Headaches

I could tell by her walk, by the way she held her head something was wrong. She was normally an outspoken force. Could even go so far as to have an attitude that could rub you the wrong way. Today, Brenda, had none of that. She came into my office to let me know she needed to go home.

At first I could just tell she was sick. Then she looked at me. Her eyes looked stretched and pained. Every noise caused a minor flutter in her eye. The light hurt her. In trying to get comfort her neck held her head at an angle that was just slightly off. This was a headache a bad one.

Instantly, I could feel the tension in my own neck. My back pulled my skull, causing my temples, my sinuses to throb. I remembered my last, and maybe my only, major headache.

Shelly and I lived the apartment in Portage. She didn't really drink coffee yet, but I did. Well, I had except for the last 24 hours. I don't remember what madness consumed me, but I had decided that I would quit coffee. Additionally, I had decided that I wasn't going to wimp into it. I was going cold turkey.

The morning was no problem. I drank water. I wanted the coffee, but I didn't really wake up any slower and I was able to get my day going. I looked at the clean and unused coffe pot and imagined having the additional counter space. I was so naive.

Nothing much really stands out about my morning and afternoon, at least not about what I did or thought. The next thought I could recall was an odd feeling in my temples. It felt tense, but wasn't a headache. I don't get headaches. I rubbed my temples and it seemed to get better.

The next sensation was in the sides of my neck. The muscles there were tightening. I thought my neck needed to be popped, so I grabbed a towel, wound it up placed it behind my neck and looked up. This stretched my spine and gave a satisfying pop. Then the real pain began. The muscles of my neck an shoulder made my arms, my back, my head hurt. I remeber wondering if my muscles could get so tight they would rend themselves.

I tried a hot shower, but only when the water was to the point of burning could I forget the pain. I tried stretching, but every move caused my muscles to further fight me. I couldn't sit or stand or lay. I drank water and massaged the muscles as best I could. I tried aspirin, then Tylenol, but it didn't do anymore for me than the water.

The pain finally moved fully into my head. I'm not even sure this is possible, but I remeber my ear drums hurting. It was as if someone was stepping with a boot behind my eyes.

My thoughts were scattered, but I had figured out what was happening. Caffiene. My body was overwheling me, trying to get Caffiene. I weighed my options in my crippled state.

Even the smell of the coffee was magical. It seemed to loosen some of the tightness. No more than fifteen minutes after the first cup, the headache was gone. The muscles kept just that hint of pain, the dull reminder of what could be.

I looked at Brenda with compassion for that she must be feeling and l told her is was no problem if she needed to go home early.