Tuesday, November 1, 2011

~ Fall in the Dining Room ~

Good morning Friends,

I hope every has a fun and spooky Halloween.

I apparently decided to dress up as a woman with a Light & Sound Sensitive Migraine. I’ve never been one of these before and I don’t intend to ever be one again.

WOW! and OUCH! I have had a “headache” since Sunday. And I am no stranger to migraines. I have had them for years. But never like that. My migraine experiences have always been extremely visual with no pain. I think I prefer those after the last 2 days.

My very first migraine happened in Florida in 2002 on vacation in the car on our way to Universal Studios. I went completely blind. It was the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life up to that point. Of course my health has deteriorated since then, but at that point it was the worst. I could not explain to Mr. Primcat what was going on other than my vision was greying out and it went into a pin point until it went completely black. It was terrifying and I was hysterical. Mr. Primcat was freaking out asking what to do. So much drama in the car that day. lol.

My blindness stayed that way for what was about 5 minutes. I thought it was more like 2 hours but hubby confirmed it was a much shorter period. When it faded we went back to the condo and I slept the rest of the day. The next day I was ok, but terrified to drive myself for fear of blacking out again.

When I got home 2 days later I went to the Dr. and they immediately said they thought I had MS, as your vision is the first to go. I really wish they would not have done that to me as it was pretty much the scariest thing I’ve been told. Being told MS was worse than even when I was told I had Crohn’s disease.

After 2 weeks of testing, and brain scans and blood work they determined it was not MS and I finally got to a neurologist that diagnosed complicated migraines that can not be treated with conventional migraine drugs. My migraines are backwards to what those drugs treat.

He also confirmed that the “pantyhose filled with prisms” that I often saw swimming in my vision  were aura’s,  the most common symptom of a migraine.

Ever seen the panty hose aura? Nope? Well here’s what it basically looks like, though it’s different for everyone.

http://www.knownjohnson.com/?p=73

Mine is very similar to that and other than the one time of complete blindness aura’s are my only symptom. Obviously a crappy symptom that can debilitate you, but better than pain any day. I get them about once a week or so I just wait it out just like you do a headache.

This time, I had no aura. Just a headache that came into my forehead on Sunday and I couldn’t shake it. Kept telling Shane I felt “weird”. All day Sunday I pained away and all day Monday it stuck with me. By mid afternoon I was eating cold pills thinking I had a sinus thing. And then it got dark. And I flipped on my phone… and I felt like the light was drilling into my brain. What the heck? OUCH!

I had to go to Kohl’s because I had a coupon that was expiring last night and Mr. Primcat desperately needed new shoes and I desperately needed some new winter shirts to fit my now +40 pounds expanding waistline. Nothing from last winter fits me. I mean nothing! Ugh! So even though I felt like a train wreck we got into the jeep. And the first set of headlights that popped over the hill about took me out. And I realized what was happening.

Light and sound Migraine.

Mr. Primcat quickly asked if I wanted to turn around and I said no because I was not about to waste a 20% off coupon on things we both had to have. So he hands me my sunglasses. Wow. My man is seriously a genius. Off we went to Kohls. We very quickly grabbed what we needed and then headed over to Meijers where I bought some migraine formula aspirin and then headed home where I proceeded to wear my sunglasses in a dark house the rest of the night.

Today it is still with me but not as bad. I’m sitting here in my office with the lights off and it’s bearable. ( I’m sure it will be the drama talk of the day. Why does Carmen have her lights off? Is Carmen here, her lights are off? What's wrong Carmen? Are you ok? Why are your lights off?) I’m half tempted to put up a sign.  “Carmen has a massive migraine with light and sound sensitivity and is leaving the lights off so she can stay at work.” lol) 

And I won’t hesitate to go grab my sunglasses again if it gets worse. That would REALLY give them something to talk about!

For those of you that suffer from this often… you need a big squishy hug. I don’t know how I would have functioned if it had been even one iota worse. OUCHIE for sure.


Ok… moving on. Today we are taking a trip into the dining room. Last Sunday we did a tour through the kitchen. If you missed it back up 2 days. :) You MUST see Fall in the kitchen. It’s my fav! Lets go into the dining room!


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Why are there door on the dining room you ask? Because my cats are bad little kittehs and break my stoneware. BAD! So we built doors. And I love how they look. You can read about them here:

http://primcats.blogspot.com/2010/12/dining-room-doors.html

And here:

http://primcats.blogspot.com/2010/12/doors-are-done.html

Lets go in…

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Out the window… Hello Ghosties. I am sad these need to come down now.

