Public Service Announcement

Do you suffer from migraines? They're awful! They're the mother of all headaches. And I don't even get them like some people do where they get nauseous, numb, and are out for days. Mine only knock me out for a good 5-6 hour chunk of time. Luckily, I only get them occasionally, maybe once every 6 mos.-2 years. And I'm due for one unfortunately.

Luckily I discovered that OTC vitamins (of all things!) are a migraine trigger for me. When I start taking them, I'll get something like 3 migraines/week. I found this out through careful analysis at one point.

A small percentage of migraine sufferers have visual auras like me. They are the prelude to a headache. Mine last for about a 1/2 hour followed by the whammy of a migraine headache. Guess I should feel fortunate. It's a warning--find a place to relax and get some Tylenol, Motrin, and caffeine in my system fast. Caffeine restricts the blood vessels I think? It's in the OTC med for migraine headaches.

Problem is, most people don't understand the visual aura. I told my husband about it, and he thought it was simply halos around lights. It's not. About a year ago I found an excellent link as to what a migraine aura looks like to us migraine sufferers. It is highly enlightening to those who don't get migraines and understand the aura. My husband was quite surprised. It's bothersome, annoying, disorienting, and restricts your field of vision. It's why I need to lay down and close my eyes (if possible) when it happens. Even after closing my eyes though, I can still see the aura.

So for the general population that doesn't understand what an aura is or what it looks like, check out this link:

Migraine Aura Simulation

Click on the button next to the car. This outstanding simulation will let you "see" what we see during a visual aura. You might want to share the viewing experience with others that may not comprehend what happens during an aura.

Why is this not a sewing post this morning and rather a public service announcement? Because my camera battery died! Don't you hate when that happens?!?! But I do think the info above might be useful for someone.