Haven’t had much chance to write this week.  On Monday morning I woke up with a dull headache – being a 20+ year migraine sufferer, I didn’t think much of it – that seemed to be explained away by the massive electrical storm we had later that day.  Of course, since my knee didn’t start aching until later that morning, I didn’t immediately make the connection between head pain and barometric pressure/oncoming storm.

It’s weird how often we rely on our bodies to tell us what the weather will be like…

As the day progressed, my dull headache learned a new trick.  If I moved my head or swiveled my eyes around (i.e. glanced down or to the side) I’d experience sharp pains and a wave of dizziness.  Tylenol and Excedrine Migraine – which does wonders offsetting a migraine if I take it early enough – didn’t make a dent in the pain, so I toddled off to bed.  As long as I was sitting or lying quietly the pain was bearable.

Tuesday I woke to find my friend the headache was still in full swing.  As the day progressed, my eyes began to hurt.  No pretty light show or pulsing/throbbing like I’d be expecting from a migraine – just dull pain surrounding my eye sockets.  When sitting still the pain was at a constant low ebb.  Standing up or walking seemed to be a bit of a challenge.  Oh, and stringing a coherent thought together…

By now you’re probably asking why I hadn’t high tailed it to a doctor’s office.  There’s a myriad of reasons but I can boil it down to two pretty simple ones.

1. I’m used to headaches and eye strain and on a scale of 1 to normal migraine, this didn’t seem all that bad.
2. I don’t have a family doctor.  I know.  Shocking.  Doctor shortages in this wondrous Canadian medical system we live with.  I’ve lived in Edmonton for 5 years now and still don’t have a family doctor.  This means that everytime I need a new epi-pen (I’m allergic to peanuts) or anti-malarials (for travel to India), bust up my foot (broken more times that I can count) or am sick, I have to find an open walk-in clinic.  I tend to go to the same one every time.  It’s easier when someone has a semi-stable record of your medical history.  Anywho, going to a clinic means that you sit in a stuffy room for hours on end (I average 4) while you wait to be called.  Then you go into an exam room and sit for another 15-30 minutes waiting to see a doctor.  Then you spew out your complaint and hope for a fix.  If you take out all the waiting, my experience with treatment has always been pretty decent.  But – if you know you’ve got a headache and will be spending 4 hours sitting in an echo chamber with screaming babies and children – heading to a medical clinic for help becomes a last resort…

Yesterday the headache continued.  It was pretty painful at work but seemed to get better as the day went on.  Perhaps it was the trip to the dentist that did it.  Yes.  Ironies of irony, I don’t have a family doctor but I do have a dentist and physiotherapist.  Go figure.  By the time I got home from work I was back to dull ache in the head and eyes with no dizziness.  Wheee!

Apparently I celebrated too soon.  This morning I woke up with my old friend Mr. Headache and his sidekicks Eye Pain, Motion Induced Dizziness, and Swooshy Jello Head.  I’ve finally given in.  I’m taking the day off work, grabbing a good book, and plonking my ass down in a chair at the medical clinic.  I need to figure out what’s going on with my head – or eyes – or whatever is the underlying cause of the pain.

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