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Here’s my centerpiece with my new Goodwill Turkey and pumpkins my Stepmom got me.

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A little bittersweet finishes it off.

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My amazing dresser!

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Candy corns and Frankenstein head by Angie.

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A Tulip Sconce I picked up at the Goodwill.

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Pewter. Every single piece of this came from the Goodwill.

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Ahhhhh… my folkart. Favorite!

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Autumn touches on the goodwill hutch.

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My goodwill feather tree all falled up.

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With Goodwill ornaments!

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My $2.99 goodwill crock stand filled with Goodwill crocks!

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Witchy poo!

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Gobble Gobble. Love this goodwill turkey!

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Goodwill buffet, goodwill pewter, Goodwill bowls, goodwill wall art, goodwill lamp. Basically all goodwill… except the folkart.

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Gobble gobble.

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Bittersweet.

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Artsy, fartsy photography.

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My craigslist chandelier covered in bittersweet.

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That’s it folks. You have basically seen the whole house. We live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch. My other 2 bedrooms are my my messy prim craft/extra decor’ room and the computer / cat box room. If I ever get my Prim Craft room clean I’ll show it to you. It’s never clean. Don’t count on it. LOL!

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

21 comments:

Carmen S. said...

I love your dining room and that dresser!!!!! do some reading on google about feverfew herb. I get migraines but since I started taking feverfew many yrs. ago they aren't as often or as severe as they used to be. Hope it eases up soon, nothing worse than a migraine of any sort!

Lois Christensen said...

Wow! Sorry you're dealing with the migraines. I went and looked at that video and that would freak me out but nearly as much as going blind! I hope you're feeling better today and you can lose the sunglasses soon! Your dinning room is beautiful!!! I love everything. I love the dresser. It's so pretty and looks so nice in the room with all of your other beautiful things! Thanks for all the pictures. Enjoy your day!

Deppen homestead 1862 said...

Pretty decorations~ girl I think you are in need of some TLC~ toothaches~ headaches~ yep, you need some good old fashioned TLC~ I suggest give yourself a my day~ do what every you want( stress free!)!!!
take care~ hugs to you~
Teresa

Theresa said...

Carmen, I hope you feel better soon. I clinked on the migraine link. That would be terrifying.

Your dining room is gorgeous. You have the most amazing knack for decorating. The things you find at Goodwill and that Craigslist chandalier, WOW...just WOW!

Thanks for letting us tour your home.

Katherine said...

Carmen, I just love your home! It's gorgeous. Can't believe you found that chandelier on Craigslist. I have migraines too, and they are awful. I had to laugh about your Kohl's coupon. We had a 20% last week, and I ended up buying some towels so it wouldn't go to waste! I sure hope you're feeling better!

~Katherine

Lil Raggedy Angie said...

Funny yet another way we are alike i have the same migraines ! but I also often get light and sound as well! :0) we are just a mess arent we ! Thanks for the dining room tour ya know its my fave just love it all ! have a good one ! hugs lilraggedyangie

Sandi @ The Primitive Skate said...

Sorry to hear about your migranes. I get them often, but not quite as bad as yours.
I just love your home! And I soooo Love that dresser!
Hope your feeling better soon!

Christine said...

Hi Carmen hope you are feeling better!
I can sympathize 100% with you as I too suffer from aura type migraines!
I suffered my 1st age 15 during an exam and I lost the power of speech and went numb down my left side. I was so scared in fact I still am terrified I'm having a stroke when I take them!

However on a nicer theme, I adore your dining room decor!
Everything sits so prim perfectly together!
Best wishes
Christine

Cat Nap Inn Primitives said...

well you know I love your home and those doors are genius..I hope you get to feeling better soon..between you and your mom in todays post..I really feel for you both..heres a big squishy hug coming at you.)

Michelle~Sugar House Creations said...

You have such a way of combining your TS treasures into beautiful displays! I've suffered with migraines since about 1999. I had my first one at work (it was my second day at a new job!) and they called EMS for me. How embarrassing, lol! I get the blindness aura as well. It starts as a spot in the center of my vision and then gets bigger until I can't see at all, and then the pain starts. So you don't get the pain after your aura? Lucky girl. I don't have them often anymore, but I still get really nasty nauseating headaches and just annoying headaches if I sleep too long in the morning....like today. :) A cup of tea usually helps without having to take anything for it. Just a little caffeine. I hope you find something to help your migraines. I found the preventative medicine caused so many side effects on a daily basis that I would take my chances with the migraines since I don't get them that often. I also get stress/tension headaches very easily so I'm trying to calm my nerves. :) Hope you make it through your day without too much drama. :)

Rachel said...

