Yesterday I developed a thumping headache. It didn't start until after I got back from running errands. It's not like I was outside for hours. I just dashed to the bank to put in an insurance check, and to the main post office for stamps (can't have my stamps smelling like a dead mouse, you know), and to The Gas Station Chicken Store for my 44 oz Diet Coke and scratchers.
The temperature has been in the upper 80s for a few days. The hot wind swirls. When looking out across the hills and dales of Hillmomba, there's a haze in the air. I'm assuming it's pollen. The trees have budded and leafed over the last two weeks. Grass is sprouting higher even as Farmer H's $1700 lawnmower rolls over it.
I think the headache must be something I'm allergic to. Something that irritates my sinuses. The area over my eyes, and on my cheeks (FACE cheeks, by cracky!) feels sore and congested. Plus, I've been dizzy for about three days. Maybe it wasn't the SCREECHER or the ear-jabbing with an ink pen lid that gave me vertigo.
My head first felt like it was in a vice, then it started to throb, then my neck started to get tight, then my back stiffened up from shoulders to waist, and before I knew it, I'd taken an acetaminophen, an aspirin, and an ibuprofen two hours apart. Plus I drank about 70 oz of Diet Coke over that time. I finally felt relief about two hours into the ibuprofen.
Of course, I was also laying back in my OPC (Old People Chair) with the heater and the vibrator turned on. They only run for 15 minutes, then shut off automatically. I think I was on my third re-start when I noticed that my back had quit spasming, and I could not-think about my head.
So far today, I only have a little neck tightness. Let's hope my head is clear on Monday for my CASINO TRIP that Farmer H is giving me for Mother's Day.
Skip everything else and try some antihistamine for the pollen. If that works you'll know for sure you got a dose of hayfever. If it doesn't then you know the problem was something else. The head and face symptoms sure do sound like it, but I can't say for sure about the back and neck, although my neck did sometimes get sore from the tight face muscles as I clenched against sinus pain. Now I just take the antihistamines routinely about ten months of the year.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
ReplyDeleteI've tried benedryl before, and everything is good for two hours. THEN I fall asleep! Can't hold my head up. It's like I'm moving underwater, trying to find a place to lay down for a nap. Usually, my head just falls over and I start snoozing. So I have to be sure of my plans two hours after a dose!
Benadryl is good, but I used to take it around bedtime so if I fell asleep that was okay. Now I take a child sized dose of Polaramine, most of the time I get by with one pill a day, at bedtime again.
ReplyDeleteIf your headache persists, get checked for a sinus infection. Just so you can rule that out.
River,
ReplyDeleteThankfully the headache went away yesterday, but I wasn't outside much at all, only walking to the car and into a casino (where smoke is barely noticeable). At this casino, it was Old People Day (over 50), and I only saw one smoker, who was actually a vaper.