20080115 :: Day 15, originally uploaded by punquin.

This is my little iPod Touch. I love it! If I just had wireless access everywhere I went, it would be perfect. But, I’m not going to switch from Verizon to ATT just for the iPhone. Anyway, Apple announced a software upgrade available for the Touch, and I got it all installed (after upgrading my iTunes for the iMillionth time.) Mail! Google Maps! And more… Very cool!

On the not-so-cool front, I’ve been having migraines. I’ve had them all my life, but normally only about 6 per year. I’ve had 6 in the past week. They are almost constant. If they were just pain, I’d probably ignore them, but I get “auras” as well. I found a webpage that described what I “see” before migraines so closely it was spooky. Get out of my brain!

Positive visual problems, the most common of which consists of an absent arc or band of vision with a shimmering or glittering zigzag border: This is often combined with photopsias (a sensation of lights, sparks, or colors due to electrical or mechanical stimulation of the ocular [eye] system) or visual hallucinations that may take various shapes. This is a highly characteristic syndrome that always occurs before the headache phase of an attack and is specific to a diagnosis of classic migraine. It is called a “fortification spectrum” because the jagged edges of the hallucinated arc resemble a fortified town with bastions around it.

Here is how mine start: My vision suddenly feels “off” and I have a little “spot” just off-center (like I stared at a bright light). The patch of vision that I can’t see in starts to grow, and a border appears (in an arc-shape) about 3/4 of the way around it. The border is in the colors you’d see in a puddle of oil in the street and is zig-zaggy little lines that almost look like crystals would under a microscope. The border flashes and sparkles and makes me dizzy. Gradually, the whole mess gets larger and larger as it fills my vision. Eventually, it is so big I can’t see the border anymore and my vision slowly refocuses, though it stays “off” (like I’m wearing someone else’s glasses) for up to a day.

Fun times, right? Well, 6 in a week or so is scary, so I am going to the eye doctor tonight. I am overdue for a check-up anyway. I am hoping that the migraines are being triggered by in incorrect prescription, but if not, my next stop will be the doctor. Wish me luck!

Unrelated, I’d like to learn Spanish (Latin America dialect). Being a visual learner, I’ve looked into Rosetta Stone. Has anyone used it? Is it worth the crazy amount of money?

I still have a headache from last night’s migraine attack. 🙁