Aa
Excedrin
My husband is addicted to Excedrin. He now gets diarrhea a few nights a week and when he doesn't take it he says he gets an unbearable headache/migraine. He says he can't quit because the headache is too unbearable. So instead he just pops immodium to help the diarrhea. How can he quit this?
I came to this website to find out when Excedrin would again be on the shelves. It has been gone now for weeks because of the recall. When I finally had gone through the bottles I had had on the shelf (I am paranoid about running out) , finally looked into generics. Those from Walmart worked best. Like many who have posted here, I too have had migraines since I was a teenager. I have been on all sorts of perscription medications. There IS a difference between my migraines and just a headache. I started unsung Excedrin when they came out with the migraine type. It would often head off a true migraine. This was when Imetrex was costing me well over $250 a perscription with insurance. It was hard to pay the bills. I was often on the injectable type because the pills were too slow working. Then perscription painkillers were added. Only codeine seemed to help. But that didn't't help the vomiting. Couldn't take pills for that. They just cme up again. Then the emergency room costs began to mount up. When I found that 2 Excedrin sometimes headed off a headache before it got so bad to need other remedies, I found myself taking 2 most mornings just so I could get out of bed. But unlike many here there are days when I do not take any. Not many, but a few. I had been wondering if I had become addicted , I do know about rebound headaches. two pills seem to do it for me. It is a very rare day I go looking for 2 more. Now my Imetrex intake is way down, but I think that is because it has gone generic and I am now more able to afford the prescriptions. Psychologically, not having on the drugstore shelf is starting to get to me. So maybe I am addicted after all. The thought of going 3 or more days with migraines really scares me. I'm 65 and small. It doesn't take much to dehydrate me, thus sending me to the emergency room. I guess this is a goog time to try cutting back. Has anyone gotten results by using a fourth less each day. Or half? I'm sure where I would start?
Thank you for sharing!
I cannot remember a time when I did not have migraines, although up until I was about 30 yrs, I did not know that's what they were. I thought everybody had them, just part of living. They were so bad, they would literally put me down. In my youth, my Mother tried to treat them with aspirin, which just made me sick to my stomach, or Tylenol, which did absolutely nothing as far as I could tell. NOTHING would touch my headaches, and because of this, I grew up thinking that all medications were worthless. The only thing I could do for my headaches was hide in a dark room, curl up on a bed or couch, cover my head to keep out noise and light, and SUFFER!
When I married, my wife would try to get me to take drugs to help with headaches or other illnesses, but I refused because I knew they didn't work. After a couple of years, I came down with a cold or flu and was running a high fever. For 3 days this went on. Finally, my wife got tired of me laying in bed while she babied me. She came into my bedroom with a cup of water and a single aspirin, and told me I was going to take it even if she had to cram it down my throat. So, I took it just to please her. I was amazed that within a half hour, my fever had broken, and I was up and around. I recovered from that disease very rapidly after that.
This showed me that medicines do work, they just didn't work on my headaches. But, I cautiously began looking for and trying different medications in the hope I could find one that would work. Then, in my mid-20s, I found Excedrin, and it worked! I am not a coffee drinker or caffeine user, and the first time I tried Excedrin, I took 2 pills. It sent me on a cheap buzz - ears ringing. But it got rid of my headache within a half hour. It was wonderful! After that, I took only a single pill and it would work just as well.
This went on for several years. It was a real BLESSING to me. For the first time in my life, I was relatively headache free. Then, my headaches gradually began to change. I found I would often have to take 2 pills or another dose later in the day to completely kill off a headache. I also started getting more moderate headaches (rebound headaches?) between the killer migraines. The problem was I could not tell at the outset whether the headache I could feel coming on was a moderate one that I could endure, or if it would be a killer migraine. I didn't feel I could take the risk, so I too wound up taking an average of 2 Excedrin every day. This also went on for several years.
Then, between 2000 and 2005, disaster struck. I experienced 3 episodes of serious GI tract bleeding, increasing in severity with each subsequent episode. The last two, I was literally staring Death in the face. The first was relatively mild, turning my stools black as tar for about 10 days, then just going away. The second developed over 3 days, during which time I experienced diarrhea every 20 or 30 minutes or so of blood, almost black grape jelly-like. I lost half my blood before I realized anything was really wrong, and ultimately wound up in ICU. The third developed in a period of 3 HOURS, and I wound up in ICU again for 3 days.
Though the Dr.s never did figure out for sure what was causing the bleeding, they thought it could be the aspirin in the Excedrin, and told me to get off it. The only problem was, Excedrin was the only thing that ever worked on my headaches, and I had no substitute for it. Ultimately, I was prescribed Immitrex and Fioricet. These both worked in some situations, but not always. After being a guinea pig for the Dr.s for a couple of years, I was prescribed regimen of Propranalol and caffeine, which has not stopped my headaches, but it has helped eliminate the migraines. The mild to moderate headaches I have now do respond to common OTC analgesics and are relatively easy to control. I still have to use Excedrin, but rarely.
