So for the past 2 weeks the actual headaches have been out of control & whenever they happen the vestibular symptoms get worse, I get more dizzy, the pressure in my head and ears gets unbearable and the depersonalization starts happening, as soon as I take an imitrex the headache stops and the pressure goes away almost completely with the depersonalization and the dizziness go back to the normal not so crazy way but then the next day the cycle repeats itself.
It wasn’t until last night that I found out that Triptans can cause rebound headaches, I only knew about this happening with NSAIDs and now I’m here wondering if this bad daily headaches are just a bad flare up or rebound ones.
It’s not even noon for me and the headaches it’s bad already, the pressure is killer and I had to hold from the walls to go to the bathroom 5 minutes ago, I’m home alone with my 5 year old and I’m so close to taking another imitrex but I don’t want to make things worse if it’s indeed a rebound headache
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It’s so horrible when that happens. Are you on any preventative meds?
About six years back I had chronic almost daily migraine (headache) and started having to take a lot of sumitriptan and sometimes ibuprofen and aspirin on top (advised by GP). When I saw a headache specialist they said that if you need to take six to eight triptans a month then you need a preventative.
When I was using Sumitriptan a lot I did wonder if I was perpetuating the cycle. The specialist claimed the evidence was mixed on tem causing rebound but that the headaches weren’t kept under control.
It seems to be evidence based that triptans do in fact cause rebound headaches. I think this may have been part of my problem this fall when i was having migraine daily/every other day for over 2 months. I think frequent use of excedrin had got me into this cycle (caffeine has a similar effect on the blood vessels in the brain as the rebounding effect in a triptan).
I’m weaning myself off of triptans and all caffeine, along with not taking in any tyramine. Today is day 2 and I’ve been miserable. Excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Heal Your Headache by Dr. Buchholz was strongly recommended by Dr.Rauch at mass eye and ear, and I’m so happy i picked this book up and listen to his recommendations. I feel so much more knowledgeable about my condition and more in control.