Tagged As: Rebound Headache
Question:
After reading several articles dealing with rebound headache, it appears that drugs containing Tylenol (acetaminiphen) are most to blame. Does anyone know if narcotic meds or butalbital cause rebounds if they are taken by themselves? (I don't even know if you can get butalbital by itself). I know the ergots can, but they're not really pain meds. Is anyone aware of any *new* research on rebounds?
Answer:
All abortive medications for headache can result in what is called analgesic rebound headache. This can result when as needed medications are given more frequently than twice a week over a variable period of time, usually several months. Over time (and for poorly understood reasons) headaches begin to develop when the as needed medications are not taken. Thus, patients find themselves taking large (even toxic) amounts of over the counter and prescription medications. Now this is my Doc and I found out. Of course like most Doc's he suspected rebound headaches at first and had me go off all meds for 6 weeks. I won't go into the living hell that caused but I was willing to work with the guy. After 6 weeks I was still having my problem. What he determined at that time was that short-term acting analgesics weren't the type of medication that I needed. He moved to me long-acting and I have been pretty headache free for about three months now. The only time I get a headache is when I miss a scheduled dosage of meds.
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