Migraine Meds Giving You Headaches?

Very few migraine sufferers know this (and sadly, and very scary, a lot of doctors don’t seem to know this…) but both otc and presciption migraine pain killers can relieve pain short term but actually cause more headaches/migraines in the long run. The additional headaches/migraines caused by the pain killers are called “rebound headaches.”

I have very personal experience with these bad boys. When I was first diagnosed with migraines (many, many years ago) my primary care doctor prescribed Imitrex as a pain killer for my migraines. At that time I didn’t know to do my own research on the medication I’m prescribed, I simply took what was given to me. There weren’t any words of warning. Simply directions to take when I started to feel a migraine coming on. Got it! I could do that. And I did. As my migraines became more frequent, I took Imitrex more frequently. My doctor knew how often I was taking it, because she was writing refills like they were going out of style. And since I thought Imitrex was a glorified Advil, I was taking them like they were little candy-coated drops of heaven (which, when you’re getting a migraine, and you find something that stops the pain “little bits of heaven” really does fit the bill). Here is the problem…that went on for 4 years. After a while Imitrex didn’t work, and I had to move on to something else and still no one told me about rebound headaches. It wasn’t until my significant other started to do research on his own that he found out about rebound headaches. When I went to general neurologists they assured me that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t until I was referred to a neurologist specializing in migraines that I got the hard truth: hell yes, I had been giving myself rebound headaches. And Imitrex isn’t the only thing that can do it to you (who knew?!). So let me share what I learned so you don’t have to go through (literally) years of rebound headaches to find what some doctor could have told you a long time ago.

I was on Yahoo! Answers and discovered many migraine sufferers routinely reach for Excedrin Migraine to get rid of migraine pain. Excedrin Migraine, Excedrin for tension headaches, many tylenol products, and most otc cold/sinus products will give you rebound headaches. Take these out of your pain killing routine ASAP! If you need otc (over the counter) pain relief, take advil/ibuprofen…these don’t cause rebound headaches. Excedrin migraine (and for tension headaches) are particularly “iffy” because they contain caffeine. Caffeine is kind of on the fence, in migraine-ville. Caffeine is a very common migraine trigger. If you are unaware of your migraine triggers, and you are taking excedrin products not only can you be causing rebound headaches if caffeine is one of your triggers and you don’t know it then you’re also consistently aggravating your current migraine with the caffeine everytime you down one of those pills. My advice is to stay away. Both for the rebound headaches and the caffeine trigger (by the way, caffeine in the excedrin is not what is responsible for rebound headaches…that is just a fun side note).

As far as prescription pain killers, the key is how often you’re using them. It isn’t using them that gives you rebound headaches, it is overuse that will cause rebound headaches. Imitrex, Zomig, Relpax, and other prescription drugs in this drug class are medications you want to make sure you don’t overuse. Just ask your doctor how often it is ok to use your painkillers, and that you’re concerned about rebound headaches. It is that easy! Hopefully with this info you can use your pain killers, and go forth and be pain free without worry *grin*.


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