Brain Pain

I’ve had headaches and I’ve had migraines. But this phenomenal ‘brain pain’ I often experience is just another symptom we bipolarians get dealt. Yes, bipolarians. That’s a term I coined just now.

The ache is not unlike a migraine, however in my experience migraines have tended to be focused in mainly one hemisphere of the head. This feeling takes over my whole cranium, to the point where the inside of my skull hurts. It’s as if my brain is swollen, building up pressure that needs to escape. 

And no – Nurofen doesn’t help.

The fun part is that the brain pain comes packed with all sorts of free goodies including dizziness, nausea, neck pain, pain behind and around the eyes as well as tenderness around my cheekbones and temples. All they need to do is throw in a set of steak knives that can cut through leather boots and I’m set.

I’ve tried to pinpoint whether there’s a pattern, and I’ve found that it’s petty much anytime I have a change in mood. For instance during and especially after a hypomanic episode. Apparently this is also a fairly common thing.

The theory behind migraines is a lack of serotonin, the same as in depression. They also say one of the most common reasons for migraines (besides those caused from other known diseases) is sleep depravation. Maybe this explains why I tend to get them, or at least notice them more when I’m hypomanic?

Mmm… hypomania. More on the seduction of mania in a future post.