The Sunday After.....

Time to tally up the damage. It was pretty considerable, but I'm not going to obsess.

First off, hope everyone had a lovely holiday and great weekend.

I was on track for a fantastic Thanksgiving when suddenly everything went totally wrong with no warning -- and there was nothing I could do about it.

A migraine -- a bad one -- came up out of nowhere and smacked me right behind the eye Thursday morning.

I'd woken up early, as planned, cleaned up the house, prepped the garlic, lemon and rosemary chicken we would be serving for dinner later that night, and then gaily tripped out the door to work (very eager to get my holiday double-pay).

Ten minutes after I settled at my desk, I noticed a small white dot on my computer screen. It was most annoying. It kept popping up in the middle of words. I tried to brush it off the screen, I tried blinking it away, I even closed my eyes for several minutes and prayed it would go away.

But, alas...the white dot kept growing bigger, and then it started spinning. And when I closed my eyes, behind the right one, there was a glowing spinning circle of bright colors.

Classic ocular migraine. At the worst moment and worst day possible.

I had to leave work. Not only could I not look at a computer screen or read -- both requirements for my job -- I knew it would not be long before the real pain started, plus nausea.

Luckily another friend at work suffers from really bad migraines (I hardly ever get them -- this was the third of my life, but I know immediately what they are when they come). She gave me one of her potent pain pills, and it was home to lie in a dark room.

I did survive, but it was tough going to wake myself up a few hours later and play hostess. The worst of it was over, but there was nagging, dull pain behind the eyes. But we did it, and we had fun. It wasn't a super huge high calorie meal, and I was too busy cooking to really consume tons of food.

But there's no doubt it was a big eating day -- and a big wine day, if you want to know the truth. I didn't have any at first because of my head, but later in the night I sipped some white, and that was ok, so then I had some red.

I'm sure that is why I felt even worse the next day. Wine, especially red, doesn't marry well with headaches.

Friday was a nightmare. I felt heavy and lethargic, like I was moving through molasses. I was slow to think, slow to respond, and it took all my energy just to focus on doing my job. I got snapped at by an editor for moving too slow! But I can't blame them -- I couldn't shift into high gear to save my life.

Saturday I woke up better, but still with head pain. It had become a nagging sinus pressure and ache that was driving me crazy.

Oh...I should mention my minor (for me) freak out when I couldn't focus correctly out of my left eye. I put in my contact but it wouldn't fit right -- everything was blurry and the contact hurt. I chucked that pair (they're disposable) and grabbed a new set. Same problem -- I gradually got more and more concerned and then became convinced I'd had a minor stroke overnight.

My BF talked me away from full-blown panic, and I went to work armed with my glasses in case the eye got so bad I had to take the contacts out. Sure enough, the bright lights in there irritated me more, so I quickly plucked the contact out and prepared to don my glasses.

And lo and behold..what did I notice but TWO contacts stuck together in my left eye. I have no idea how I got two contacts in my eye, it's a confusing mystery, but I was so relieved to not be stroking out that I didn't even question it. I just heaved a sigh of thanks, peeled one off and slapped it back in. Worked fine.

That solved one problem, but I still had that nagging sinus pain. I finally gave in and ran to a drug store and bought one of those sinus saline rinses. I've always heard they are great for chronic sinus sufferers but have been too scared to try them. I am not a fan of shooting water up my own nose.

Thank goodness desperation drives us to try new things. I will spare you all the gory details, but let me say that it was FANTASTIC!

The pain was so bad I didn't even wait to get home -- I tried it in the bathroom at work right away, and the relief was immediate. The pressure eased by half within minutes, and I could breathe again.

It has only improved since then, and I think I'm addicted to it now because I did it again last night and first thing this morning. Love!

So...soon I'll be heading to the gym. I did eat a piece of red velvet cake last night (half a one, but they are so huge that half equals a whole serving, I'm sure). And there have been many manchego cheese bites over these holidays.

But like I said, I'm not obsessing. I ate a lot more than usual -- but I didn't binge or gorge -- and I enjoyed myself. I'll deal with the fallout, like I always do.

It's just a relief to not be in pain for the first time in three days. Hope you are all well.