Are Your Headache Meds Causing Your Migraine?

When you sense the first niggling indications of a migraine headache coming on, what is the first thing you do? If you are like many headache sufferers, you grab the nearest bottle of over the counter or Rx pain killers and bolt some down without thought. Sometimes you may even be taking a pain med in advance often or even daily, in order to stave off chronic headaches or because you are anticipating a stressful situation ahead.

Whatever the case, pause for a moment and analyze the pattern of your headaches. Do they seem to have become more frequent and more intense with time, requiring medication more often than before? If yes, then most likely you are suffering from what are called rebound headaches, which are simply medication overuse headaches.

The effect is similar to what happens when at the slightest hint of a headache, you reach for your cup of coffee because coffee seems to cure your headache. Each day you need that shot of coffee a bit earlier and perhaps then you need another one later in the day, until eventually, passing up that cup of coffee results in a headache. With time, the frequency of the headaches increases and so does your requirement for coffee. And the whole vicious cycle continues. It is the caffeine in your coffee cup that is the culprit here.

The cycle goes like this. When you start taking pain relief products 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.

Most people do not realize that over-the-counter pain relief products are meant to give quick relief from occasional headaches. They were never intended for daily routine use against recurring headaches because of the potential for causing rebound headaches. Once the rebound headache cycle has been triggered, the only way to stop it, is to stop taking the drug that triggered 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.

You can get additional rebound headache information here or by consulting your health care professional. Signs you may need medical help with rebound headaches include:

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

The doctor will recommend whether to stop the medication right away or to withdraw it gradually. Your headaches may become worse before they get better because of medication withdrawal symptoms, but if you persist, you can successfully break the rebound cycle.

Rebound headaches are usually accompanied by restlessness and irritability. Rebound headaches can be triggered by any overused pain killer, however, some pain killers are more likely to do so. 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 med 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 as prevention is their focus. With a bit of attention, you can identify and avoid your headache triggers. Alternative therapies like meditation and yoga teach you to relax and develop a positive attitude towards life. Also, making small lifestyle changes like getting sufficient sleep, eating meals in time, exercising regularly and quitting smoking can go a long way in preventing nagging headaches.