18/01/2026
Im not totally sure how to write this post. The last couple of weeks have been very full on and pretty scary at times. Running has kind of fallen by the wayside in favour of working through some very big feelings and there’s been some real highs mixed in with some pretty awful lows.
A few weeks ago Mike started to get headaches. We initially thought they were migraine, he’d had them before and he already had prescription medication for them. But they happened every day, and the medication didn’t seem to do much. He was in agony. On his birthday he ended up being admitted to hospital for the day. Again the doctors thought it was a migraine. They sent him home with more medication and a promise things would ease. Two days later nothing had changed. It was day 7 and our GP was worried. A consultation with a neurologist and a new diagnosis of cluster headaches, a condition which sounds innocent enough but is brutal.
No one knows why cluster headaches happen. You can’t prevent them and there’s no cure, just symptom management. The pain is thought to be more significant than childbirth. They generally come and go in phases, an active phase can last a few days or go on for months. Over the last few weeks we’ve had to navigate a whole new world where Mike is taking up to 16 tablets for breakfast, dealing with the side effects of steroid treatment and learning to inject himself with rapid acting relievers. Our kitchen now has a sharps box and Mike is never without a little kit to inject himself if needed. We’re hoping this active period doesn’t last long, but we don’t know what will happen.
While all this has been going on we’ve also been making some big, very positive plans for our family. It’s been a weird contrast, on one hand worrying desperately about what’s going on in my husband’s head and getting to grips with a pretty nasty diagnosis, while on the other making exciting plans for the future. Weirdly though I think it’s helped bring a bit of balance to our lives.
Over the last few years we’ve dealt with a lot of medical stuff, from a high risk pregnancy to our child’s long term medical needs and my mental health (cont. in comments)
