Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Insert Jinx Here.

Hello, Internet! I have missed blogging. I wish I had more time to post more than my weekly newspaper column. Today I am inspired, however, to reveal that I may be on to something. Why? Because I don't have a headache.

I get headaches. Lots of headaches. Not debilitating ones, not exactly migraines, just frequent, annoying headaches that make it difficult (but not impossible) for me to get stuff done. I'm tempted to say "chronic," only because in a typical month I am usually guaranteed to get between five and ten headaches. They usually pester me for the better part of 24 hours - sometimes longer. I considered it a fact of life - a charming part of being me. Often I will get a headache when something new disrupts my routine even if I don't feel particularly stressed about it. I don't get that, but I've come to expect it.

Many years ago - sometime in the 1990s - I kept a headache journal to try to figure out what my triggers were. Many of the usual suspects (cheese, chocolate) were not factors. Lack of sleep, stress and "certain times of the month" were sometimes culprits. What stood out, though, was that drinking beer, wine and cider, even just one glass, ALWAYS resulted in a headache that lasted for hours and hours. So I have avoided beer, wine and cider for more than ten years. That definitely helped, but still the headaches persisted.

The other day it dawned on me that I haven't had a headache in a several weeks [insert jinx here]. I went on a field trip with Boychild's Grade 1 class a couple of weeks ago (almost always a headache trigger) and had no headache. I participated in several days of archaeology last week, which I truly enjoy but which often adds stress as I try to schedule it in, and had no headache. Not only that, but a good friend visited in the midst of all this busyness and - you guessed it - no headache. That time of the month? No headache. To top it all off, though, I have been experimenting with wine. I've had a glass here and a glass there - even red - and no headache.

Whoa.

So what is up with this beautiful, beautiful thing? What have I been doing differently? Well, I certainly haven't been getting extra sleep (ha!). I haven't cut down on my workload nor stress (ha ha!). I'm not exercising more (ha ha ha!). I haven't improved my diet (note to self: take better care of body).


Then it dawned on me. About a month and a half ago I picked up a bottle of cod liver oil capsules, thinking they would be good for memory and cholesterol and such. I started taking one every day. Could that be it? I did a little hunting on the Internet and it seems some folks swear by cod liver oil for headache prevention - who knew? Of course you can find pretty much any argument supported on the Internet, so who's to say for sure.

Miracle cure or coincidence? I guess I'll find out now that I have completely jinxed myself. Stay tuned for news of my next headache....

4 comments:

Christine said...

I get chronic headaches as well.
I'll try it! thanks

meno said...

Wouldn't it be cool if it were that simple?

Steph said...

Most definitely! Here's hoping....

Mels Place in Big Bear said...

Wow, no way! I believe it.