Sunday, May 27, 2012

I gave up coffee, hoping to get rid of "caffeine rebound headaches."

By dianacwolf Friday, February 08, 2008

Well, every year I give up something for Lent.  

 

But, I must admit I'm a bit selfish about it.

 

I always pick something that I think will be beneficial for me in battling my migraines and fibromyalgia, while also being extremely challenging.

 

Two years ago, I gave up chocolate, thinking this could be a migraine trigger.  I don't think it is for me, but it did make for a good 40 (46) days of dietary discipline.

 

Last year, I gave up wheat for Lent.  Whoa.  That one was truly tricky.  Grains, grains, are everywhere!  My stomach hurts all the time, so I thought I'd do a wheat-elimination diet, even though I've tested negative for celiac's disease.  I lost a few pounds, my jeans fit better, and I felt more energetic overall.  But, well, wheat certainly isn't a migraine trigger for me, (although from a fibromyalgia point of view, I probably should stay away from them.)

 

Ah, so what to give up this year?  Well, I've been a member of this migraine board for a couple of months now-- mainly lurking, but occasionally creating a sharepost or two.  I've learned a great deal more about migraine disease, (like the fact that migraine is a disease,) and I learned more about rebound headaches.  

 

I already knew I was causing myself rebound headaches by my overuse of over-the-counter (OTC) medications.  But, since I don't take Vicodin, Ultram or any other prescription painkillers anymore, well, what other options do I have when my head starts threatening to detonate?  I still have to care for my kindergartener, and I can't very well take out my pain-filled temper on him, (although, regretably, I have snapped at him more than once for making "too much noise," as I get extremely phono-sensitive.)

 

I generally ALWAYS wake up with a headache.  I have ever since October of 1987.  Weird how I can pinpoint the date like that.  But, that's when the headaches started.  And, they never left.  Caffeine/Excedrin helped with the morning headache, along with a cocktail of Tylenol/Ibuprofen/Sudafed or Motrin/Aleve, etc., whatever was around.

 

But, around 2 PM, my headache always came back, which is most unfortunate, because I pick my son up from school at 2:15.  So, I was just getting irritable at the time when he wanted my love and attention after a long day at school.  Ugggh.  So, I'd take two more Excedrin, any migraine medication I had on hand, (lately I've had Maxalt,) (prior to Maxalt, it was the same OTC cocktail as in the mornings,) and I headed off to school to pick him up.  The sun would seem so incredibly bright, and I'm not usually photo-sensitive.  But, somehow, just for those 2 PM headaches, the sun really bothered me.  

 

The afternoons seemed incredibly long.  My son gets an extra large homework load since he is in a special Dual-Language Immersion program and must do all homework in two languages.  He's tired from school, (he also has Pediatric (Juvenile) Fibromyalgia), and often resists doing the homework, wanting me to do it.  I remind him that I've already passed kindergarten, and he is not playing with his friends until the homework is done.  It doesn't help that the neighborhood kids are knocking on the door every 15 minutes asking: "Is Alex done with his homework yet?"  (They all get less homework then he does, so are done sooner.)

2/ 8/08 6:07pm

Diana,

I personally think you are a saint to give up coffee and have child in kindergarden.  I could not have done it.  I have two teenagers and am having trouble doing it.  I'm down to two cups in the morning and think I've done a grand job. 

 

I can't comment on the religious aspects of the days off with Lent, but just for giving things up, I find it easier just to do without then to have it occasionally. 

 

If this helps your migraines or the fibromyalgia, go for it.  Otherwise, I feel like I have so few vices left, I need one or two.  I'm hanging on to coffee for as long as I can.

 

Good luck,

Cindy

2/ 8/08 7:49pm

I find that part of my enjoyment of "coffee" is simply having a warm mug in my hands in the morning.  I have Raynaud's Syndrome as a secondary thingie to fibromyalgia, (ah, syndrome, that was the word I was looking for,) and my fingertips (and every other part of me) are always chilly.  

