Life has really sucked lately. I mean: REALLY SUCKED. From the outside, everything is pretty much the same as usual. From the inside, pain and suffering abound — thanks to a now ten-day migraine.

Normally, I get migraines a few times a month for a few hours at a time. Aspirin and Excedrin usually work very well for me, even though they do sometimes create “rebound headaches,” i.e. repeat headaches the next day. If those options fail, then I can turn to my prescription Maxalt. And if that fails, then usually a nap or a night of sleep will cure all ills.

A few weeks ago, I started getting migraines while up in Boulder twice a week for class. That was unusual and bother, but not a huge problem. But then late last week, hell descended upon me. I got a migraine that just wouldn’t go away. In its first few days, I was able to banish it for a few hours at a time with aspirin or Excedrin. But after a while, the pain was getting worse and the medicine less effective. One dark 4am, I woke up with the delightful feeling large spike through my skull. The Maxalt (which does not generate rebound headaches) was completely ineffective. In short, life sucked.

On Friday, I saw my doctor. She recommended that I stay away from the aspirin and Excedrin, so as not to create more headaches later. Instead of the Maxalt, she gave me a new prescription for the migraines (Relpax), one supposed to cover a person for 24 hours better. She also put me on a low dose of beta-blockers in order to break the migraine cycle. (When I was an undergrad, I effectively controlled my excessive migraines with beta-blockers. They made me tired, but otherwise worked very well.) This all seemed like a reasonable course of action to me.

Unfortunately, the Relpax has done nothing to curb the migraine pain, even in its maximum dosage. And the beta-blockers don’t seem to be working yet. (I’m going to call my doctor tomorrow about increasing my dosage.) As a result, Saturday was a really miserable day; the migraine just ground into me all day long. The pain hasn’t been quite as bad today, but I’ve had problems reading due to my aura. (An aura is the visual hallucination associated with a migraine. Mine tend to be a cross between strangely shifting shadows and very fine tv snow.)

So now you know why my life has sucked of late. Um, thanks for listening. Okay, my migraine and I are going to bed now.