Uh..Oh..

Assalamualaikum,

It's nearing that time of the month for women again. And I'm seeing spots already. A sign of impending migraine approaching. Normally I don't see spots, the migraine just came whopping on my head. But since my health is improving, I get to see the migraine signals beforehand. Got to check I have everything on hand first. Just in case.

• Minyak angin - check
• Air masak bergelen-gelen - check
• A dark room to lie down - check (the office's surau is just behind my workspace)
• Ubat Panadol - not check (mak tak bagi makan)

For your info I've had migraines since I was in Form 3 (or is it Form 2?). But mine is a mild one. The only worse migraine I've had was the one that last for 3 days, where every step I took a sharp pain went coursing thru' my veins from the sole of my feet up to my brain. I had couple of these episodes. Sometimes I have to lie down in a dark & quiet room. Any light or noise might just aggravate the pain. But I'm grateful that mine is still mild. Not like those who I've seen resorts to banging their heads on the wall just to make the pain go away.

For those who don't suffer any migraine, let me tell you how it feels like. The pain sometimes occur on the left or right part of the brain, front part of the brain or the whole brain (yang ni paling sakit). The pain feels like someone is banging (or ketuk) your brain with a hammer all day long (not the head, the brain). When this happens, you feel like everything you do is wrong and you will be frowning all day long. You can't stand loud noises and bright lights. Even if you sleep the whole day, does not mean the pain will go away. It's like a hard nosed virus who refuses to go way, unless they decide to.

For me, once I start to have migraine, the minyak angin is important. More so the stronger minyak angin. I will apply it not on my forehead, but on the base of the neck & shoulder. And must not forget to eat. Empty stomach will further prolong the migraine. But it's hard to eat when your brain is thumping away happily.

The good news is that migraine sufferers does not get fever (demam) that very often. They may get fever only once a year but the duration is longer than other people (average 1 week). Me? I haven't had fever since God knows when. The last fever I remembered I had was in Form 5 and it lasted about a week.

p/s: I'm writing base on layman understanding of migraine and my own experience. It may not be my brain thumping, but the blood vessels on my brain.

pp/s: It's coming!!!