When the Pain Decides the Plan
When Vestibular Migraines Ruin Your Day or Week
I know what my day—sometimes the next couple of days—will be like within the first 30 seconds of waking up. Somehow I went from sleeping on my side to my back. I run a quick inventory on my body like a robot in a sci-fi movie, then give myself a status report on what we’re dealing with.
Some days are relatively good. In context, “good” means my head and neck aren’t screaming, and I’m just managing the usual symptoms: constant dizziness and fatigue.
Sunday was not one of those days. My neck was hard as steel. The pain started in my shoulders and neck, then climbed to the back of my head and kept rolling like an eclipse. For me, that’s the signal: days of misery ahead.
I keep a variety of topical creams—sprays and roll-ons—ready to go for my neck and shoulders. It’s worse on migraine days, but since January 20, 2022, I’ve become a sommelier of over-the-counter pain creams, gels, and potions. Neck pain with a sharper edge on the right side? I’ll start with 2024 Voltaren, then a layer of Biofreeze spray.
The cost adds up. The money we spend on OTC products that insurance won’t cover or that don’t qualify for our HSA is significant. That doesn’t include the upfront price of gadgets and tools I’ve bought to try to ease the pain—easily close to a thousand dollars.
As a Gen Xer, I loved Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Cypress Hill. I never thought I’d relate to them when it came to the green sticky-icky.
Thanks to a nudge from a close friend in my support group, I vape when the pain is really bad. I never thought I’d have a dance with Mary Jane. I never even looked her way—not in high school, college, or after. The smell and smoke turned me off. But credit to American ingenuity (and some smart stoners): flavored vapes exist now, and there are creams and roll-ons to mask the smell.
You want to watch time disappear? Try a three-to-four-day migraine bender. The pain sits there like a boulder, and you start hunting for anything to dull it—just enough to lie on the couch and watch TV or scroll your phone, anything to distract your mind and body from how uncomfortable life feels in that moment.
In the future, I’ll talk about my love of travel—what it takes and what I’m willing to put my body through to make it happen. I can almost guarantee there will be an uncomfortable stretch on any trip; the only question is where and when.
Eventually, the grinding stops. I wake up and the pain is gone, and I’m back to baseline—my new normal. That’s when the work starts again. Let’s see how far we can pull the rubber band before it snaps and we start over.
