Migraine Headaches Support Group

Migraine is a neurological disease, of which the most common symptom is an intense and disabling episodic headache. Migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head and are often accompanied by photophobia (hypersensitivity to light), phonophobia (hypersensitivity to sound) and nausea.

1,556 Members
3,347 Posts
0 Online
Brain & Nervous System
/ Migraine Headaches Support Group

over the counter medication

daninflorida
daninflorida
I take a lot of generic type Excedrin and it's part of my day - works for a while, but not long enough. I know part of this is very likely "rebound" but it's hard to do without. It's been tearing up my stomach and I found "Vanquish" in the store that says "coated" on the box but it's not enteric coated, it's coated to make it easier to swallow, as if that were necessary. So does anyone know of an enteric coated Excedrin-type product or any over-the-counter that's not so hard on the stomach and offers some relief?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Be careful. I use Excedrin from time to time. My dad was a big Excedrin user and that's all he would use. He also thought it would help thinning the blood for heart disease too. One day he began vomiting blood and was taken by ambulance to the hospital and he has developed bleeding stomach ulcers from the constant use of Excedrin over many years.
22Lynn
22Lynn
I have GERD from using Excedrin for years. I don't know of any "coated" type pill out there. Webmd says to take 4 Advil, 2 Tylenol, and a cup of black coffee to imitate that effect at the very beginning of your headache. None of that will effect your stomach.

I saw a new neurologist yesterday who wants me off all pain meds and sumatriptans because of rebound effects while he tries to figure out why I still have migraines. I don't know how I'm going to do this again. I've done it once, and still had headaches afterwards. I'm not sure how were suppose to get through each day in pain. My last neurologist said I would probably have migraines the rest of my life.
YvetteK
YvetteK
Actually, any type of NSAID can cause stomach irritation. So ibuprophen, alleve, and prescription NSAIDS do have some risk of stomach irritation. Not as much as aspirin, but some. It just has to be used in moderation.

As stated above, you really have to be careful about your intake of Excedrin. I've already had ulcers on two different occasions from the overuse of aspirin and NSAIDS. I have the beginnings of barrett's esophagus. That's a big risk factor in esophageal cancer.

I have used vanquish before, and it's no better. I don't know of any "coated" pain reliever that would help. I think back in the day, Bufferin was supposed to be easy on the stomach, but it really wasn't.

The other thing you have to consider when taking so much excendrin is how much tylenol you are consuming. In 2 tablets, there is 500 mg of tylenol. I don't know how many times a day you take it, but anything over 3000 mg of tylenol in a day is toxic to your liver.

Instead of looking for a coated pain reliever, get on something like nexium or aciphex. Or you can get OTC prilosec or previcid. I get previcid in bulk from a canadian pharmacy, and I take 30 mg 2x per day, which is actually prescription strength because I take so much aspirin, and I don't want to end up with a 3rd ulcer. So there are other ways of protecting your stomach, you just have to do a little research. Good luck!