PrivateRealm
Threadhead
Reged: 03/18/03
Posts: 879
Loc: usa
|
|
Why do opiates, hydro in my case(though Percoset have caused them in me as well), cause rebound headaches? I have problems withheadaches and migraines anyway, but take hydro for back problems. The rebound headaches are getting so bad, I don't know if it is worth it sometimes.
Can anyone share their experiences, and help me figure out how to prevent, or aleviate these?
(edited to add this fact: What is bad for me is that they start WHEN I take the meds, and not after they wear off, or the next morning. It is like the hydro itself is giving me the headache).
--------------------
KeriAnne~~~
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take - but by the moments that take our breath away."
Edited by PrivateRealm (12/22/03 02:11 AM)
|
zeuzjuz
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/16/01
Posts: 1155
Loc: the milky way
|
|
There have been many threads posted on this subject - seems like once a week at least - and I still don't think anyone has come up with any kind of answer. I personally think it is an individual phenomenon, doesn't happen to everyone - it must have something to do with individual body chemistry. I have been on various opiates for back pain and sciatica pain for almost 4 years - codeine, tramadol, hydrocodone in various doseages and forms, etc.... And I can't say that I have ever once noticed a 'rebound headache' -
I know this doesn't help much, but I am just trying to make the point that I don't know if it is so much a property of opiates, or something to do with the person's body chemistry. It doesn't seem to be a universal problem in all people taking opioids - I do get very 'quick' w/d symptoms (not that odd since hydro is such a short acting opioid) - by this I mean that if I am taking hydro regularly, every day 2-3 doses per day, and I go 8-12 hours without hydrocodone, or over-sleep and therefore take my morning dose late, etc. etc - then I start experiencing w/d symptoms (mostly just the magnification of my pain, cold sweats, and dizziness/nausea) - I start experiencing these things as quick as 8-12 hours if I miss a hydro dose - which is kind of troublesome since I have to make sure that when I am working, or going to be gone out of town, or any other time I leave the house for 8 hours or more that I am completely prepared with my medicine. But I can't say that I get headaches, I have never noticed that. But 'very early' w/d symptoms, definitely....
--------------------
//zeuzjuz
|
herkinerf
Stranger
Reged: 10/16/03
Posts: 14
|
|
This happens to me, too. I also have suffered with migraines since I was a teenager, so maybe there's something to that - those who are prone to the headaches anyway seem to notice the rebound headache.
I take hydrocodone for degenerative disc disease, whose pain is much more often felt than the two or three migraines I get per month, which means that lessening the pain in my back is much more important to me than the headaches that sometimes occur as a result of the medication. When I do feel the headache coming on, I have found that taking 1 aspirin (nothing with acetaminophen) or one Ibuprofen will usually take care of it (I have a very weak stomach - can't take anti-inflammatories/aspirin in anything but very small doses).
Hope this helps. Good luck.
|
Sweetz
Diamond Mind
Reged: 05/11/02
Posts: 765
Loc: Texas!
|
|
I've been told by a neuro that a rebound headache can turn into a migraine headache. I think he was trying to tell me my migraines were really rebounds. I know the damned difference! You don't start throwing up with a rebound headache. Anyway, PR, I posted a lengthy post to you on the Other side.
--------------------
"If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice."
|
greeneyes100
Stranger
Reged: 07/16/03
Posts: 22
|
|
For me, it was definitely the apap and not the hydro that was causing my headaches. I switched from 325 apap to 500mg. and thats when the headaches started. I went back to 325 and no more painful headaches. I have acid reflux and cannot take IB or aspirin. Even apap tears up my stomach but not as bad.
|
yawkaw3
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/22/03
Posts: 1193
|
|
No one knows why rebound headaches occur.
If you're getting rebound headaches, you have to make sure it's not the drug you're using that specifically causes them. Butalbital, which is in fioricet/fiorinal will cause headaches as a withdrawal symptom. Same goes for caffeine, also in fioricet/fiorinal. Overusing triptains supposedly will do it too, though that's not been the case in my experience.
One of the theories is that any painkiller taken in excess, when there is real pain, will cause the brain to make new pain receptors so you can feel and respond to the pain when the medication wears off. The other theory, that is usually the one explained to patients, is that any painkiller will cause an increase in your pain threshold (in other words, your ability to deal with pain increases temporarily), but when the painkiller wears off, you experience worse pain because your pain threshold is back down to where it was.
But again, no one knows for sure, it's just speculation.
Just a heads up - if you're getting daily severe headaches that are painful and require multiple doses of painkiller all of a sudden, you might want to check this out with your neurologist. The chances are slim that it's anything serious, but it's worth checking out.
-yawkaw
|
PrivateRealm
Threadhead
Reged: 03/18/03
Posts: 879
Loc: usa
|
|
What is bad for me is that they start WHEN I take the meds, and not after they wear off, or the next morning. It is like the hydro itself is giving me the headache.
--------------------
KeriAnne~~~
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take - but by the moments that take our breath away."
|
yawkaw3
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/22/03
Posts: 1193
|
|
PrivateRealm-
Opiates lower blood sugar across the board, and for some people that can cause headaches. That type of headache usually starts a little bit after the meds kick in. You could try drinking orange juice or taking a glucose tablet. Honey works too- the idea is you want a simple sugar, not a complex one- complex ones take too long to turn into glucose.
-yawkaw
|
mona
Newbie
Reged: 12/14/01
Posts: 48
|
|
i take hydro and tylenol 3 on a regular basis. from my gp, i get 20 vic per month and 90 tylenol 3. i am 98% convinced that the tylenol in these gives me headaches. it's a very specific headache, very unlike a migraine or tension headache and it only happens when i've taken them for several days in a row or at high doses. there are months when i'm actually glad when i run out. i've taken codeisan, when available, and get relief from the fibro without the headache. i don't remember ever having these "tylenol headaches" when i first started taking the T3 so maybe is has something to do with prolonged exposure. i have also found that the Vic turns me into a raving b*t*h, like really bad PMS, feels almost hormonal. anyone else notice this? so, in conclusion, i know that most painkillers run the risk of rebound headaches but i think the tylenol may be just as suspect as the opiate.
|
zoecece
Board Addict
Reged: 05/03/02
Posts: 392
|
|
YES, the APAP is what is typically associated with RB headaches, not so much the narcotic.
While I don't get them often, I usually get relief from a RX dose of an OTC antiinflamitory. I prefer aleve to advil, but I denfinitely need the two tabs.
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit 
Reply 
Quote 
