| By :
Wendy Moyer
Do you suffer from chronic daily headaches? If you do then there's a pretty good chance that you are taking headache medications on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the regular and repeated use of such medications for headaches can cause what are known as "rebound headaches." In other words, your remedy is causing your pain. Pain relievers aren't like vitamins. They're chemicals. They can be a terrific benefit for people who need them and use them in the short term, but using them on a long term basis can be detrimental to your health and well being. What Are the Symptoms and Signs of Rebound Headaches? Sometimes called "medication overuse headaches", these types of headaches often: • Happen every day and begin when you awaken in the morning. • Hurt the most when the headache begins and then hurts some more as the medication you've taken for it begins to wear off. • Persists from the beginning of the day until you go to sleep at night. Some Other Symptoms and Signs Might Include: • Difficulty concentrating • Anxiety • Restlessness • Nausea • Irritability • Depression • Problems remembering things • Difficulty sleeping Most pain relievers are designed to be taken to relieve an occasional headache. But if you take them more than two or three days a week then you could be triggering rebound headaches. These types of headaches happen because your body becomes accustomed to the medication. And, to make matters even worse, the medicine you're taking might even cause the exact same symptoms of the headaches you're so desperately trying to get rid of. These headaches can be viewed as being an over-reaction or an overdose to the medicine you've been taking to relieve your headaches. Over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen could contribute to rebound headaches. This is especially true if you exceed the recommended daily dosage. Some pain relievers that you can buy without a prescription are a combination of caffeine and acetaminophen or aspirin. These could also be the culprits. In addition, a number of medications for migraines have been linked to rebound headaches. These include medications that contain triptans or ergotamine. And finally, painkillers that are derived from either synthetic opium compounds - or opium - such as those that combine acetaminophen and codeine can lead to rebound headaches. In addition, if you consume caffeine - anything from a "cup of Joe" in the morning to a soda during a mid-afternoon work break - or any products that contain this mild stimulant, you should be aware that these can be trigger these rebound headaches as well. That's why if you suffer from rebound headaches it's so important to read the product labels on whatever you're consuming to ensure that you are not ingesting more caffeine than you are aware of. And, if you're taking over-the-counter medications that contain acetaminophen you need to be especially careful because an overdose of this type of medication can literally be lethal.
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