9th December 2002
Hi Bitsy,
Just in case you didn't know, Fioricet is made up of aceteminophen (tylenol), butalbital (a barbituate) and I believe it has some caffeine in it as well. It also comes with codeine is you see it as Fioricet C1/2.
Substitute the acet. for aspirin and you also have the combinations under Fiorinal.
There is also something out there without caffeine.
From my experiences over the last 25 years or so, more headache sufferers have had problems with this med. (the butalbital) than any of the others.
Butalbital is not an opiod, it is a barbituate. With opiods you can stop taking them 'cold turkey'. The dose and how long you have been taking the opioid will determine how awful you will feel, but it won't kill you.
Barbituates are different. It is dangerous to stop taking this drug 'cold turkey'. How many per month have you been taking? How long have you been taking them? Has the amount been increasing every month or two? Do you get them from your Dr.? Has he said anything to you about them? Do you take them at times when you don't have a headache?
There are alot of people that have taken this med. for decades and not run into any problems with it. It can be very effective for the pain of bad headaches. Many start taking it for the right reasons but find that it gives them energy, makes them more social and a whole list of other things so they keep taking it and take it when they don't have a headache.
If you are experiencing bad symptoms when you stop taking it, chances are your body has become 'dependant' on it. If you are only taking it when you are in bad pain and want to stop taking it, I would suggest that you go and see an 'addictionologist'. If your Dr. is experienced tapering people off of this med. then he/she would be great. Some Dr.'s don't even know that it must be tapered so you should be careful about that.
If you have been taking it for more energy (a buzz) or for reasons other than bad headache pain (you like the 'feeling' that you get with it), then you may/are 'addicted' to it - as well as 'dependant' on it.
Tapering this medication (taking smaller and smaller doses over longer and longer periods of time) can be real tough if you are addicted. Some Dr.'s will suggest a detox problem or detoxing in a hospital. Some will let you try to 'get off' of it at home and offer suggestions like letting your signifigant other hold your meds. and dole them out to you at an agreed upon schedule.
If you are depandant or addicted don't beat yourself up over it, it happens much more than you would think! You just need to deal with it and try some other meds. to treat your headache.
If none of the above applies to you it really does sound like you are getting 'rebound' headaches. This med. is also a big culprit when it comes to rebound headaches. Have you seen a neurologist? Have you been given a diagnosis? If not then that is what you need to do right away. You really need to rule out some things and know if you are getting migraines or ?? Most will do an MRI and/or CAT scan.
There is much information out there regarding rebound headaches. The way that most headache specialists check to see if they are rebound headaches means stopping ALL analgesics for a certain amount of time (depending on the Dr. usually 12 - 16 weeks). That means stopping the Fioricet as well as any other type of analgesic like simple aspirin or tylenol. Your Dr. will be able to give you other meds. to take but your headaches will get worse, before they get better.
Many bad headache sufferers disagree over the percentage of headaches that are rebounds. They think that the percentage of rebound headaches is much much lower than what many Dr.'s say. There seems to be no question that some do get rebound headaches but that the figure is much lower than what "they" think.
I'll let you answer this post rather than writing a short story!! Please understand that I'm not accusing you of anything or judging you, just trying to help.
Woody
[This message has been edited by woodstock (edited 12-09-2002).]
Just in case you didn't know, Fioricet is made up of aceteminophen (tylenol), butalbital (a barbituate) and I believe it has some caffeine in it as well. It also comes with codeine is you see it as Fioricet C1/2.
Substitute the acet. for aspirin and you also have the combinations under Fiorinal.
There is also something out there without caffeine.
From my experiences over the last 25 years or so, more headache sufferers have had problems with this med. (the butalbital) than any of the others.
Butalbital is not an opiod, it is a barbituate. With opiods you can stop taking them 'cold turkey'. The dose and how long you have been taking the opioid will determine how awful you will feel, but it won't kill you.
Barbituates are different. It is dangerous to stop taking this drug 'cold turkey'. How many per month have you been taking? How long have you been taking them? Has the amount been increasing every month or two? Do you get them from your Dr.? Has he said anything to you about them? Do you take them at times when you don't have a headache?
There are alot of people that have taken this med. for decades and not run into any problems with it. It can be very effective for the pain of bad headaches. Many start taking it for the right reasons but find that it gives them energy, makes them more social and a whole list of other things so they keep taking it and take it when they don't have a headache.
If you are experiencing bad symptoms when you stop taking it, chances are your body has become 'dependant' on it. If you are only taking it when you are in bad pain and want to stop taking it, I would suggest that you go and see an 'addictionologist'. If your Dr. is experienced tapering people off of this med. then he/she would be great. Some Dr.'s don't even know that it must be tapered so you should be careful about that.
If you have been taking it for more energy (a buzz) or for reasons other than bad headache pain (you like the 'feeling' that you get with it), then you may/are 'addicted' to it - as well as 'dependant' on it.
Tapering this medication (taking smaller and smaller doses over longer and longer periods of time) can be real tough if you are addicted. Some Dr.'s will suggest a detox problem or detoxing in a hospital. Some will let you try to 'get off' of it at home and offer suggestions like letting your signifigant other hold your meds. and dole them out to you at an agreed upon schedule.
If you are depandant or addicted don't beat yourself up over it, it happens much more than you would think! You just need to deal with it and try some other meds. to treat your headache.
If none of the above applies to you it really does sound like you are getting 'rebound' headaches. This med. is also a big culprit when it comes to rebound headaches. Have you seen a neurologist? Have you been given a diagnosis? If not then that is what you need to do right away. You really need to rule out some things and know if you are getting migraines or ?? Most will do an MRI and/or CAT scan.
There is much information out there regarding rebound headaches. The way that most headache specialists check to see if they are rebound headaches means stopping ALL analgesics for a certain amount of time (depending on the Dr. usually 12 - 16 weeks). That means stopping the Fioricet as well as any other type of analgesic like simple aspirin or tylenol. Your Dr. will be able to give you other meds. to take but your headaches will get worse, before they get better.
Many bad headache sufferers disagree over the percentage of headaches that are rebounds. They think that the percentage of rebound headaches is much much lower than what many Dr.'s say. There seems to be no question that some do get rebound headaches but that the figure is much lower than what "they" think.
I'll let you answer this post rather than writing a short story!! Please understand that I'm not accusing you of anything or judging you, just trying to help.
Woody
[This message has been edited by woodstock (edited 12-09-2002).]