Headaches Resulting From Over Usuage of Over-The Counter Medication Rebound

Rebound headaches are also known as toxic headaches. They are the direct result of excessive use of pain medications to treat chronic headaches. They are relatively common, as many as 70% of patients treated in headache clinics suffer from daily headaches resulting from overuse of medications. Medications to prevent headaches will normally not work until the pain medication that caused the rebound headache is stopped and the patient has been through complete withdrawal. This process often occurs in the hospital.

Rebound headache symptoms may include some or all of the following: the patient has a gradual increase in the frequency of their headaches, they have frequent daily use of rebound inducing medication: gradual increases in headache frequency, alternate or preventive medications fail to control the headache attacks, psychological or physical dependency on rebound headache-inducing medications, the headache predictably begins within hours to days of the last dose of the medication.

Occasional headaches can be treated quickly with pain relievers. But there's a limit. If you find yourself taking pain medication more than two or three days a week, you may actually be contributing to your headaches rather than easing them. It's a cycle known as rebound headaches. The cycle starts when you take too much headache medication — more than the label instructs or your doctor prescribes. Soon, your body adapts to the medication. You may not even realize that you've been dosing yourself too often until you miss a day and your head starts to hurt again — sometimes more intensely than before.Stopping or reducing the amount of medication is the only way to stop the rebound headache. It's tough, but your doctor can help.Rebound headaches — also called medication overuse headaches — tend to occur every day, sometimes waking you in the early morning and continuing throughout the day. The pain may be most severe at first, when the medication begins to wear off.

Just about any pain relieve medication can lead to rebound headaches. But some medications are more likely to lead to rebound headaches than are others. Common medications such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) may contribute to rebound headaches — especially if you exceed the recommended daily dosages.Combination pain relievers that contain caffeine, aspirin and acetaminophen are some of the biggest culprits. This group also includes prescription medications such as Fioricet, Fiorinal and Esgic, which also contain the sedative butalbital. Painkillers derived from opium or from synthetic opium compounds include combinations of codeine and acetaminophen (Tylenol with Codeine No. 3 and No. 4). These can lead to rebound headaches as well. Daily doses of caffeine — from your morning coffee, your afternoon soda, or any pain reliever or other product containing this mild stimulant — may fuel rebound headaches as well. Read product labels to make sure you're not wiring your system with more caffeine than you realize. Sometimes headache relief is as simple as giving up the coffee.

To break the cycle of rebound headaches, you'll need to restrict how much pain medication you use. Depending on what drug you've been taking, your doctor may recommend stopping the medication right away or gradually reducing the dose until you're taking the drug no more than twice a week. Stopping pain medication isn't easy.Your headaches will probably get worse before they get better. You also may experience withdrawal symptoms such as nervousness, restlessness, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, abdominal pain, and diarrhea or constipation.The symptoms will eventualy stop. Within a week to 10 days, your headaches may become less intense and happen less often. Within two months, most people can break the rebound headache cycle.

Your doctor can prescribe various treatments to help alleviate headache pain and the side effects associated with drug withdrawal. A controlled environment during pain medication withdrawel may be the best way to go thru it. A short hospital stay may be recommended if you: haven't been able to stop using pain medication on your own.

Once the rebound headache cycle is broke, your physician can usually find a better method for your headache treatment. Before, during or after withdrawal, your doctor may prescribe a daily preventive medication, such as: A tricyclic antidepressant such as amitriptyline or nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor, others). An anticonvulsant such as valproic acid (Depakene, others), topiramate (Topamax) or gabapentin (Neurontin), or a beta blocker such as propranolol (Inderal, InnoPran, others) Controlling your pain without starting another rebound cycle can be accomplished with these medications. If you're careful, you may be able to take a medication specifically meant for pain during future headache attacks. Be sure to take any medication exactly as prescribed. Headache treatment for rebound headaches is usually very successful, if done properly.

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A distinctive approach to the treatment of Headaches using Neuromuscular dentistry. Botox is a temporary fix, Neuromuscular dentistry is a long term headache solution.

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