Welcome back!
Rebound headaches occur because of frequent use of headache medication. Also called medication-overuse headaches, the headaches recur as pain relievers begin to wear off. Pain relievers are helpful for occasional headaches, but should not be taken more than a couple of days a week. Excessive use of over-the-counter or prescription drugs can trigger the painful cycle.
Often, almost any medication you take for a headache can trigger the rebound effect. Unfortunately, as the next headache occurs and you take another pain reliever, when that begins to wear off the headache comes back stronger than ever. What you are taking to rid yourself of the pain begins to work against you.
Over time the brain becomes less responsive to the drugs. As the medication begins to wear off, your headache returns more painful than the last time. You take your pain pills again, and the cycle continues.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the frequency of rebound headaches depends on the type of drug you are overusing. For example, if you are taking opiates the headaches may occur after using the drug for eight days a month. However, if you use barbiturates, then it only takes five days of use a month to trigger the rebound headaches. As your body adapts to the medication, it responds in a negative way when the medication begins to wear off.
Seek professional help to stop medication
Before you stop all pain medication, seek the help of your doctor or a headache specialist. They will rule out other possible causes of the headaches, and help you gradually stop taking the medications that are contributing to the headaches. There are medications that they can use to replace what you are currently taking.
People who try to go cold turkey can have serious adverse reactions including seizures and other withdrawal symptoms. Some drugs require detoxification and even hospitalization to handle the withdrawal.
It is difficult to stop taking pain medication when suffering from rebound headaches, but essential for long-term relief. If you would like further information regarding rebound headaches, check out the following sites:
National Headache Foundation at - www.headaches.org
National Pain Foundation – www.nationalpainfoundation.org/index.php
MedlinePlus – www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/headache.html
1 response so far ↓
1 Denise // Apr 2, 2010 at 12:43 am
Many elders suffer with this problem. Thanks for tips on how to handle it.