 

So, I have been drinking "Trader Joe's European Drinking Chocolate" in the morning.  Yes, there is a slight bit of caffeine in chocolate, but nothing like the amount in coffee.  And, I gave up coffee for Lent, not caffeine.  So, I have been enjoying my morning cup of coffee, topping it off with a generous wollop of Trader Joe's whipped cream, (I like to use their whipped cream because it does not contain trans-fats or partially hydrogenated oils.)  With both fibromyalgia and migraines, I try to stay as far away from yucky, bad ingredients as possible.  Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are about the only places that carry a good selection of foods without the cheap, really-bad-for-you preservatives, (many of which I think can be migraine triggers.)  Whole Foods is expensive.  Trader Joe's is wonderfully inexpensive, so it's off to Joe's I go for my healthy stuff...

 

So far, it's been a lot easier to give up coffee than I thought it would be.  I even had to go to a coffee house yesterday to use their Internet connection.  I was doing a freelance article for a newspaper and my Internet connection at home went down.  Ugggh.  I had to get the article transmitted in time to meet a deadline. So, I went in and ordered a freshly-made "Italian sparkling soda," (quite delicious, actually,) rather than coffee, and enjoying sipping this while my email transmitted. - Diana 

2/ 8/08 6:22pm

Good for you for deciding to do something good for yourself for Lent. Expecially since you're now Lutheran.

 

I went about 15 years without caffeine. Gave it up my second semester of law school. My head was just getting out of control, and I'd read that caffeine could make headaches worse. So I weaned down. Cut out afternoon coffee/Tab (YEARS before Diet Coke), then down to one cup of coffee in the morning, then switched to tea. When I finally gave it all up, I had the shakes for a week.

 

Later in the semester, while studying for finals, I got sleepy and decided to drink a Tab. I had a headache for a week. I decided that I'd just take a short nap when I got sleepy.

 

Are you taking a preventive? It sounds like you could benefit from one. I'm sure you've read on the site about the risks of rebound headaches from using a pain killer more than 2 or 3 times a week? Rebound is real, and it's miserable to get out of, but things really are better. It took me about 3 weeks to get over Tylenol, aspirin, Midrin everyday. My son was older than yours, 3rd or 4th grade, but he had ADHD, which made homework and schoolwork a challenge, even with medication and behavior modification.

 

I liked being off caffeine. When the alarm sounded, I woke up AWAKE! No wandering around waiting for the coffee to brew. I started back when my neurologist recommended that I have a little caffeine with my painkiller. I have a cup in the morning. I've stopped my afternoon diet cola.

 

I'm thrilled for your pre-schooler. Two languages!

 

Best of luck! Come over to the Forum!

 

 Gretchen in Mississippi

2/ 8/08 7:54pm

The Lutherans still do Lent, but they just have this weird thing about not doing Lent on Sundays.  I've been going to the Lutheran church for three years now, and it still strikes me as incredibly odd to give something up for Lent, EXCEPT for Sundays.  If the whole purpose of Lent is to imitate Jesus going into the desert for 40 days, did Jesus come out of the desert on Sundays and take the day off?  Seriously...

 

Whatever, won't turn this into a religious debate, as its not the place for it...

 

You're right about giving up the Tylenol and all that.  What's the best way to wean down?

 

I am on several preventatives actually, but I still get headaches, (probably because of the muscle spasms related to fibromyalgia.)  I take Topamax, which definitely helps, Flexeril, Valium (as needed), and Wellbutrin (which probably helps the fibro more than the migraines.)

 

I tried going off both the Topamax and the Wellbutrin last summer to see if I could manage my headaches without medication....

 

Nope!

 

Migraines slammed me back with full-force, and I weaned myself off the medications, under a doctor's supervision, slowly, just the way you are supposed to.  Still got slammed, slammed, slammed with migraines, which shows me my body is not ready to be off these preventatives.

 

I had hoped my body was sufficiently cleared of fibromyalgia (I'm on the Guai Protocol) to give up my migraine preventatives, but I guess I have to be more patient.  I may try again this summer.  Guess it will be a good way to gauge how far I am on the Protocol.

 

Hey, so tell me about this forum of yours? - Diana 

2/ 9/08 9:48am

First of all, Diana, we would love to have you at the forum!  To get there, hold your mouse under Manage or Connect at the top of the page, and a menu will come down.  Click on Migraine Forums.  At the top right of the folder list, you will see Log In/Sign Up.  Click there and follow the instructions.  You will register again--it is separate from registration for this page--but you can use the same info to register.  We would love to have you!  You will find the forum a place where reliable information is shared, and support is given and received.

