{"id":79921,"date":"2014-11-21T15:43:03","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T20:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=79921"},"modified":"2014-11-21T15:43:03","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T20:43:03","slug":"head-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/11\/21\/head-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Head Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

An illustration from Les gens de Medecine dans l’oeuvre de Daumier<\/i>. Via the Wellcome Library<\/p><\/div>\n

Migraines are the most glamorous of headaches. Mysterious, debilitating, unpredictable: they get all the press. Who wants to talk about the workaday irritation of a tension headache, the dull thud of dehydration, the queasy slosh of sinus infections? That\u2019s not sexy. By definition, even; the headache is the punch line to half the Andy Capp jokes in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But migraines! Everyone relishes a migraine. They have a literal aura! Migraines foster the sort of pure narcissism that only intense, essentially benign pain can. We sufferers (that\u2019s how it\u2019s described, \u201cmigraine sufferer\u201d) feel it is meet and right that the migraine should be dramatized in films like\u00a0Pi<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0White Heat<\/em>; this strengthens the perception that migraines are the hallmark of geniuses, or at least psychopaths. Joan Didion writes about them; of course she does. In \u201cIn Bed,\u201d she describes the purification arising from this crucible of pain:<\/p>\n

\n

The migraine has acted as a circuit breaker, and the fuses have emerged intact. There is a pleasant convalescent euphoria. I open the windows and feel the air, eat gratefully, sleep well. I notice the particular nature of a flower in a glass on the stair landing. I count my blessings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yes, Joan, yes! That\u2019s it exactly! Of course, she also says, \u201cMy husband also has migraine, which is unfortunate for him but fortunate for me: perhaps nothing so tends to prolong an attack as the accusing eye of someone who has never had a headache.\u201d I disagree. What migraine sufferer wants to share the limelight? After all, we all know in our hearts that\u00a0no one in the history of the world<\/em>\u00a0has ever experienced basically unserious pain like we have.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit like cats on social media. On the face of it, social media is a boon for cat fanciers, so long isolated from the easy socialization of other pet owners. And on the face of it, it is indeed a vibrant online community. But the suspicion cannot help but intrude, first, that everyone really thinks her cat is the cutest, the wackiest, the wittiest, the best. And second, that this conviction is unshakeable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So it is with migraine sufferers. On the face of it, we\u2019re collegial.\u00a0Oh, you get migraines, too? We compare triggers (Tyramines? Blood sugar? Hormones?) and triptans.\u00a0Have you tried Zomig? Maxalt? Imitrex? What about the spray?\u00a0And then the one-upsmanship begins. How often? For how long? Where is your pain localized?\u00a0Really, behind the eyes? Interesting. I didn’t realize that qualified as a migraine! Light sensitivity?\u00a0Nausea? Have you tried biofeedback? Beta-Blockers? Botox? Acupuncture? Going GF? (That\u2019s recent.) What about that codeine stuff you can only get in Europe because the FDA hasn\u2019t approved it? Have you been to the ER? How many times? Have you seen a neurologist? (We all have; there\u2019s never anything wrong with us. At least, nothing detectable.) Of course, if anyone plays the \u201cCluster Headache\u201d card, the conversation is over, and the rest of us have to trudge sullenly away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Migraines are the most glamorous of headaches. Mysterious, debilitating, unpredictable: they get all the press. Who wants to talk about the workaday irritation of a tension headache, the dull thud of dehydration, the queasy slosh of sinus infections? That\u2019s not sexy. By definition, even; the headache is the punch line to half the Andy Capp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13115],"tags":[16153,8281,1362,16154,973,15410],"class_list":["post-79921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-daily-correspondent","tag-headaches","tag-illness","tag-joan-didion","tag-migraine","tag-pain","tag-suffering"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Migraines are the Most Glamorous of Headaches<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sadie Stein on head cases throughout history.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/11\/21\/head-cases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Head Cases by Sadie Stein\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"November 21, 2014 \u2013 Migraines are the most glamorous of headaches. 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