Was/am I addicted to Excedrin? It would seem so because I took so much of it consistently. But, I don't think I was or am. What I was addicted to was the relief it provided from my migraines. I still thank God for that. I think Excedrin is a real blessing to migraine sufferers. However, assuming it was the aspirin in Excedrin that caused my bleeding, it would be a good idea to find other medications that will work for you on migraines and rotate them with Excedrin to control the headaches. This should help avoid getting addicted to any of the medications, and help avoid any adverse effects from them.
I truly feel for those who suffer such abominable migraine headaches. I know what you are experiencing. May God bless you and remove them from you.
When I married, my wife would try to get me to take drugs to help with headaches or other illnesses, but I refused because I knew they didn't work. After a couple of years, I came down with a cold or flu and was running a high fever. For 3 days this went on. Finally, my wife got tired of me laying in bed while she babied me. She came into my bedroom with a cup of water and a single aspirin, and told me I was going to take it even if she had to cram it down my throat. So, I took it just to please her. I was amazed that within a half hour, my fever had broken, and I was up and around. I recovered from that disease very rapidly after that.
This showed me that medicines do work, they just didn't work on my headaches. But, I cautiously began looking for and trying different medications in the hope I could find one that would work. Then, in my mid-20s, I found Excedrin, and it worked! I am not a coffee drinker or caffeine user, and the first time I tried Excedrin, I took 2 pills. It sent me on a cheap buzz - ears ringing. But it got rid of my headache within a half hour. It was wonderful! After that, I took only a single pill and it would work just as well.
This went on for several years. It was a real BLESSING to me. For the first time in my life, I was relatively headache free. Then, my headaches gradually began to change. I found I would often have to take 2 pills or another dose later in the day to completely kill off a headache. I also started getting more moderate headaches (rebound headaches?) between the killer migraines. The problem was I could not tell at the outset whether the headache I could feel coming on was a moderate one that I could endure, or if it would be a killer migraine. I didn't feel I could take the risk, so I too wound up taking an average of 2 Excedrin every day. This also went on for several years.
Then, between 2000 and 2005, disaster struck. I experienced 3 episodes of serious GI tract bleeding, increasing in severity with each subsequent episode. The last two, I was literally staring Death in the face. The first was relatively mild, turning my stools black as tar for about 10 days, then just going away. The second developed over 3 days, during which time I experienced diarrhea every 20 or 30 minutes or so of blood, almost black grape jelly-like. I lost half my blood before I realized anything was really wrong, and ultimately wound up in ICU. The third developed in a period of 3 HOURS, and I wound up in ICU again for 3 days.
Though the Dr.s never did figure out for sure what was causing the bleeding, they thought it could be the aspirin in the Excedrin, and told me to get off it. The only problem was, Excedrin was the only thing that ever worked on my headaches, and I had no substitute for it. Ultimately, I was prescribed Immitrex and Fioricet. These both worked in some situations, but not always. After being a guinea pig for the Dr.s for a couple of years, I was prescribed regimen of Propranalol and caffeine, which has not stopped my headaches, but it has helped eliminate the migraines. The mild to moderate headaches I have now do respond to common OTC analgesics and are relatively easy to control. I still have to use Excedrin, but rarely.
Was/am I addicted to Excedrin? It would seem so because I took so much of it consistently. But, I don't think I was or am. What I was addicted to was the relief it provided from my migraines. I still thank God for that. I think Excedrin is a real blessing to migraine sufferers. However, assuming it was the aspirin in Excedrin that caused my bleeding, it would be a good idea to find other medications that will work for you on migraines and rotate them with Excedrin to control the headaches. This should help avoid getting addicted to any of the medications, and help avoid any adverse effects from them.
I truly feel for those who suffer such abominable migraine headaches. I know what you are experiencing. May God bless you and remove them from you.
Has anyone found any other OTC Meds to help with the headaches while weaning themselves off of excedrine?
I, too, am addicted to excedrine. I hate to admit it, but sadly, it's true. I am really ashamed by how many excedrine I take in a day. Honestly, I don't really know. I buy the generic walmart brand, the double pack. It has a couple hundred pills in a box. I buy a couple boxes every 1-2 months. I take 2 pills in the morning, 2 more a couple hours later, more a while later and before I go to bed. I also wake up during the night most nights and have to take 2 more. I hate having headaches all the time, but even more, I hate taking all the pills. I have stomach issues, get diarrhea, constipated, feel tired all the time, my memory isn't as good anymore. I have talked to a doctor before about seeing if there was something he could do to help me get away from excedrine, but he didn't seem interested. I also get bad migraines and have TMJ.
I have been taking Execedrin fro 40 years. I did not know it was addictive. Any time I have brought it up to a Dr. they have told me just to stop. My headaches get so severe I always go back. The first thing I do in the morning when I get up is take 2. I used to take about 6 in my younger days but I thought I was doing better now by just taking 2 in the morning and every once in a while 1 in the afternoon. I have had Ulcer surgery but the worst thing are these headaches if I do not take my Excedrin. Thank everyone for your posts. I know I have to stop.
You are reading content posted in the Addiction: Living with an Addict Community
Is treating glaucoma with marijuana all hype, or can hemp actually help?
If you think marijuana has no ill effects on your health, this article from Missouri Medicine may make you think again.
Julia Aharonov, DO, reveals the quickest way to beat drug withdrawal.
Tricks to help you quit for good.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
