Ough, hi everyone! Just letting y'all know I am still alive, just dealing with some health issues that have been making it nigh impossible to draw or... do anything, really!

About 4 months ago I started getting these debilitating hormonal migraines every month. They last for two freaking weeks and my stomach practically stops working that entire time! Plus I get so light-sensitive that even with my eyes shut, I'm still in discomfort. I end up confined to my bed for long periods of time.

I didn't recognize the migraines for what they were until recently, so it took me a while to actually get prescribed anything for them. Now I'm taking hormone pills to hopefully stop them in their tracks, but my doctor says it's going to take another month or so for my system to stabilize. I'll still get the migraines until then, but my doc also gave me some triptans to try out for pain management, and I will give them a shot too.

I'm not too worried about the cause of this; I have a couple of things working against me here. Not only are hormonal migraines a VERY strong genetic trait in my family (every woman on my mother's side gets them), but I am currently underweight, and this increases the risk of hormonal migraine significantly. If you want a short lesson in biology (I found this interesting when I learned about it), here's why that is, to the best of my understanding! Basically, estrogen is stored in your fat cells. Once per month, if you are a woman of child-bearing age, your estrogen naturally dips. When you do not have a healthy amount of fat cells, your estrogen gets REALLY low when it dips, and this can trigger a migraine.

I'm trying to get my weight up, but it's made very difficult when my stomach is paralyzed for two weeks out of every month! Hopefully the hormone pills will work, and I will be able to eat normally soon.

This journal sounds a little dire, I know, but don't worry about me. Even though my physical health is quite bad right now, I'm feeling okay mentally. I've dealt with health issues my whole life, so I've kind of built up a psychic resistance to this stuff! Of course there are bad days, and I feel awful when I'm in the thick of it, but overall I just keep plodding forward and celebrating the little wins when I get them. And I'm eternally grateful for my loved ones who help me out when I'm bedridden.

I will return to making art eventually, and draw you all some really good comics. I still have a lot of ideas waiting to be put to page...