that way i can stay laying down.

At around 4pm, Jason shows up at home and I'm STILL sleeping on couch. Arielle was playing with her Polly pockets. Gosh she's so good to her mama. Jay sits on couch and takes a rest.

By 5pm I wake up from a dream. A dream where I was dreaming in my dream. WEIRD.

I wake up Annabelle and get supper going. Holy lazy day. Yet, I guess it had to be lazy, cause i swear my head was going to fall off.

So here is all the info (according to MAYO CLINIC) on aura migraines.

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff
Migraine with aura is a migraine that's preceded or accompanied by a variety of sensory warning signs or symptoms, such as flashes of light, blind spots or tingling in your hand or face.
Migraine with aura is generally treated in the same way as migraine without aura. And the same medications and self-care measures that help to prevent a migraine can also be used to prevent migraine with aura.

Symptoms

By Mayo Clinic staff
Migraine aura symptoms include temporary visual or sensory disturbances that typically precede the usual migraine symptoms — such as intense head pain, nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine aura usually occurs within an hour before head pain begins and generally lasts less than 60 minutes before disappearing. Sometimes, migraine aura may occur with little or no headache.
Visual signs and symptomsThe majority of people who experience migraine aura develop visual signs and symptoms. These may include:

• Blind spots (scotomas), which are sometimes outlined by simple geometric designs
• Zigzag lines that gradually float across your field of vision
• Shimmering spots or stars
• Changes in vision
• Flashes of light

These types of visual disturbances tend to start in the center of your visual field and move outward, or spread.
Other sensory disturbancesOther temporary sensations sometimes associated with aura include:

• Feelings of numbness, typically felt as tingling in one hand or on your face
• Difficulty with speech or language
• Muscle weakness

When to see a doctorIf you experience the signs and symptoms of migraine with aura, such as temporary vision loss or floating spots or zigzag lines in your field of vision, see your doctor immediately to rule out more serious conditions, such as stroke or retinal tear. Once these conditions have been ruled out, future migraines with aura don't need to be considered a potential sign of a more serious condition and won't require a visit to your doctor, unless your symptoms change.

Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff
The cause of migraine with aura isn't clearly understood. It's believed that the visual aura that may accompany migraine is like an electrical or chemical wave that moves across the part of your brain that processes visual signals (visual cortex). As the wave spreads, it may cause these visual hallucinations.
Many of the same factors that trigger migraine can also trigger migraine with aura, including stress, bright lights, fatigue and changes in sleep patterns.

Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff
While no specific factors appear to put you at risk for migraine aura, migraines in general seem to be more common in people with a family history of migraine. Migraines are also more common in women than men.

Complications

By Mayo Clinic staff
People who have migraine with aura are at a slightly higher risk of stroke. Women who have migraine with aura appear to have an even higher risk of stroke if they smoke or take birth control pills.

As i mentioned in a previous blog entry, being on birth control can cause a stroke if you get an aura migraine. That's why I had to stop birth control. And the reason I was on birth control was to regulate my "female cycle". And this may be TMI (too much info) for some of you, but i have not had a woman's cycle since April 14th. (and NO I'm not prego, don't even ask). So I really wish i could be on the "pill" so i could feel normal again.



Maybe I got the migraine from NOT getting a cycle and my hormones being all to "shit" again. Who knows, but I tell ya, it's not a fun "headache" to have. (not that ANY are fun) I know some of you have dealt with Auras before the headache, since I've spoken to some of you about it. But for those that don't know what that is, i have a few pictures that shows you what we aura sufferers go through. (my husband gets them a few times a month).

So the first picture shows how part of your vision starts to go. It kinda shows how I started to not see letters in my magazine. Kinda like you can't see the 10 and 11 of the clock picture A. Then as it gets worst you start to see less and less.

This next picture shows how bad your aura is when it's full blown. I normally always see the zigzag lines in color, (like this picture) but today they were just a bright clear light. Kinda like a disco tech. (but i assure you, it wasn't a very fun disco-gotta keep a sense of humour right?)

This next picture shows a perfect example of how your peripheral vision disappears once the zigzag lines move completely to one side of your vision. You can't see anything from that side until it completely goes away. That part is just as scary since u feel like your going blind.

Day 1 of my GLUTEN FREE life

Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs and 2 gluten free toast.

Eggs-YUM

Toast-THE most disgusting thing I've ever had my whole life

Have anyone of you tried gluten free bread? It's like eating a sponge. Actually it's more of a sponge then a sponge itself. NEVER again. No way. Can't do the bread. I will be cutting bread out for a while. Cause i ain't touching gluten free bread again. No way, no how.

Desert: Cantaloupe and blue grapes

Supper: Fresh garlic, fresh parsley, fresh mushrooms, chicken and brown rice noodles.

The noodles. One word. YUCK. That will get some getting used to. Like MAJOR getting used to. But it wasn't the worst food I've ever had (refer to gluten free bread)

Desert: Blueberries and peaeches

a little picture of my supper...looks good...but don't be fooled...the noodles were icky to me lol

Evening snack: Apple wedges with peanut butter.

So that's my day 1 on gluten free...Let's hope day 2 is UN-eventful