Something I have not posted about on this blog before is rebound-causing medication, and yet it is one of the main causes of your headaches, along with diet. As Dr. David Buchholz explains in his book Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain (Workman Publishing 2002), "rebound takes you prisoner". There are many medicines that cause rebound, and some of them you can buy over the counter. Avoid anything containing caffeine, decongestants, opioids, ergotamines, triptans, butalbital compounds, and isometheptene compounds. As Dr. Buchholz explains in depth in his book, this medicine should be taken no more than two days a month, as prescribed for those two days, for an out of control headache. If you are unsure if yours is one of these rebound causing medicines, ask your pharmacist or doctor.
When a headache occurs, it is due to dilated blood vessels in your head. This is called vasodilation. Many medicines constrict these blood vessels to offer relief, causing vasoconstriction. When the medicines wear off, the blood vessels dilate to a larger degree than they were previously. If this happens too often, you can understand the "rebound" hole your head digs itself into. Does this mean Dr. Buchholz wants you to suffer, or doesn't understand your pain? No it doesn't. He just knows that more and more medicine is not going to help you when it comes to headaches. The best thing to do is get your body back to its natural state so it can fight headaches its own way, and so you don't have to be a prisoner to medication. Prevent headaches by eliminating what is causing them, instead of treating them with medicines that will cause even more headaches. He offers other solutions for relief in his book.
Along with Dr. Buchholz's headache-free diet, a reduction in rebound-causing medication will hopefully help greatly reduce the amount of headaches you experience. That's step 1 and step 2 of the program. Step 3, if you need it, is preventive medication, which doesn't work for as long, as well, or even at all without steps 1 and 2.
If you have not had the pleasure of reading Heal Your Headache by Dr. David Buchholz yet, you are missing a great opportunity to heal! I don't know if I would be functioning today without his advice. Feel free to read my other post "My Migraine Story" found on the left sidebar.
Heidi - I just ordered the Heal Your Headache book so haven't gotten yet. I did read all of the reviews and found your website which is very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI'm just curious, were you able to go completely cold turkey off your meds as it sounds like is step 1 in the process? This scares me to death. I actually tried it, suffered for a whole day, thought it was going away, and then it came back with a vengeance. I broke and took a Zomig.
Can this be gradual weaning down of meds or can I just start with modifying my diet to eliminate all triggers first? I'm hoping that in itself will lessen the headaches and allow me to try and kick the med habit.
Hi born2bead! Thanks for posting. I'm so glad you ordered "Heal Your Headache!" Yes, I was able to follow step 1 and 2 at the same time. Dr. Buchholz's words of encouragement and inspiration will help you. They are much better than mine could ever be. I know it sounds scary, but you will feel so much better and so empowered afterward; you will be in control of your own headaches. I wish you the best.
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding Heidi. I will read the book and give it a shot. It's just nice to touch base with someone who has actually done this and has had success.
ReplyDeleteI understand, and please post anytime. I would love to touch base with you and talk to you.
ReplyDeleteOk - not sure where you want me to post this but I started the diet cold turkey on March 19 and I haven't had any sort of a headache for 11 days and counting. Not a little headache, not a background headache, nothing. I'm cautiously optimistic but I have to say it really seems to be working. The diet is not as hard as I thought it would be. Cheese may be the thing I miss the most although I did go and get good American cheese so that has helped. I also bought Sunflower butter from the Health Food Store and it is to die for. I think I like it better than peanut butter! I made my own chicken stock last weekend using a shallot instead of onions on portioned it out and froze it to have on hand. It feels really foreign to not have a headache. Lately migraines would wake me up at 2:00 am and I would have to roll out of bed half asleep and take my Zomig or I knew I would be suffering by the time I had to get up at 5:30 am and get ready for work and be somewhat functioning.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful news! Thank you for posting this! I miss cheese too, but the diet really isn't as hard as people would think, like you said. American cheese does help. After being on the diet a couple more months or so, you may find that you can add in natural mozzarella cheese in small amounts too. Isn't sunflower seed butter good? And, there's nothing better than being headache-free! No having to deal with medications and timing, or having to worry about when your next headache will hit. It's quite liberating to be free, isn't it? Congratulations! It is always nice to hear success stories.
ReplyDeleteI also started the diet cold turkey style for about a wk now & been headache free for about 2 days. I use to take Advil 2-3x's a day every day now I haven't taken any since I started [been kind of hard but no rebounding headaches]. Sometimes it feels weird not having a headache [not really].
ReplyDeleteMy family thinks I've gone overboard with my diet but if it helps control these headaches, I tell them "whatever", lol.
Just got a question since everyone here has been on the 1-2-3 program for a while. Did you feel nauseous, slight dizzy and have a upset stomach when you first started the program? Ginger ale helps and it goes away, any advice?
Almost forgot, your cookbook just came in the mail today so I can't wait to try cooking a cheeseburger tomorrow.
So great to see that the diet is beginning to work for you! Some members of my family still have a hard time with it too, but I feel much better, and they feel better about that. Yours probably will too; family always means well. Yes, bubbly sodas can help (trigger-free, of course). I drank them like water in the beginning. Peppermint tea and candy helps also. I hope you like the recipes, and I wish you continued success on the diet.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone hear of 'soy coffee' and if that is a safe alternative? I just started the diet 1 week ago, but am having hard time not having anything in the morning to drink. Is decaf not a trigger for some people?
ReplyDeleteHi Robert, Decaf is not a trigger for many people, so it might be worth trying. There are other alternatives too. I must say I don't know much about the coffee alternatives, as my big addiction was soda. If anyone else has any thoughts, I would love to hear them! Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi, I was wondering if you or anybody on the blog has had any luck finding a pain killer that does not trigger their migraines. I just had my tonsils and adnoids taken out and am in a great deal of pain. I am afraid to take the pain medications because I have not found anything that does not set off my migraines. Thoughts? Btw, had the same problem when I had my csection and ended up taking tylenol with codeine, it didnt help much and bothered my migraines
ReplyDeleteheidi,
ReplyDeletei just read the 123 book. it sound very scary to give up my daily meds along with my imetrex. can you do the diet with out giving up the meds and it will work or do you need to do it all together to have success. also is there a place i can find a list of foods that are good and a list of foods that are not.
tasha
Heidi, I am suffering from rebound from Imitrex and it really has gotten out of control. Day 2 is today-I have a migraine but am determined not to given in. Eliminating all the triggers will eventually help but I have to get away from Imitrex-it has gotten to the point where it is not working anylonger-scary. Looking for support. Sandra
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