Thumper

Today

Just recovered from a corker of a migraine which took out pretty well all of yesterday. It may be that the very moderate amount of alcohol I consumed the night before, having not drunk any for three weeks, was the triggering factor. Who knows? I do know that the pain and vomiting destroyed my day and I had no choice but to ride it out.

In My Day

Mamma used to talk about migraines when I was a child, but I don't think I really knew what she was talking about. I probably thought (as so many people still do) that they were just bad headaches.

I started having migraines when I was about seventeen. They were always associated with the first day of my period, although I didn't get one every month. I quickly discovered that regular pain-killers were of no use (partly because I would vomit them up within ten minutes). I never thought of consulting a doctor and just used to ride them out as I did yesterday.

I did once consult one of David's girlfriends who was training to be a doctor. She advised that I drink some sweet tea and I found that, if I did this after the vomiting phase was over, I felt better sooner.

The worst migraine was the last for many years. This was the last period before I conceived Lizzy. We were at the flat at Belmont and had invited a friend over for supper. I spent the day in bed, staggering from bed to bathroom. Paul was also in some discomfort. having just had a steroid injection for some condition. Why we didn't just contact the friend and say we couldn't see him I don't know - probably it was before we got our phone and we were neither of us in a fit state to walk down the road to the phone box. The time of arrival of said friend drew nearer and I forced myself to get up and dressed. My head hurt so much that I couldn't bring myself to brush my hair, so I just left it in its rumpled state. I've no idea how we got through the evening but Neil, who wasn't a sensitive chap at the best of times. didn't seem to notice anything.


There used to be doctors who dismissed just about every surgery visit from young women with a "Don't worry, it'll clear up when you start having babies". Which was all very well. Except in this case it was really true. I didn't have another migraine until I approached the menopause, twenty-five years later, so had to assume that hormone fluctuations were the trigger.

Now that I don't have any hormones any more, I'll have to look for another reason. The good news is that, having effectively eaten nothing for a day and a half, I've lost 5lbs...