Prank or fainting disorder?

Last night, my roommate and I decided to order pizza.
I answered the door when the pizza arrived and then things got interesting.
I handed him money and he tried to hand me the pizza, and suddenly I had that feeling, and knew I was going to faint/fall. The following conversation ensued.
SS "Just put it on the Sofa!"
PG: Just stands there, looking surprised, and again asked where to put the pizza.
SS. PUT IN ON THE SOFA!
SS then passes out. My roommate rushes in to see what the commotion is all about. I come to pretty quickly.
PG. "Is this some sort of fraternity/sorority rush prank?"
SS. "No, I just have a fainting disorder.
PG. Are you sure it isn't a prank?
SS. Yes.
PG. Are you ok?
SS. Yes.
He finally set the pizza on the sofa and my roommate took it to the kitchen.

End scene.

In three years, of constant falling, I have been called many things- a liability, a weevil (as in "weevils wobble but they don't fall down,") and a host of other things. But I haven't been accused of fainting for a prank. Ok, so I did take out a display at Rite Aid once, but everyone there knows me and we just laughed it off- though the staff occasionally teases me about it. But 8 years after I graduated from college, I am finally considered "cool" enough to be part of a sorority! (I was a member of the GDI at college.)

Sometimes, all you can do is laugh!

14 Years

Fourteen years ago, on October 28, 1997, my life changed forever. I remember it vividly- the day when this headache began.

It was a beautiful fall day and I was on the field hockey field and suddenly, the other players turned into purple spots. I motioned to the coach that I needed to get off the field and I did. I went straight to the nurse's office to get some of my migraine medicine. I didn't think much of it at the time. I had had migraines before- usually lasting a couple of days to eight days. However, this one was different, this one didn't go away. This one changed my life forever.

Over the course of the past fourteen years,
I have tried many medications.
Seen numerous doctors and specialists
had an occipital nerve stimulator placed
and have done my best to live with it.

I have also learned a great deal-
true friends stick with you no matter what
faith is necessary for me to survive
I have seen incredible compassion
I have seen the best and worst of people.

I truly hope thatt the migraines will go away, but if they don't I will continue to fight it, continue to do things in spite of it and hope for a cure.

Time for a good Joke

I found this report to be particularly amusing. Enjoy. Regular programming will resume next week.

Search Committee Report:
The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for our new Pastor.

Adam: Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told of how his wife and he enjoy walking nude in the woods.

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Abraham: Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man’s wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.

Solomon: Great preacher but our relocation costs for all his wives are out of our budget.

Elijah: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.

Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.

Hosea: A tender and loving pastor but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation.

Deborah: Strong leader and seems to be anointed, but she is female.

Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.

Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.

Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Amos: Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people–might fit in better in a poor congregation.

Melchizedek: Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date.

John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper-even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.

Paul: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.

James & John: Package deal preacher & associate seemed good at first, but found out they have an ego problem regarding other fellow workers and seating positions. Threatened an entire town after an insult. Also known to try to discourage workers who didn’t follow along with them.

Timothy: Too young!

Methuselah: Too old . . . WAY too old!

Jesus: Has had popular times, but once his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all, and then this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he’s single.

Judas: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We’re inviting him to preach this Sunday. Possibilities here.

OCTOBER MIGRAINE HEADACHE BLOG CARNIVAL

Your Scariest Migraine Experiences

I chose this theme because migraines are, well, just plain scary at times. Migraines have the power to make us scream in pain, strand us in a dark room, rob us of language, make us see scary lines and shapes that others can’t see. In addition, they also have the power to scare others. (I once had two people backed in to a corner because I was crying so much due to pain.)  I have scared many people but the scariest experiences have always been my own- those of a chronic migraneur.

Migraines run in my family. My father had his first migraine as a teenager and the left side of his body went numb- he was absolutely convinced that he had polio. My grandfather, who was a physician, had to convince him that it was only a migraine. Fortunately, when I experienced my first migraine, my parents were able to tell me what was happening.

The frightening first migraines:

Many people wrote in concerning their first migraine experiences. It is true that there are very few things as terrifying as being in pain and having no clue what is happening to you or why it is happening at all. 

LRH at Travelling Chronic Pain Road in her post entitled "A frightened Little Girl."

Diana at  Somebody Heal Me writes about her terrifying first auras and migraines in her post Diana in Wonderland.

Kelly at Fly With Hope writes about her first terrifying months of migraine and migraine medication and misdiagnosis in her post “Scariest Migraine Ever: What I didn’t know.”

Migrainista writes about her first migraine in her post entitled “You always remember yourfirst.”

Losing Language: My Scariest Migraine Experience

My own scariest experience occurred when I was 18 and at boarding school. I woke up one morning and noticed that my head was feeling better- it certainly didn’t hurt as much as usual- but I was having trouble speaking. I couldn’t think of what I wanted to say or if I could find the word and managed to say it- my speech was horribly slurred. I went up to the infirmary and wrote out a note asking for aspirin. The nurse gave me some and I went back to class. But another student came to get me about ten minutes later and told me to back to the infirmary. The nurse had called my neurologist who said to head to the ER at Hopkins immediately. One of the school nurses took me to the ER, however, almost as soon as I was in a room, the nurse said “she had a cold, and that she would leave me there and pick me up later.” At that point, I did start to get scared- I found myself alone in a hospital, far away from home, unable to communicate well.

My neurologist’s partner came down almost immediately and examined me. Neurologically, I appeared to be ok. But then I heard her on the phone asking me to nod my head if I could lie still for an hour. I nodded realizing exactly what test she asking about- an MRI. I was still having trouble speaking. I  found  myself suddenly surrounded by neurology residents/interns all asking me to “Speak”. Several resorted to bribery, “Speak, honey, speak, we will give you a cookie!” So I spoke and yes, I got a cookie. (I was at a Children's Hospital.) Word had gotten out that there was a “weird case in room five.” So there were quite a few people in and out of my room and I struggled to speak. Eventually it improved some.

Later, I had an MRI with and without contrast. I remember being rolled across the hospital to the radiology department late in the day. When I returned to the ER after the MRI I remember the attending telling me that “Your mother is on her way here.” I said, “No, my mother is at home.” The attending finally spelled it out “No, your mother is on  a plane on her way here.” Shortly after that, I was discharged from the ER and went back to school. My mother arrived later that night.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the school had called my parents and told them that their 18 year old was having a stroke. My father said “It is probably just the migraine.” He was right. After a good night’s sleep, I felt somewhat better- I could speak, but the pain was back. 

For me the most terrifying part of the whole thing was being unable to communicate to others exactly what was happening to me. I was diagnosed with migrainous aphasia- the inability to find words and get them out during a migraine. I have struggled with this on and off since then, and I have scared others, but for me the first experience was the most frightening.

Thanks to all who particpated for their wonderful submissions! I wish everyone as many pain/ migraine free days as possibile.

Sconesail

Migraine and Blog Carnival Call for submissions!

The October edition of the Migraine and Headache Blog Carnival is coming to Falling through Pain! The theme will be "Your scariest migraine experience-ever!"

Please send all submissions to somebodyhealme@dianalee.net. Submissions are due by midnight on Friday and will be posted on Tuesday.

I look forward to reading your stories.

sconesail