I think I've had one the last few days...thing is, I read up about them on google and it says that rebound headaches are a symptom of withdrawl.....if you've been regularly taking pain meds and obruptly stop then that is when you get the rebound headache. Well, I've been taking tramadol (and some lortab & ultracet here and there) for pain....for probably the last 10 months. I've stopped before and did go thru a light withdrawl but I've been on them daily for the last month and just started getting this headache a few days ago. It's dull and the more pain meds I take for it, it just doesn't get any better. It's quite persistant. So it sounds like rebound headache but I never stopped taking any meds for there to be a REBOUND, make sense? Could it be from taking too many pills? I just don't know what to do for it.....I'm also on penicillin right now but my doc doesn't know about me taking the tramadol and lortabs for pain so I don't want to call him and ask. I swear it feels like my head is either in pain or on the verge of being in pain for the majority of the month and I just don't get it. I've never had headaches up untill this last year I also have an infection in my tooth on the same side where the pain is the worst (why Im on penicillin) and I am getting a root canal on monday.....could the infection in my tooth be related to the headaches?
yeah, I am begininng to think they are very much related to one another. I had my root canal this morning so with the infection now gone, we will see.
IMO, as a long time migraine sufferer and chronic pain patient, is that "Rebound Headaches" are way too over diagnosed. They give doctors with no courage the ability not only to blame the patient for her pain, but to refuse prescribing helpful opiate meds and things like Fiorinal with the "Rebound" excuse. My Neurologist says that Rebound can be tested in seven to 14 days. If after this time, with no analgesics, you are still in pain, you do not have Rebound headaches. He used to beleive in Rebound as a common phenomenon, now he is more cautious. I adore the man, he does his homework and never stops learning. He listens not only to the latest research, but listens to his patients, also.
I do hear of rebound headaches some with overuse of barbituates. Fiorinal and Fioricet each contain a barbituate, butalbital. I have also heard of them occuring with the overuse of triptans, such as Imitrex, Axert, Zomig, etc. I haven't really heard of them from narcotics.
Some doctors blame them on anything. The infamous Dr Diamond, in Chicago, puts people in the hosptial for weeks to "Detox" and eliminate "rebound" for people who take Excedrine every day. He NEVER prescribes opiates, even if you are dying from pain.
