MOH how did you get through it?

MOH is real and can be very painful - have you had it and how did you get out of it?

With me once I realised the painkillers weren't actually doing anything I just stopped.

It was more a habit than anything, so no withdrawal problems. Turned out I didn't have MOH anyway just a permanent migraine BUT what it did do was rule out MOH and let the other drugs try and do their job.
Also if I limit my painkillers to 2 days per week or less they do now actually give me some relief.

I cannot stress how important it is not to over use drugs like codine, asprin and paracetamol.

2 days per week max..just think about the consequences to you stomach and renal function...just coz they are over the counter meds doesn't mean you can down them like smarties.

Take care
x

I knew I had it for some time, but didn't do anything about it (due to trying to function at work) until it got to the point where I was taking the maximum dose of Nurofen Plus every day, and even setting the alarm to wake up at about 4 am, so I could get my first dose in, plus a little extra sleep, before I woke up.

I even used to find that I needed to rotate the chemists I was buying the painkillers from, in case they picked up on the frequency of my visits. That felt terrible - like I was an addict, rather than someone who was just in terrible pain.

It then got to the point where they really weren't working well anymore, and I wasn't going to increase the dose. So, I bought a pill cutter, and cut down systematically, incredibly gradually, by cutting down by maybe an 8th or 16th a day. This wasn't difficult, as I didn't go into withdrawal mode. The only time it was difficult not to take more than I should was on very bad days.

Yes, it took a long time but, given how long I'd been taking too many painkillers, I felt had plenty of time really.

I now try to average two days a week with painkillers or triptans, but it's sometimes difficult due to the hormonal nature of my migraines, ie some weeks are terrible. I do occasionally find that too many triptans take their toll and cause rebounds - it is scary how quickly that happens.

I also never take codeine anymore - nasty stuff!

MOH is a real pain for me. I always aim to get people OFF medication or at least significantly reduce it. When MOH kicks in, it can take people up to 4 months to 'reset' and it can be a tough journey!!

It's the bane of my life

I bet - in the short time we have been doing this, we have seen so many It is a tough journey, but one you need to take - if you want a long term management plan - trouble is so many cases of Migs are not diagnosed early enough so people self treat and we are all taught that 'pop a pill' and it will go away

I went through it a few years ago now - and kept a very detailed diary - then cut down each day - little by little - and yes things got worse before they got better - I think I took about 6 weeks before I saw an improvement - but it removed the pain at the back of my head and now I am very strict on what I take. I still do take codine, but never go over the limit.

I really hope that doctors in general are more knowledgeable now. I can count on one hand the professionals I have seen who have actually asked me how often I take triptans or analgesics. I found out about MOH through my own research.

If I had realised about it earlier, I probably wouldn't have got into that mess in the first place.