November 29, 2007

Inside my head

Migraine

Me: Hey, what do you think of this photo?
Shaggy Hair Boy: Uh ... what's it supposed to be?
Me: The inside of my head, when I have a migraine.
Boy in Black: How does that make sense?
With-A-Why: You can't take a picture inside your head.
Me: My readers asked for a photograph.
Shaggy Hair Boy: Uh, it looks like hair.
Boy in Black: More like the outside of your head.

(Just then my husband comes home. I shove the laptop in front of him before he even takes off his coat.)

Me: What does this look like to you?
Spouse: Frayed twine? Nerve endings?
Me: Nerve endings? Oh, that's on the right track.

(I look smugly over to the boys.)

Boy in Black: It looks like dog hair.
Me: Dog hair? How did you figure that out?
Boy in Black: Because it looks like dog hair.
Me: But we don't have a dog.

(He shrugs.)

Me: (after a moment) So what kind of dog do you think it is?
Boy in Black: The kind of dog your blogger friend has.
Me: Hey, I thought you didn't read my blog.
Boy in Black: I was bored. And had a lot of work to do.

The photo would be much cooler if I had photoshop. But it is pretty close to what I see when I close my eyes during a migraine: darkness with swirling lines of flashing colour and brightness.

20 comments:

zombieswan said...

Somewhere I found this animation picture of a "halo"-- the thing that happens to your eyes when you're getting a migraine. I was going to post it but now I can't remember where I found it. It was very convincingly rendered.

I get halos, but not migraines. Which according to the websites, means I'm even more susceptible to stroke than folks who actually get the headaches. Which, of course, is super. (/sarcasm)

susan said...

Leave it to you to turn a migraine into one cool extended metaphor (in the prior post) and another nifty blogpost exploring photos and conversation.!

BeachMama said...

That is a pretty good rendition of a migrane. I usually get a few more spots than lines but either way they hurt like the dickens.

Rev Dr Mom said...

I think it is a very cool picture. But sorry about the migraine!

Anonymous said...

Wow. Amazed and impressed.

argon(one) said...

My daughter gets migraines periodically and your picture is exactly how she describes her headaches to me . . . frayed nerve endings with the ends jumping all around from the electricity spewing out everywhere. Kind of like the way a downed electrical wire dances around on the ground.

I sympathize with you on your headaches, but you captured it very well.

frog said...

Before I was diagnosed as anemic and we got it all straightened out, I used to get ocular migraines, but with no headache. They were FASCINATING. Mine we more orbs and wide streaks than this photo, though.

They'd have been a lot less interesting with the pain, though.

YourFireAnt said...

Leave it to you to work naked bloggers into any post you can.

FA

Unknown said...

She's a very useful dog.

Aliki2006 said...

My little daughter (3 1/2) gets migraines and is on medication for them. It's so useful to me to get even glimpses of what she might be going through.

Ugh.

Kyla said...

Aliki's daughter and KayTar experience similar infant/toddler onset migraine phenomenon, it is interesting to get a glimpse into that.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Cool photo! I don't get migraines, and I wish you didn't too. Healing vibes and reiki coming your way.

But the image is interesting.

Kathryn said...

Oh...mine are multi coloured discs floating around - and then I just have to sleep...will fall asleep standing up if needs be.
Glad you are now feeling up to blogging again...Take things gently (my migraines are always stress related)

Rana said...

I'm impressed that you managed to turn something so unpleasant into such a beautiful image.

I hope you're feeling better.

Yankee T said...

What Rana said.

BroccoliEater said...

I've always described mine as "a snowglobe filled with shards of glass."

When I saw your photo post, I hit google looking for my own image and found this, which actually is a pretty good rendition of mine.

Migraine art. Hm.

Sue said...

I don't have migraines, but rather Chronic Daily Headache, or New Daily Persistent Headache. I don't see auras, per se, but when I'm really hurting and close my eyes, I see colours - usually red or green. They are sort of like Northern Lights in that they dance around and change and swirl. If it didn't hurt so much, it would be pretty.

I'm glad you're feeling better. Great picture too!

BerryBird said...

I really like this migraine imagery. I can definitely see why you'd wait until it passed to attempt such a thing. Glad it's over!

jess said...

Sorry you suffer from migraines, Jo(e). I do too, and I wouldn't wish them on anyone. I agree with your description but Sara's 'snowglobe filled with glass' is pretty accurate too.

Hope you don't get another anytime soon.

Silver Creek Mom said...

My Migrines have more red and white in them.

Great Idea
Great Shot.

Hugs