Headaches Pain
How NOT to Treat Your Headache Pain
Contrary to the stereotype of the headache sufferer as being overly enthusiastic to receive medical attention, most people choose to self treat their headaches using over-the-counter pain killers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take that long for your body to adapt to pain killers. You may have already noticed that it takes more and more medicine to get any relief. Be forewarned that at some point in the not too distant future, you will become so used to pain killers that they will stop having any effect at all. This is the point at which most people seek medical help.
Seeking qualified medical help earlier in the course of your condition rather than later is the best course of action for the migraine sufferer. Self-treating with over the counter pain medications does nothing to relieve the cause of your headache and instead works against you by building up your tolerance and dependence on pain killers. Your body’s physical dependence on pain killers will cause you to develop headaches when you do not take your pills as usual. These types of headaches are known as rebound headaches.
Rebound Headaches
A good indication that you are experiencing a rebound headache includes the following:
- Regular consumption of any over-the-counter or prescription pain killer, Ergot, Triptan, tranquilizer, antihistamines, sleeping pills and caffiene including but not limited to: Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, Excedrin, Aspirin, codeine, hydrocodone, morphine, methadone, DHE, Migranal, butalbital, diazepam, lorazepam, Sudafed, Benadryl and any mixed cold medicines.
- An increase in headache frequency.
- Headaches that occur at the same time every day. This includes headaches you wake up with.
- A reduction in pain relief despite taking more medicine.
- Headaches that come on after a predictable delay from your last dose of medicine.
The key point to remember with rebound headaches is this – you can expect increased headache frequency and decreased pain relief from pain relievers as your body will develop tolerance. As you can see, this is not a plan with long term viability. If you believe you are being affected by rebound headaches, schedule a visit to discuss this problem with your doctor, and try to discontinue use of over-the-counter pain medications as soon as possible if you have been self medicating. Remember, discontinuing prescribed or prescription medication should always be discussed with one’s doctor. Why is this? Even if you believe it is safe to stop taking a certain medicine your doctor may feel differently. Also keep in mind that certain drug dependencies can carry severe withdrawal symptoms if discontinued all at once (such as butalbital, which can cause seizures.) Your doctor may want to treat your drug withdrawal gradually or in a controlled environment for your own safety.
How to Prevent Becoming a “Failed” Headache Patient
Many headache and migraine sufferers go from medication to medication and doctor to doctor without relief. These patients are known within the medical community as “failed” patients. What many doctors may not realize is that many of these “failed” patients are actually suffering from rebound headaches. Many doctors do not know that any preventative program will fail as long as a patient is experiencing rebound effect.
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