Migraine by Prescription? A Cautionary Tale on Headache Meds

What is the first thing you do when you feel an impending headache? Probably rush to your medicine chest and pop a pill automatically. Sometimes you may even be taking a pain killer in advance frequently or even daily, in order to fend off recurrent headaches or because you are anticipating a stressful situation ahead.

Whatever the case, pause for a moment and analyze the pattern of your headaches. Have they become more intense lately, requiring more drugs than before? Are they happening more frequently, even daily? If you answered yes, then you may be getting rebound headaches, also known as medication overuse headaches or MOHs.

Coffee drinkers experience something similar. That first shot of coffee heads off the niggling beginnings of a headache. You then become a more frequent coffee drinker, till one day, the situation reaches a point where, if you donnot get your coffee in time, you start getting a headache. With time, the frequency of the headaches increases and so does your requirement for coffee. And you perpetuate the vicious rebound headache cycle. Although the caffeine is the culprit here, pain pills work the same way.

The cycle goes like this. When you begin taking pain relievers more often than what the doctor prescribed or the label recommends, your body kind of adapts to the medication. Your system adjusts to the larger, more frequent dosages by becoming less responsive. And the next time you need a larger dose sooner to dull the headache pain. As you up the dosage each time, your headaches get worse and happen more often until they are a daily routine. You may even wake up with a dull headache that continues throughout the day.

If you are like the majority of headache sufferers, you may not know that over the counter pain meds are intended for use on occasional headaches only. They must not to be taken indiscriminately on a regular basis for recurrent headaches because medication overdosing can set off a vicious cycle of rebound headaches. And the only way to break this cycle is to withdraw the medication that is fuelling it. Period. It sounds simple enough, but is not always easy. In the case of some drugs, especially opiates, it requires professional help because if done incorrectly withdrawal can be dangerous.

For further rebound headache information, see Total Headache Relief or consult your doctor. Signs you may need medical help with rebound headaches include:

• Your headaches get worse
• You take migraine or pain pills regularly or in greater than recommended doses
• You get headaches 3 or more times in a week.

In addition to the usually headache symptoms, rebound headache symptoms also include irritability and restlessness. Although any pain pill can trigger rebound headaches, some are more likely to fuel them than others. Of the popular over the counter (OTC) drugs, which can cause rebound headaches, the most likely ones are acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen, especially when caffeine is included in the ingredients list. Prescription drugs containing the sedative butalbital, such as Fiorinal, Fioricet and Esgic, migraine medicines and opium-derived medications are also the culprits. Get the details on your pain reliever here.

Most importantly, preventing any kind of headache from occurring often is the best solution, so it is worth while to try out most natural headache therapies since prevention is their focus. This requires a conscious effort on your part and can be achieved by identifying and avoiding things that trigger headaches for you. Yoga, meditation, and other alternative therapies can improve your mental state and help control your stress. Even small lifestyle changes, can make big differences in stopping headaches before they start. So do little things like eat meals on time, exercise, get enough sleep and even stop smoking to prevent headaches.