Taking it easy Tuesday

I had my first migraine headache last night and stayed home from work today to deal with the after effects. It came on slowly; a dull headache after dinner. I thought it was because I didn't have a diet cola in the afternoon and was I experiencing caffeine withdrawal. I attempted to lift weights with Andy last night, but noticed the pain started to increase. We have our nephew for a few days, so I put Tommy to bed around 8:30pm and waited for Andy to finish his workout. We watched How I Met Your Mother, and then I was ready for bed by 9:30pm, still feeling headachy and a little nauseated. By the time I'd brushed my teeth and turned off the light, I immediately felt the need to run for the toilet. I hate getting sick... I called out for Andy to google the symptoms of a migraine, then lied down in bed again. He came in and asked how I was feeling: a pounding headache on my left side, nauseous, and it hurt to have the lights on. I had to get back up again to visit the toilet... my throat was feeling quite thrashed by the time I made it back to bed. Andy brought me some over the counter medicine to help out, but I recall it taking me a long time to get to sleep.

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I woke up this morning around 6am feeling tired and I had a dull achy feeling in my head, similar to being hungover. I always go back and forth with calling into work, but thank goodness for having a quite a bit of sick time racked up. I checked my work calendar to make sure I wasn't missing anything important and called my boss' voice mail. I recall my mom having a migraine headache every now again when I was a kid and how debilitating they were for her. I've heard horror stories from friends who've had migraines and how sick they feel before, during, and after. This morning I got up around 7am to get Tommy ready for school, dropped him off at daycare, then headed back home. I thought about watching tv while on the couch, but going back to bed sounded much more appealing. I ended up sleeping for almost 4 hours this morning! I'm feeling better this afternoon, but getting up and moving around is a little slow going.

I'm not sure what triggered the migraine; it could be a plethora of things: work stress, lack of sleep/caffeine, my menstrual cycle, the weather. I'm going to do my best to take care of myself by continuing exercising and trying to get to bed at a decent hour. I also need to remind myself that it's okay to take a day off here and there, and the world will not end if I miss a day of work.