BEAUTIFUL!!

Hope you get to feeling better soon ~ you've had a rough couple of weeks.
:( I'll be thinkin about you!

Linda ★ Parker's General said...

So, so sorry about your headaches. I used to get migraines and they made me nauseous and gave me vertigo. My niece gets migraines if she eats chocolate. Can you imagine the horror of never eating chocolate?
I seriously hope you never go through this whatever again.
Love-love-love the screen doors. We have French doors between our dining area and our family room. I love them but wish we had a screen door on our back door!
It is sad that Halloween is over but so good that Fall has another month!
★Linda★

Linda ★ Parker's General said...

Carmen,
I don't want to be a complainer or a whiner, but this font really messes with my eyes. I understand that you like it and I wouldn't blame you if you leave it like it is, but sometimes change is good.
I'm also having trouble with my computer since it was restored to factory settings. I cannot enlarge the print like I used to. It is difficult for me to read such tiny print and that is not you. It is all of the stuff on my computer. So sad to get old!
★Linda★

~Madalynne~ said...

Love the Turkey Centerpiece Carmen ~ it's amazing what you can do with GW finds!

So sorry you were hit with such a nasty migraine. I ended up in the ER with an ocular migraine many years ago. I went completely blind while getting ready for work one morning ~ it totally freaked me out. As I got older, the headaches became far less frequent and now quite rare.

Hope you're feeling better soon.

cynthia lee designs said...

Carmen,
So sorry to hear about you suffering from migraines. My oldest daughter suffers from them too and gets very sick with them...and a few times has passed out from them.
Love your dining room!! You find the greatest prim goodies at the GW. I used to find all kinds of things at the one near me, but not anymore...can't seem to find anything.
Hope you feel better soon.
hugs,
Cindy

Anonymous said...

Boy, you sure have had a time of it. First your teeth and now migraines. I get them when I have too much caffeine or stressed. The doctor said that it is the blood vessels constricting in the brain and to take two aspirin, two 500 miligrams of tylenol and drink a little caffeine to open the vessels up. I get the vision changes and vertigo and then the headache. I take 2 aspirins first to get rid of the vision changes and so on. And yes, chocolate, caffeine and stress can bring it on. But if you drink alot of caffeine and try to stop for a day, the migraines will come on. I had it so bad one time that I lost all control of my speech and vision on my left side and had to go the the ER. Very scary thing to have happen. This stage is dangerous and can turn into a stroke. So I understand completely what you are going through.
I love how neat and prim your home is. I wish I could get mine to look that way. The screen doors are creative and so decorative. Love them. I could have used that idea at my other house when I had cats in the house. Take of yourself and that migraine.
Tamera
Country at heart

TheCrankyCrow said...

Goodwill has been very, very, good to you! ;o) Truly loving your dining room digs - wow - that buffet thing came from GW too??? Love the chandelier and you know, Girl, I'm coveting your pewter.... Good luck with the migraine thing - Luckily, I've never had that sort of pain (although I get some pretty nasty headaches on occasion!!) Happy November! Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

frontporchprims said...

I love the pewter and bittersweet. I also love the screen doors. I know that sounds weird but somehow it works with prim. I really like your centerpiece and even better that it came from GW. I am sorry about your migraines. I can't handle even a slight headache. Get better soon.
-Steph-

ohiofarmgirl said...

My goodness, it sounds so scary. It sounds like you need some old fashioned rest...I do hope you are feeling better. Do you think this has something to do with the tooth? Dianntha

Firecracker Kid said...

Oh Carmen, I've only ever had one migraine where I've had to go to bed, shut the door with no lights or nothing on. I sure hope they don't get any worse if you can't get rid of them.
Oh my, I love your pewter collection and the shelf it's on. Everything looks so prim perfect. Thanks for sharing your home with us :-)
Hugs~Carol

Earlene said...

Carmen are you still up for a visit after Simple Goods? Are you going?
Hubby will be with me and I told him you guys are bikers ( actually he saw your post awhile back) and are big time cat lovers!
But I know that your not feeling well, sorry about your migraines!
So I will understand.
Your house is awsome and I love that tree and your turkeys. I put my turkeys out last night.
Hugs for you!
Earlene