I have taken it for about a year. I take it at least once per day, but I wanted to quit taking the vicodin that the doctor wanted me to take. The headaches started way before the fioricet. It just helps enough to let me go through with my life. I am always tired though, with or without the medication.
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Q: What do I use if Fioricet is one of the only things that works to ease the pain?
Answers (2)
7/19/09 10:51pm
Hi Cortney,
Continued daily use of fioricet or Migraine abortive medications such as the triptans or ergotamines -- prescription or over-the-counter -- more than two or three days a week can make matters worse by causing medication overuse headache (MOH), aka rebound. See Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires for more information on this. You may need your doctors help to stop taking this medication so your withdrawal will be slow or you will sentence yourself to a life of head pain, I'm sorry to say.
Another problem may be Transformed Migraine. Research has shown the nearly 80% of MOH is a factor in Transformed Migraine. For more information continue reading here: Stopping Medication Overuse Can Halt Transformed Migraine. More inportant information to read is in this article: Transformed Migraine - Risk Increased by Some Medications for more information on this.
I hope this helps,
Nancy
8/30/09 10:21am
Cortney,
Personally, I think that just taking one will not be an issue. I have found that Fiorinal 3 is about the only medication that wipes away my migraines. I do not get them daily but after 3 days of NO relief from Imitex or Zomig, etc I had had it. Plus the expense kills our budget! Who has time. That narcotics is NOT a strong either. AS long as you are not abusing it, getting it from your DR, then you are OK. You are smart enough to know what works and what doesn't . I am sure you have tried all the other meds. I continue to, but to be honest if I have to teach and I am hit with a migraine at 3 am I take my fiorinal....I have to. I also have a toddler and am a mostly stay-at home older mom. I had the best neurologist in SD before moving south and she was so understanding. Now, I have been to three in the big city I live in now. NONE of them have ever had OUR PAIN and I am now looking elsewhere. I do use TOPAMAX and I think I have some relief but it is also "STUPAMX" to me....I am more forgetful and confused and I lose things, but less headaches.
I have several DR relative, too, and they tell me in moderation its not a bad thing. I would suggest you still try the imitrex, etc....even with some of the side effects...that bothers me....I get very nauseaed and it doesn't totally wipe the headache. BUT, YOU NEED TO TAKE WHAT WORKS, as my SD DR told me. that always stuck when my DR wanted to give me a shot that never works and IV's that were a waste of time and money.
I put up a blog up myself. Hopefully we can keep up to date. I wish you the best. I hate pills......but I KNOW WE NEED THEM TO GET THROUGH THE DAY. PEOPLE DO NOT GET IT, TOO BAD, HUH??
hang in there!
~~~~ arty jules ~~~~~
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Well, I'm trying to post this again...I just tried to reply and it looked like it was going thru just fine but I don't see it so I don't think it worked for some strange reason.
I've had Migraines since I was an infant and they steadily got worse and worse and more frequent until Nov. 26, 2008 when they crossed that line and became a constant migraine.
I went to one of our country's top Migraine hospitals in 2010. There I learned that Migraines are a progressive disease and that I now have Transformed Migraine NOT due to medication over-use. I also was informed by them that about 20% of Migraine suffers in this catagory can't be helped much. Indeed that was the case for me...they tried several IV combinations, injection therapies and oral medications. I've tried accupuncture and I'm currently having weekly sessions with a wonderful Pain Management Therapist. After working on me for 17 days, they discharged me with an aresenal of pills and an apology. I came home broken, depressed, terrified and hopless. Because of the therapist, I'm less angry & bitter about it all and have better emotional coping tools but I still have a constant headache. It never quits. The pain is never reduced to the stage where I can say that I can just ignore it. I've tried so many medications that I can't even remember the names of them all. A few are: Midirn, Imitrex, Relpax, Topomax, Depakote, Baclofen, Xanaflex, Amytriptaline, Neurontin, Maxalt. I know there's more but I can't recall the names right now. I'm currently in the search for a new head-ache specialist because the one I have isn't helping & is having an attitude that I can no longer deal with..plus she's an NP and I think I'm just way over her head. A few months ago I was so insane with pain that instead of going to the ER, I raided my medicine cabinet for something, anything that would just knock me out for a while. I found some Fioricet and took it. It didn't 'wipe out' the pain but it did get me off the ceiling. I told my head-ache 'person' about it and she gave me an rx to take it 3 days of the week and that's it. No back up plan, no preventative. I can't stand living this way...it gets so bad that I can't work but I have to work because I need the income and insurance. This pain has robbed me of life & joy and time...something I can never get back. I've gained weight because the pain gets so much worse when I exercise or play and I have nothing to take. I'm down to working thru the day and going home and laying in bed with ice on my head just to make it through the night. Before they became constant I never noticed the weather affecting the Migraines but boy has that ever changed!! Now, every time the weather changes the pain is outrageous!! My therapist suggested I try taking 1 Fioricet each day for a short time just to give me a bit more of a break but my head-ache person won't do it. It's truly sickening how ignorant our medical community is on this subject and what's worse is their continued arrogance even in the face of their lack of knowledge, understanding and compassion. I don't want to commit suicide but I'm indeed at the point where I say life sucks and I'm not opposed to it ending. I'm feeling very much at my wit's end, I feel hopeless and helpless. I'm not sure I have the strength to try to see a new head-ache specialist because I'm beginning to have dr ptsd!