wildaspie

I have a migraine brewing, apparently … oh, I hate it so much when my head hurts.  Any other kind of pain is no big deal.  I don’t process “pain” the same way other people do, and in most cases I can just ignore it quite effectively.

But migraines are entirely different.  I can’t ignore pain that is in my brain where no pain should be able to be felt.  I even lecture myself that since there are no nerve endings in the brain, there is no way to feel anything at all, and especially not pain.

My brain does not listen, and the pain goes on.

So instead of arguing with my stubborn brain today, I’m trying to simply distract myself with more pleasant thoughts … namely, cuddling with my technomancer sweetie and maybe listening to him talk about his latest programming project.

Doctors have yet to definitively decide the whys and wherefores of headaches. There are no nerve endings within the brain to create “pain,” so why we can have headaches is a mystery. So, too, is a riddle that some people can have headaches and others - blessed that they are - never experience a single one.

Doctors do know some causes for headaches. Trauma - a bump to the head - can cause a headache; also hunger, dehydration, lack of sleep, too much sleep, hangovers (from alcohol, actually a combination of low blood sugar and dehydration), noise, eye strain, and muscle tension in the neck and shoulders (often caused by stress).

Aspirin - in its pure form a preparation of bark from the unassuming willow tree - is a known blood-thinner, and quite effective on most common headaches, which leads some to believe that headaches might be caused in part by increased blood pressure within the skull. (Of course, if your headache is caused by lack of food, water, or sleep, aspirin will not help you.)

More, on Migraines, at www.wildaspie.info