"unusual thoughts" a side effect? then what will happen to someone like me who's never had a usual thought?

...especially when you get several of them within a few days of beginning the medicine!!!

Below I've copied a list of side effects for my newest drug, Zonegran. It's an anticonvulsant created to treat epileptic seizures, but it's also used for Migraine patients. Keep your fingers crossed. I, meanwhile, will be suffering from nausea. Ick.
(I've put in bold the side effects I'm feeling, having completed week 1 of treatment.)
"The most common side effects of Zonegran are drowsiness, loss of appetite, dizziness, headache, nausea, and agitation/irritability. These side effects usually occur within the first 4 weeks of therapy."

Luckily, I've not had any of the severe side effects listed below, but the ones in bold crack me up (and frighten me at the same time, of course).

Special Warning(s) with Zonegran:

Some people taking ZONEGRAN can get serious reactions including:

• Skin rash (may be a sign of a dangerous condition)
• Fever, sore throat, sores in your mouth, or bruising easily (may be signs of a blood problem)
• Sudden back pain, abdominal (stomach area) pain, pain when urinating, bloody or dark urine (may be signs of a kidney stone)
• Decreased sweating or a rise in body temperature (especially in patients under 17 years old)
• Depression
• Unusual thoughts
• Speech or language problems
• Drowsiness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Coordination problems

and after all that, I awoke with a Migraine...

The alarm went off at 8:05 even though my first official commitment of the day doesn't start until 7:30 PM. I snoozed a bit more than I intended to, but I felt as if that was forgivable since I hadn't fallen asleep until 2 AM or so.

I woke up, rolled out of bed, and a few minutes later finally acknowledged that the pain wasn't just morning grogginess, as I had naively hoped. No, kids, 'twas this: a morning Migraine. Dammit.

a walk to ... forget.

In an effort to control the five trillion things that trigger my Migraine, I've made an attempt to wake up at a consistent hour for the last few weeks. The mornings have been refreshingly, surprisingly lovely. It's spring now, though it feels more like summer, and the morning hours are the perfect time to stroll downtown for coffee or open all the windows and listen to music before the heat sets in.

There was a short period of my life (last year or so) when I awoke with terrible head pain almost every day. Of course there'd be those few moments when I'd open my eyes, stretch, and feel that hope that accompanies a bright morning: "Is it true? Could I actually feel well today?" In a flash of eagerness, I'd swing my legs out of bed and feel a rush of blood and pain in my head before my feet even had time to hit the floor. Morning Migraine. At this stage in my ever-shifting life, the mornings are good for me and the Migraine sets in during the afternoon or evening, mimicking the pattern that has dominated my illness since I started getting severe headaches as an eighth grader 12 or so years ago.

The question is, what should do with these rare hours of sickness-free time? If I start on work (which is unlikely, since I'm the most infamous procrastinator of all), I end up with a stress-triggered headache very quickly. I want to have times where I can enjoy walks, cups of coffee, time with friends, and hours with books before the pain sets in. This is how I chose to indulge myself this morning. Woke up around 8, eventually walked to a bakery to meet a friend for breakfast, b.s.ed with some buddies who happened to stroll by, nearly finished the novel I'm reading this week, made some phone calls, and enjoyed the morning.

"Time to start the work for the day," I thought to myself as I pressed play on my little iPod and started to walk the mile back to my house. As I walked up the slight incline of my street, I could feel pressure behind my left eye and felt a dull pain rear up in my sinuses. "Ignoreitignoreitignoreit' was a chant going off in my head, so subtle and well-rehearsed that I barely would have noticed it if the pain didn't suddenly increase as I got closer to home, closer to work and closer to the hour when the daily headache usually sets in.

But, as I explained in previous entries, I don't feel free to take Relpax and Naproxen the moment a headache kicks in, as indicated by the label. When you have CDH (or even Migraines that are more frequent than a couple times a month), you're warned against abusing the drug for fear of dependence, rebound headache, and the eventual tolerance you'll build against the drug's effectiveness. The pain and discomfort, as usual, wax and wane depending on my activity level and approximately 4,231 other factors. Right now I am sitting with my back against the headboard, typing as I sit/lie in bed and hear birds chirp excitedly outside. The left side of my neck has a rope of pain that throbs at its own unpredictable schedule.

For now, I feel okay...

my head hurts if I don't sit still/it's an itch that I'll never stop scratching

Once in awhile, I hope to post excerpts from books, songs, poems, movies, etc. that speak to Migraineurs in some way or another.

Waiting for insomnia (often a side effect of Migraine) to pass is like waiting for the headache to kick in, waiting for it to get out, or waiting for it to just remain stagnant for a bit so that you know if you'll be able to move again or not.

Here's an awesome one my friend L. sent me. You can download the song at http://www.3hive.com/2006/01/electric_president.php.

"Insomnia" by Electric President

There's a lightbulb dangling from string
It's slowly swaying over my head now
As I jot down the words that will never be solved
And wait for my headache to numb

And the wind sounds as if the world's sighing
And the moon's just a torn fingernail
As the TV flickers and hums by the wall
And I wait for my eyesight to fade

So, so, so, it's so damn slow
So, so, so, it's so damn slow

Not pride, I choke on ambition
And the old folks circle their graves
And the young ones are busy destroying their heirs (?)
And the heirs are still just wasting away (?)

I sit and watch this screen for a message
Some kind of sign that says we're okay
But the screen stays blank till I turn the thing on
And wait for my conscience to break

So...
So, so, so, it's so damn slow
So, so, so, it's so damn slow

I hope you are learning to listen
And I hope you are learning to stay
And I hope you find what you are missing
And I hope they’re making your way

And I'm a headcase if I don't keep moving
And my head hurts if I don't sit still
It's an itch that I never stop scratching
It's a hole that I’ll never quite fill

So...