Okay, a question in regard to myself.
In my family my mother had severe migraines. To the point that she took 3 Tylenol 4's 3 times a day to function when she had an attack. These attacks could last over a week.
I suffer from about 2-4 migraines a year, usually lasting about 12 hours max. About 3 weeks ago I had a wisdom tooth pulled and great pain resulted. I found I was having to pop a 400mg ibuprofen (sp) about every 3-4 hours. Since the perscription ran out about a week ago I have been suffering from an off again on again headache that has gone from non-existant to full migraine and back again. My jaw has healed nicely tho.
Question, Could I have become habituated to the painkillers?
Question #2, Could this be a sign of something else.
BTW, I am late 30's with BP in the upper normal ranges, in moderate fitness.

There is such a thing as "rebound headaches." Using headache meds for too long can actually trigger headaches.
I feel for you--I've had migraines and my mother practically lived on Tylenol for years.
Have you looked into alternative treatment for headache pain?

Oh, heck ya. My mother, used biofeedback to lessen her attacks. Me, I found some locally made migraine tea. It helps if I get some into me early during the migraine. Also Peppermint Halo aromatherapy from Saje also is a big big help.
It sounds like it could be the rebound headaches. I hope so. I try to take as few painkillers as possible as I am relatively sure that my mother's high intake of codeine and such scarred her digestive tract which caused the cancer that killed her.

have you tried the migraine meds that are not painkillers?
imitrex, zomig & midrin are the 3 main ones.
painkillers do not help the bloodvessels.
you are getting rebound migraines - mine can last 3 wks.
i started bio-feedback for mine.
watch for your triggers also.

I have always gotten a headache about 6-8 hours after taking ibuprofen, but it took me years to figure it out. In college I would take ibuprofen for cramps once a month. I thought the severe headache I would get was just another of those monthly symptoms until I took ibuprofen for a broken toe and got the same type of headache. I guess I didn't make the connection sooner due to the time lag before the headache started. I have no headache after taking an occasional tylenol or alleve so I just avoid ibuprofen now.
Not sure if this is any help for you.
Kaye

I've rarely used ibuprofen in the past so this could be a reaction to it. The headaches are still coming but they are now down to a level that I can suppress using mental techniques.
Never thought I had migraines often enough to get a perscription for something else. I will have to see what my triggers, if any, are.

I found that I was salicylate intolerant and you could be too. If you read the bottle of your ibuprofen, it says that although it isn't a salicylate, if you are salicylate intolerant, you shouldn't use the product. So I can't take any ASA (asprin), or ibuprofen without getting headaches. BTW, this means I can't eat or drink natural salicylates either.
Esther