Baba Yaga

One of the very strange side effects of the migraine meds appears to be, that when I'm going into full-blown migraine mode, I'll experience what can only be described as... a thinning of the line between awake and asleep. It isn't nightmares, or hallucinations; it's closer to sleep-talking and sleepwalking in the midst of a dream. There are very specific dreams that I'll have when a migraine is brewing, but I'll be closer to wakefulness as well, and will often talk, turn on the light to try to see better what's happening, or try to get up, until I realize -- oh, not real, and then I can lie back down and try to sink back into the depths of sleep again. I'm not quite awake enough to take the migraine meds right then, unfortunately. 

The dreams all have similar content, in a way: I'm anticipating something -- an end-point -- waiting for something to get to a goal, and if that goal is achieved, then something bad will happen. (This makes sense, because my brain is waiting for the migraine to arrive.) The imagery is always weirdly earthy; vines, nature themes, forest-y. (I feel like there may be a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where the Enterprise turns into a vine-laden environment - perhaps Masks? That seems somehow reminiscent.) It's never frightening. It's just... anticipatory.

Two nights ago, I was working toward a migraine, and found myself roused out of sleep and contemplating what looked like some sort of fairy-tale crone -- Baba Yaga? -- standing next to the rocking chair in the bedroom. Hmmm. She clearly didn't belong. So I turned on the bedside table light. It was frustrating, because when I am mired in the migraine forest world, everything I do happens quite slowly despite an overarching slight sense of urgency about the whole situation. But: she was not really there. OK then. It's just a migraine. 

I've always been a vivid dreamer, so it all seems to be just an extension of that -- a crossover between dream world and migraine world. It's very odd. Not scary; kind of interesting. I do prefer vines and plants to Baba Yaga, though. 

Maybe next time, I'll see if I can hear or smell the migraine forest, or if it's all visual. If I'm going to be Migraine Queen, at least I can try to explore my realm.