congested congestion never ends

I have felt congested for, I don't know, a few MONTHS now? I chalked it up at first to Georgia weather, but this has gotten out of control. Quite often my entire head, from the skin on the back of it to my nose to the sinus cavities under my cheekbones (uh, there are sinus cavities there, right?) has been stuffy. Yes, experts, I realize that the diagnosis of "sinus headache" is not accurate and that it's usually Migraine at work (this is touched upon here). Yes, I realize that sinus congestion can be a precursor or side effect of a Migraine attack. But all the time? Really? Even when I'm not in the midst of a Migraine episode?

Perhaps this is tied to the incessant tiredness I've been dealing with. In the last couple weeks, I've gotten so tired I've succumbed to the desire to take a nap for 30-120 minutes. When I awake, I feel groggy at first but then have energy again. Imagine that--energy!

Here's what I'm thinking. I need to make more money. I need to make more money so I can see a doctor who actually practices in my town. I need to talk to a doctor whose staff doesn't feel like I'm bothering them. I need to figure out what's going on with my body as a whole, but I have to get over my hesitation when it comes to holistic healing. Okay, let's clarify: holistic treatment is one of the only methods that makes sense. Of course you have to look at the entire body in order to figure out what's happening to make you function under par. But so many holistic healers I've come across--mainly on the web or in accidental late night conversations at music shows--are a bit kooky. The daughter of two die-hard skeptics (not to mention I'm a skeptical little squirrel myself), it's difficult for me to swallow the talk they deliver, the talk that smacks of New Age (e.g., millenia-old) wisdom. What to do?

For now I can't do anything anyway. Ain't no dispensible income to speak of, so I'll just sit tight. Bright news at the moment? My stuffiness is only 15% present at the moment. And yes, that's an official calculation.

I'm on the verge...

I can well imagine myself having caffeine this weekend if I don't start feeling better. My head is about 5 times worse than when I wrote earlier this morning, and I can actually smell that polleny, grassy smell pouring out from my air conditioning vents thanks to the lawn dudes and all they stirred up with their fancy equipment. The yard looks great. I do not.

I'm bending the Maxalt rules a bit, too. You know how it says not to take the drug more than three days a week? Well, I took it last weekend and decided that Monday would start a new week. So even though I had a Maxalt on the 17th, 18th, 21st, and 22nd, I'm only counting the second pair of days because...well...because I feel HORRIFIC and cannot function. So Let's pretend the week started on Monday and not Sunday. Work for you? I hope it works for me. I should not risk MOH but feel crippled without being able to help myself through this.

Now that people actually read this blog, I feel sort of ashamed when I admit that I'm not fulfilling promises to myself (i.e., don't take too many triptans in too short a time, Janet!). But I also have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not alone in this struggle and think that, for those of you who read this, hearing that someone else is on the cusp of doing the forbidden in terms of drug treatment might resonate with you.

Wah.

Overcast, pollinated day
Why don't you just go away?!

Third time's a charm? Not so much.

Well, I've got to blame someone for this ever-present bout with pain and Migraine headaches. I do want to lay all my blame and anger on THE POLLEN. Perhaps that explains some of my grogginess, too! GO AWAY, POLLEN!

Had a migraine attack the moment I left work Wednesday, another yesterday afternoon shortly after finishing my babysitting job around noon (one that didn't disappear until nighttime and two Maxalts), and--surprise!--another the moment I sat up in bed this morning at 7:20. Curses.

The folks who landscape my community's property are here, which means stirred up grass and the pollen droppings (which are all over my roof and porch and grass). Thank goodness I'm leaving town today for the beach! I think salty air will be nicer than yellow air.


See all that brown stuff? POLLEN. All of it ------->