Migraine Headaches Support Group

I saw my doctor this week and talked to him about my migraines. He said that long term daily use of Excedrin for Migraines or Ibuprofin is going to cause problems -- possibly stomach ulcers or liver problems.

Excedrin is acetaminophen -- bad for liver in large doses, aspirin -- rough on the stomach, and caffeine. You are at even greater risk for severe side effects if you drink alcohol while taking Excedrin.

Maybe you can find a less dangerous alternative to help you get a handle on the migraine pain?

But I don't know.... I am not in daily pain. That has to be rough to deal with.

My nuro dr says excedrin migraine is bad. Is causes rebound headaches. If you are having daily headaches I would suggest a specialist in migraines so they can start you on preventative medication. That would be the first next step to try. Good luck.

Also, they have other meds if imitrex doesn't work for you. Relpax, maxalt,

2chronic -- that makes sense about the rebound headaches. Could just be from the caffeine in Excedrin Plus.

i've noticed rebound headaches with excedrin even after taking one dose. i'm realizing that i have to take more each time i use it because its like my body gets used to the previous dose. i've also tried imitrex and think the off brand is like sumatriptan or something. i didnt find those helpful either and with the sumatriptan it says to take more if your headache isnt getting any better- and how long can u do that for? i'd love to find something that works also birdie.

Dear 2birdie, i swear by excedrin. It can stop a migraine if caught early. It is easy for someone who does not have dailey headaches to tell others what to do. I have taken it most of my life, but i can't recommend that everyone do it. You don't say if you take anything else. If you are having them dailey like i do you really should be on some things that might help. Even some pain meds. I know what your are going thru and it is horrible. Please talk to your doc. and if he has nothing to offer you , you need to find one who will. Big Hug

I had daily migraine headaches for 3 years, and I tried a lot of different OTC's and prescriptions drugs.
If you are taking 3 to 5 Excedrine pills a day, and your headache comes back the next day, then it's not working. That's what happened to me! I thought great, finally a drug that works, it takes my headache away. Well, when I saw my Neuro, he said, "the Excedrine was actually causing a Rebound Headache". So, in fact, I was never really getting rid of the migraine in the first place.
Your Doctor can prescribe other prescription drugs you can try besides Imitrex. I started taking Fioricet (without codien), and it worked for me. I also figured out one of my biggest triggers, and as soon as I removed that trigger from my life, I'm down to 5 or 6 migraine headaches a month, instead of 20 to 30.
So, check out all your options.
Good luck to you!

My daily tonic used to be 3 Aleve at a time but not more than twice a day. I tried more too close together once and it was extremely painful on my gastric system. Don't recommend at all!

I think Excedrin Migraine may have some more limitations because of its acetaminophen content. Acetaminophen is hard on your liver. In fact, it can shut it down if you take too much so you should never go against your doctor's advise for dosing on any med containing acetaminophen.

I can't take that particular pharmaceutical because of its aspirin content. I have problems with tinnitus and aspirin use is known to exacerbate the problem.

I agree with what everyone else has said about the rebound headaches and the Excedrin. It also applies to the Aleve so I wouldn't recommend that route either really.

Drugs like Imitrex, Relpax, Maxalt and Fioricet are great for acute pain...if and only if the stop the cycle on the pain. All of them except the Fioricet are considered abortive migraine drugs. Fioricet is more a maintenance drug and is also used for cluster headache pain. If your abortive is not stopping your migraine pain cycle you need a preventative.

If you are already on a preventative, you need to go see your doctor so you guys can look at things like:
-Your current dose
-How long have you been on it
-Is it time to move on to another drug because it just plain isn't working for you

Right now I am on Topamax for my preventative but we just started this round and I am still at a low dose. I am on maintenance (fioricet with codeine) because nothing else seems to help at all. Abortive drugs helps some for a brief period of time but then the pain just comes back.

I am a daily migraine sufferer also. My migraines used to be so "low grade," or so I thought, that I didn't even realize I had a daily migraine.

Right now I am working on finding some more real, permanent solutions for my migraines.

My neuro told me to stay away from Excedrin because it causes rebound migraines. You take it one day and not the other...withdraw from the caffeine and BAM another migraine. Instead of taking that when needed he has me drink caffeine everyday...however I choose...I happen to be a Coke Zero junkie...so thats what I drink everday.

He also has me take 4 advil and a Maxalt at the onset of a headache...not even a migraine. He says that i cant tell the difference between them and if I dont treat them all aggresively then they will just keep coming back. Thats what I do and it works!!

As for the Imatrex...I used to get the same exact side effect. My neuro thought I was crazy and he claimed it was the migraine..NOT the medicine causing my neck pain. But I dont get the crazy neck pain with other migraine meds. And now I dont even get the pain from the Imatrex...so who knows

I can't distinguish between headaches and migraines either. Basically they told that is because I actually don't get the normal tension headaches and sinus headaches. I get migraines and have to treat them as such or suffer the consequences.

I've been learning from the school of hard knocks...