 

Before you try to wean off your Tylenol (or anything else), have a frank conversation with your doctor about Medication Overuse Headaches.  Click on the blue words to see an article about this type of headache.  There may be things your doctor can do to improve your quality of life while you go off the Tylenol.  So long as you take the Tylenol, be aware that going above the recommended dosage can be toxic.

 

Take care of yourself, have a wonderful Lent, and join us on the forum.

2/ 9/08 12:50pm

Hi Nutcracker!

 

Thanks!  Will do!  I'll follow your instructions and sign up on the forum.

 

Yes, I'm constantly wondering when I'm going to poison myself with Tylenol, as I know it's the #1 preferred method of suicide in England.

 

This year, I had a bit of a scare when I got my blood work back from my annual physical.  My epgr score (or some acronym like that) was in the red zone, rather than normal levels.  So, of course, I googled it, and it came up on all these cancer sites, and also as being a kidney failure thing.  (It also said if I were an African American female, these readings would be normal, because I could multiply my results by 1.6.  I'm afraid I'm of German-Irish descent, so I wasn't off the hook yet.)  So, I looked up what these results would mean on the kidney side of things.  Well, it said if you overuse medications like Tylenol, your kidneys could fail.  Yes, well, I certainly do that, and have done so for the past 20 years, since my migraines started.  Well, according to my numbers, I was in Stage 3 kidney failure, which was irreversible, and would eventually mean death,without a kidney transplant.

 

Naturally, I was a bit concerned, and called my doctor...

 

Turned out, it was all because I had not fasted before my physical. (The nurse had forgotten to mention this to me.)  I had eaten a bowl of oatmeal, had a chocolate latte, (hadn't given up coffee yet, at that point,) and taken my usual medications, and had a whole bottle of water.  Well, all that was enough to TOTALLY throw those test results off.  Because all of my other levels were perfectly normal, it indicated that I definitely did NOT have any kidney problems.

 

Whew!

 

Sure scared me though and made me realize I really do need to stop popping so many Tylenol each day.

 

I keep a bottle in my car, in my purse, in my bedroom, in the kitchen...

 

You get the idea...

 

2/ 9/08 3:37pm
Diana, please take a look at this article that Teri wrote, about one mother's loss of her daughter to an acetaminophen overdose: A Mother's Plea - The Dangers of Acetaminophen Overdose. This is a very serious risk - please talk to your doctor about coming off the Tylenol.
2/ 9/08 6:29pm

This is an awesome article!  I am going to add it to my blog. (www.surfercouple.com)  (Nothing commercial there, just my family pictures and my blog.)  thank you for sharing.

 

I had thought I was doing the right thing by getting off all the prescription painkillers and just doing OTCs, but this is a pretty eye-opening article.

 

Perhaps I should consider going back on Ultram (the only thing my doctor will prescribe for pain) rather than Tylenol.  I also alternative between Ibuprofen and Naproxen Sodium.  I cannot take aspirin because I am on the Guaifenesin Protocol, (aspirin blocks it.) - Diana

 

Anonymous
Michelle
1/16/10 10:46pm

I take magnesium , riboflavin, and butterbur for my preventatives. I tried topamax and other pharacueticals....made me so sick! It was as bad as the headaches and added nausea am incapacitated me. The supplements have been great. I get small headaches...and I take RELPAX if I feel a migraine coming. My nuerologist worked with me and I have found the natural route to be the most effective.

 

Good luck to you. M

1/18/10 11:57am

I've found Magnesium to be extremely helpful as well.  Most everyone I know with migraines (and also, fibromyalgia), is lacking in Magnesium.  Being low in Magnesium can trigger headaches/migraines, as well as wreak havoc in the digestive system.

 

Magnesium does wonders, as does Magnesium with Malic Acid.  Both are a simple, natural way to correct a lot of oogey things in the body. - Diana

 

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By dianacwolf— Last Modified: 09/04/10, First Published: 02/08/08