No one is safe from Thursday

[offbalance]

I was home ALL day today with an absolutely crippling migraine.

Now, I've had them before, and usually I can take some meds and grin and bear it through work. But not today. Let's just say my stomach said FUUU early on and wasn't letting anybody in (but everybody else had to leave). Ugh. I hate calling out when Boss T is out, but there was just no damn way I was doing anything. And as it turns out, it wasn't a bad call. I think I slept for at least 85% of the day today, and I still don't feel awesome. Light still kind of sucks, but nearly as much as it did earlier. Eating helped, even though my taste buds are all fucked up.

The fun part of migraines, at least for me, is that every sense I have is turned up to eleven. Lights are too bright, flavors are overwhelming, smells I would usually be able to ignore level me. And yet, in a marvelous Princess Bride-style twist, my hearing is largely unaffected. I've gotten weird looks from people about why I have my ipod on when commuting with a migraine, but if given the choice between the sweet, soft voices available to me on my music player and the screeching hell of subway breaks, it's not exactly a difficult decision. Even so, I'm hyper-sensitive to high pitched sounds, but find things on the lower level of the bass scale soothing. (Sense of touch is unaffected, but the rest of me is so fucked up I couldn't even tell if it was. Every nerve is on high alert, so it'd make sense if it was affected). Today was like a shovel to the face, and someone putting my brain through a meat slicer. And yet, it remained active throughout all of this. So, I took to the idiot box, because being anywhere near a computer was right out until now. And even now is decidedly unfun.

Thankfully j_bkl was off today, and is the kind of rockstar fiance that troops out to the store to buy me things like gatorade and seltzer and saltines. He's been super ace, and deserves massive kudos.

One thing I discovered is that Lost In Translation is a great movie to watch if you have a migraine. It's dark. It's slow-moving, and largely quiet. No shouting, or things going boom, or even much loud music. It lulled me to sleep and then I woke up for a little while and fell back again. Not too bad. I usually watch Wings of Desire if I'm sick because the stream-of-consciousness narrative makes even more sense in an altered state, and it's also largely quiet and meditative. (Until the Nick Cave part, but that's okay, because it's Nick Cave and he's awesome.) But Lost in Translation was on cable, and watching Wings of Desire would have required standing up, finding the DVD, opening the case, and figuring out how to work the dvd player. More than I could handle, basically. Blah.

And if that wasn't bad enough, my wonderful prescription plan told me today that as of June 30, it's not going to cover my birth control pills anymore (well, they're not "preferred" medication. Fuck you, CVS, they're preferred for ME.). I could have the generic version that made me crazypants, or pay a higher copay for the one I have now. UGH. Luckily, I had one refill left that I ordered right quickly and that brings me to 5 1/2 months before I have to see my doc anyway and see what we want to do. Just further proof that the war on women continues! God forbid I don't want to be a baby factory or, I don't know, not suffer debilitating cramps and hormone fluctuations every month. Urgh. I'm contemplating Seasonique and some of those other ones that limit your periods, too. Wonder how they'd work with my freaky DNA. J seems to think I can give them or HR an argument about it, I'm mildly sure it's a waste of time, but I guess it's only my time I have to waste.

Later I was overcome with the desire to listen to the greatest AM radio hits of the 70s. I don't even know, but I figure it's music designed for fried brains, so there's that. Dunno why, but I somehow wound up with copies of Billboard's Greatest Hits of 1973 and 1975, and they're kind of ruling my world right now. (Yes, I apparently know every word to "Delta Dawn." What.) It's weird. Music in that early part of the 70s is on the cheesy end of awesome and soothing me a lot right now, so I'm not fighting it.

I'm starting to feel worn out again, thanks to my vigorous day of laying around with a bag of ice over my forehead, so I should probably do that. But what the crap. I needed today like a hole in the head.

Ooh, bad choice of words.

(speaking of words, I'm currently on the iPhone/Android sensation known as Words with Friends with this exact username. Hit me up if you wanna play.)

Comments

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

[reppep.livejournal.com]

I hope you have a Comfy Chair, at least. And that tomorrow's pain-free!

Re: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

And a comfy couch! As for pain free, it's kind of a toss-up. But I'm excited about THOR tomorrow!

How is J doing? Is she feeling any better?

"preferred" issues

[quantumchick.livejournal.com]

Grr. I went through that same problem with my BC pill last year. After having tried to kinds that were horrible for me, I finally found one that worked for me, then they promptly pulled production of the generic due to a patent issue and stopped covering the name brand as a preferred med.

I don't know what your insurance is like, but I was able to save $30/90-day-supply by ordering them by mail through my provider's prescription plan. After I got sick of that method, I went to the health center at SUNY and they sold me a ten-month supply of clinic packs for half the price of what I was paying for my insurance copay. Maybe you can find a clinic that will do the same?

Re: "preferred" issues

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Just grr. I hate this crap. It's so aggravating! I had a horrid reaction to the generic for the one I'm taking and my doc put me back on the regular right quick. *sigh* There's major clotting concerns that I keep hearing about this one, though, so perhaps there's a silver lining. Doubt it, though. ><

I already do the mail-away, and at present I was paying $20 for 3 packs. I may try to do that with a clinic, even though sometimes clinics in these parts can be a drop scary. (Lots of love for the SUNY health center, though! I used to get my stuff there all the time).

[firynze.livejournal.com]

Oh god, I used to get those migraines all the time, and they lasted for days. Like, I'd spend 3 weeks of every 4 completely crippled by them. So much suck, and so much sympathy for you, sweetie.

*hugs*

I'm glad you called out and managed to get a bunch of sleep.

Shiiiiiit, the BC thing is Not Cool. I'm lucky in that the cheapest generic on the planet works wonderfully for me, but BC is such a personal thing that it's ridiculous to do this sort of shit. No, sometimes the generic ISN'T the same, kids.

[angelicillusion.livejournal.com]

*hugs* <3 Can't tell you what to do about the BC ... I'd see what the GYN says you can switch to that won't make you crazypants that will be covered by your insurance plan. I'd fight it if this were an "I am going to die without this medication" issue but ultimately it is up to you if you want to fight for your BC that badly. I don't know what you're on now - if you want me to check for something comparable let me know and I'll do my Rx magic for you. Feel better!