I was catching up with my Mum last week and she mentioned, “it feels like February just showed up out of nowhere and punched me in the face.” I laughed, firstly because my Mum always winds up with a case with the February blahs – she lives in Toronto and this time of year is notoriously cold, grey, and generally tough on everyone. I totally empathized; when I lived in southern Ontario I always went through the same thing. I also laughed because I related SO MUCH to her sentiment. This month has really been kicking my butt.
I wrote last week about how this year has been off to a rocky start for me. I got a lot of caring messages in return, which were both unexpected and so appreciated (thanks guys). I mentioned how I was hoping to sort of ‘restart’ my new year In February. Well, that’s also been off to a rocky start.
I can hear my therapist off in the distance, yelling at me, ‘doesn’t this feel like you’re setting unrealistically high expectations for yourself?’ (a habit that I have that fuels my anxiety and personal feelings of failure). Shush, therapist. I mean, you have a point, but shush.
In the past couple weeks, I’ve slowly been coming around with how I’ve been doing on my new medication. I’m actually able to sleep through the night now, which is a huge relief. Even though saying that makes me sound like a toddler…
Just when I thought things were starting to calm down on the health front, I’ve started to get recurring headaches. Awful, painful, wake me up in the middle of the night headaches. I’ve been prone to cervicogenic headaches in the past (meaning they originate from muscle tightness in my upper back), but I’m normally able to connect these flare ups to intense training sessions, or other physical factors. Now, they’re flaring up for no noticeable reason, and it’s driving me a little crazy.
I’ve seen my physiotherapist and massage therapist, and both of helped for a while. Last night I got a massage and felt better for a couple hours, but then what was easily the worst headache I’ve had in years took over. I was in agony and felt super nauseous, and spent a good hour contemplating going to the E.R. Finally the pain meds I took kicked in and I was able to sleep, and felt a bit better this morning, but I’m still far from 100%.
I’m slowly chipping away at this new issue, but I’ve still been taking quite a few sick days from work, and don’t feel like I’m giving 100% to powerlifting training. Sure, it’s understandable given the circumstances, but I still feel like I’m falling behind. I’m seeing my doc next week to follow up on my new meds, and I’ll bring up the headache issue. Could be the antidepressants, could be the fact that I’m off the birth control pill after being on it for several years, could be something else. Who knows. Uncertainty is so much fun.
I wish this wasn’t such a whiny post, but I feel like getting this crap off my chest helps. Also, does any of this sound familiar to anyone? How have some of you overcome struggling with your health for extended periods of time? To be honest, this is the longest stretch I’ve had where my body just isn’t cooperating with me.
Ladies, have you had similar issues with headaches when coming off oral contraceptives? Other gals in similar situations always seem to be the best resource when it comes to stuff like this.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Here’s hoping the next post is a bit more interesting!
