My 48 Hour Migraine

It started on Monday morning at 3AM with a flash of light and a stabbing pain in my right eye.  I woke with a start, wondering what could have happened.  Looking around my room and seeing nothing, I closed my eyes again…only to quickly open them again.  The pain from closing my eyes was unbearable.  I laid there for several hours, agonizing in pain, unsure of what to do.  When the sun finally shone in my windows I stumbled down the stairs in search of some medication.  I took one Percocet, then started my day….well, I tried to start my day.  By noon I was in such horrific pain that I decided to take a second Percocet and put a call into my OBGYN.  The nurse urged me to go the ER.  (With 7 kids and a husband at work, that is easier said than done.)  At 2PM, I took another Percocet and had my husband come home from work.  I went upstairs to our bedroom to try to “sleep it off”.  After laying there for over an hour with no relief, I called my mom and told her that I needed to go to the ER.  Within an hour my mom and aunt were at my house and we were on our way.  When we walked into the ER, I was immediately brought back to a room – Praise God!  They started an IV and I was given three doses of IV Dilaudid, followed by one dose of IV Morphine with Benadryl and a steroid, followed by a CT scan, followed by another dose of IV Morphine.  I was then given a massive dose of IV Decadron.  At that point they decided to admit me to labor and delivery to give me more medication and to monitor my baby….after that it is all a blur.  (Actually everything before that is a blur, too, but my mom was with me in the ER and was keeping track of what I was getting.)

When I was admitted to labor and delivery my mom and aunt went home.  My room was at the end of the hall – a quiet little nook in the hospital.  All of my lights stayed off, no TV noise and no phones ringing, I never opened my curtains, and I barely opened my eyes.  The nurses pumped me full of pain medication and steroids.  Finally, after 48+ hours of fighting a migraine, I was pain free.  The unbearable pain had lifted and I, again, felt like myself.

It seems so unbelievable, how something that nobody else can see can be so painful.  Only the person fighting the migraine can truly see it.  I am so thankful for doctors who understand that pain doesn’t have to be seen.  I am so thankful for the love and support of my family and friends who empathize with me, even though they can’t see my pain.

In Him, Beckie