Headache Relief ?

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chastecl
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Headache Relief ?

Post by chastecl »

Anyone,

I read somewhere that I should avoid Ibuprofen, Advil, Aleve, Aspirin, etc. I think they are called NSAIDS. What can I possibly take instead? I had a dental visit for routine teeth cleaning and check-up for a crown/implant procedure this morning and ended up with a bad headache when I returned home from doing a couple hours of shopping afterward. I do have a tendency to get migraine headaches when I am extremely nerved up about something and visits to a dentist have triggered them on more than one occasion with me. Tylenol, although I have no sensitivity to it, just has never cut the pain as well as Advil, Aleve, for me. Aspirin, I do know irritates my stomach. Do I need to increase my dosage of Tylenol or is there something else OTC that may work better?

Otherwise, I'm still doing well with the Entocort and it was a relief to know I wouldn't have to interrupt my appointment to run find a bathroom :)

Thanks,

Carol
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Gloria
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Post by Gloria »

I'm glad to read that you're doing well with Entocort. When it works, it's like a miracle medication.

I'm going to quote Tex's response in another thread regarding pain relievers:
For pain relievers, about all we can safely use are acetaminophen, (Tylenol), or one of the opioid-based meds.

A lot of members complain about poor results from Tylenol, but I find that if I take a couple of max-strength capsules, caplets, tablets, or whatever, during or after a meal, (IOW, not on an empty stomach), and before the pain becomes almost unbearable, I get excellent, results. YMMV, of course.
I haven't found much relief using Tylenol myself, but I haven't used Tex's methods.

Gloria
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tex
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Post by tex »

Carol and Gloria,

It doesn't work very well for me, either, unless I stick with the routine mentioned in the quote you posted. In fact, I believe that if I were going to face a situation, (such as a dental procedure), where I was almost guaranteed to end up with a headache, (and other aches and pains), I might try taking it just before going to the appointment for the procedure. That way, the pain would probably be preempted, before it had a chance to develop, and you could take more, after 4 hours, as needed.

Tylenol with codeine, is available by prescription in the United States and Canada, and it's marketed under the name of Tylenol #1/2/3/4, which contain 8-10 mg, 15 mg, 30 mg, and 60 mg of codeine, respectively. I believe the lowest-strength version is available OTC, in Canada, and other strengths may be available OTC in other countries.

If you're interested in a "natural" remedy, boswellia works fairly well for me, but you have to experiment with the dosage, since I haven't seen any dosage recommendations for it, except as a daily supplement. The product that I have experimented with is called 5-Loxin, and it contains 75 mg of boswellia serrata extract per capsule, (these are very small capsules), and the recommended dose per day is 2 capsules. I don't get headaches very often, so I haven't done a very good job so far, of determining an optimum dose. I find that 4 capsules will help to reduce the pain, but I usually have to take more, later, to finish the job.

Tex
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Bifcus16
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Post by Bifcus16 »

Here in Oz we get Panadeine which is paracetamol (acetaminophen) with codeine over the counter. different products go from 8-10 mg of codeine. It's the only stuff that works for DH or me.

Panadeine Forte is stronger and on prescription only. So the trick is to get the doc to prescribe more than you really need (or be strong and not use it all), and keep some in the cupboard for emergencies. Really useful stuff to have on hand.

We can't buy OTC stuff in quantities though - apparently the druggies boil it down to make street drugs so they keep implementing new paperwork rules if you buy more than one packet.

Red wine is the other favourite painkiller, unless you overdo it. :grin:

Lyn
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chastecl
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Location: Birchwood, Wisconsin

Post by chastecl »

Thank you Lyn, Gloria, and Tex for your responses.

Tex, I may just talk to my GI or PCP about prescribing Tylenol with codeine to have on hand. I took it several years ago for knee pain and I know a prescription is required. I don't know why, but I hadn't thought about taking it for headache relief.

Lyn, that is funny that you should mention red wine because I had a glass of red wine last night, found it helped, and I don't have a headache this morning :)

Gloria, I'll give the maximum strength Tylenol a try if I get another headache. Thank you for finding Tex's reference for me. Thankfully, I do not get headaches too frequently.

Carol
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