The ‘Life’ Hangover: How A Night Out Triggers My Chronic Pain
I went out on Saturday night for dinner, drinks and dancing with friends and I was still feeling the effects of this on Monday afternoon. Not an alcohol hangover – a general life hangover. I did have four cocktails, but it wasn’t the alcohol that was plaguing me afterwards! You see, if I do anything at all on one day, I’m absolutely knocked out for the rest of the week and can’t do anything else. In a normal week, I usually work, sleep and spend a small amount of time caring for my grandad. I don’t do much else!
On Saturday, I woke up early, had a bath and washed my hair. I went to see my grandparents, then came home, got ready and travelled into Manchester. We saw our friends, met up for food, then had drinks until midnight, before crawling into bed in the early hours. This used to be something I could manage plenty of, when I was in my teens. I could party all weekend and think nothing of it. I could live on a couple of hours sleep a night. My only concerns were drinking a little too much and making myself a little bit sick! Now I’m faced with a long list of hazards that I’d never needed to consider before..
Alcohol. Let’s start with the big one. Alcohol seems to trigger my trigeminal pain.. and there were lots of cocktails!
The cold weather. The obvious one. It’s cold outside, especially at night, which is the normal time people go out. Unfortunately, I can’t restrict my social life to summer lunchtimes.
Ice in my cocktails. The even-more-obvious one. Yes, cold triggers my facial pain, so I had some cold drinks. I have only myself to blame!
Getting ready before. The bath. Having to shave my entire body and wash my hair. Who has the energy for that anyway, nevermind with chronic fatigue?!
Not getting enough sleep. I have fatigue and staying up past 9pm usually doesn’t work for me. Time flies when I’m having fun, but when I need to crash, I need to crash. I was really feeling it on the bus home!
Public transport. I don’t want your cold, or your germs – I am sick enough..
Forgetting to take your medication at the right time. This doesn’t affect me at the moment, because I’m currently not taking any medication for my pain, but being out of my usual routine used to really throw me off!
Medication that makes you tired. You’re supposed to take amitriptyline at bedtime for a reason, so having to take this on a night out – well, you do the math..
The Pain Corner 