Tea Leaves

Another weekend has started and I sincerely hope it is better than my last one. My poor Sarah was here last weekend and was vomiting and running a fever from Sunday afternoon until Monday morning. Some sort of stomach bug I suspect and I am eternally thankful to God that I seemed to have bypassed it. I suspect the medicine I take on Saturday for RA probably killed everything in my stomach. A positive for a med that is working no better than the other one was before this last flare, which I'm still experiencing.

On Thursday I woke up with a storm migraine. The pressure must have been very low because I woke up with a slight headache and horrible pain in my neck. I put an ice pack around my neck and headed for work. I've never done that before and I was very stressed about the towel it was wrapped in, a purple and white stripe that did not match my outfit. I was sure other drivers were staring at me. I kept the thing on till it melted, around 9 a.m. and wished for the other one at home in the freezer.

Sometime around mid-morning I took an Imitrix and waited for it to work. By then, I was not doing well. I felt horrible and I knew when the pill kicked in it would get worse before it got better. And it did. I left work at 1 p.m. and came home, sat down in the recliner and wrapped up in a blanket and covered my eyes. Even the gray light filtering in between the curtains, through the sheers from the windows was not nice.

The storm worsened but it was mostly wind until later that evening when I think it rained. Not sure because I didn't go out. Once I heard things blowing around on the porch like marbles in a can. It was the lawn chairs. They're plastic but it still takes a bit of wind to blow one over. These were blowing all over the porch. I cracked the storm door thinking I'd check on the. When the wind threatened to toss me around, I quickly shut it and went back inside. The chairs could fend for themselves.

The headache hung on for a bit, if slightly less horrible, but as a result I had a pretty miserable night. I simply could not get comfortable and slept badly. I had bought some new pillows on Tuesday thinking that maybe that would help my neck. They felt really comfortable but with this neck I never know. 

Anyway, Thursday night, for some reason the neck was not happy with my choices. When I woke up I was in pain and had a new and different headache. This wasn't a migraine but caused by the problem in my neck. 

Let me stop here and explain. I don't have "simple" headaches, ever. The migraines are nearly blinding at times and nauseating. My version of an "average" headache is often accompanied by dizziness and pressure. I also have visual issues with both the serious migraine and my average headache. My eye doctor said the visual problem is also a migraine but they don't generally hurt. They don't, they just terrify you. You may see flashing lights, gray blobs, or you may be very dizzy. Friday morning I had pain over my right eye and my neck was killing me. That's a "simple" headache.

But I forgot about the migraine hangover. 

I was exhausted and I felt terrible but I got dressed for work and tried to tell myself I was ok and could work. Just before I stared out of the house I remembered I had not brushed my teeth. In the bathroom I looked in the mirror and realized my teeth weren't the only thing I forgot. My hair, while sexily mussed, was not brushed but remained in the french braid I'd put in it the night before. I'd slept badly, tossing and turning. I looked at myself and I think that's when I started to cry. 

I called in sick and dragged myself to the living room. Once again I took a blanket, stretched out in the recliner with an ice pack, took two 8 hour pain killers. After that, I don't remember much until noon. 

I stayed in my chair all day except to eat. I got up and walked around now and then, went to the bathroom, or got something to drink. But I basically stayed there. I felt better. The hangover and headache were gone and I wasn't as exhausted as I had been when I got up. 

Which brings us to today. I am about to get ready for lunch. Mike and I are going to eat Mexican. Then, I have a writer's meeting at 2 p.m. Not sure who'll be there but I'm taking my laptop and I'm going to write some. 

I'm beginning to feel as if I'm looking at tea leaves in the bottom of a cup. There has to be something here that means something, that is trying to send me a message. I sat and pondered that off and on yesterday. Alas, my gifts do not run to the psychic, despite my creating an adept psychic spy. I don't read tea leaves, or runes, or bones. I rely on my gut, intuition, instinct, whatever you want to call it. Generally, this has always worked. Lately, not so much. 

For now, I'll just try and decipher the menu at the Mexican restaurant.