I am about to start coming off the pain killers

I have been taking painkillers nearly every day for years now and I am at the point where I have to try stopping them to see if it helps my daily migraine/headaches. I just had a horrific experience on Gabapentin and the withdrawal is terrible, nightmares, sweating, panic attacks etc. I don't know if this is because I feel so stressed about the daily headaches/migraines and I don't know where it will all end or it is just the withdrawal. I feel permanently stressed though. So I have to try. I am speaking to work this week and arranging to take 2 weeks initially. Do I reduce the pain killers gradually or go cold turkey and get through the pain? I do have a pill cutter also. I feel like I am stuck and everything is getting out of control. I feel very down and not motivated and everything seems to be building up. I don't know if anyone understands it I think it must sound like a confused mess.

Thanks for reading everyone x

I totally understand, and I see this type of scenario daily, so you're not alone! Whether you go cold turkey or slowly reduce, it can take 3-4 months for the overuse headaches to stop so it will need to be something you persist with for a while. Everyone responds differently. What has your doctor advised?

Oh hunny I am sorry - but you are making the correct decision - you know its not going to be easy - but once you are through the MOH you will get a better understanding of your migraine pattern and the preventatives will work better.

Cold turkey Vs cut down is a personal choice - most I must say do the cut down method (I did it that way - I managed on one pill a day cut down - but if that is too fast you can do the half)

Of course it will be quicker cold turkey - but the pain level will be higher...... as Pav has said its gonna take a few months for it all the settle and you do need to tell your doc you are doing this.... but taking time off work is a very wise move.

I am sure we have discussed this before - but while you are doing this make sure you have a regular pattern of sleep and food and drink more and rest as much as you can - mediate and beuyko breath if you can - anything to bring the stress down - this is totally ME time and do not feel guilty for saying NO - I booked a few Indian head massages while I did it as I knew those helped bring my pain down... and of course avoid as many of your triggers as you can.

Good luck and big hugs and remember we are here if you need to scream

My doctor just advised what the headache specialist said and that is going down to 2 painkiller days a week, how to get there is not exactly clear to me. I think I am just going to attempt cold turkey but if that is proving too difficult I will have to use the pill cutter. I just hope I find out that the cause of my daily headaches is MOH. What if it isn't - I wonder what percentage of people find that the cause of the problem was MOH and then when they stop the daily headaches stop. I hope it works, if it doesn't I don't know what I will do.

One step at the time hun - lets hope the MOH is the cause of the pain you have everyday. But once you are out of this a clearer pattern will come out and then you can try a number of preventatives, which will work better since you are out of MOH.

I have to be honest I do still have daily pain but the level went down and I lost the pain at the back of my head. I then tried a number of preventatives with varying success - I am now on botox and once it settles works great.

As Tee said, once you've gotten rid of the MOH you can accurately assess what your headache pattern actually is, hope it works for you!

I so feel for you, it's just a horrendous thought to have to cut down on what you consider a life saver (pain killers) but I have everything crossed for you!

I was advised that I had to go cold turkey with preventative meds, tripatans and prescription pain killers, I did this about 9 years ago for at least 4 months but then when I started up again with a new preventative, the preventative didn't work so the migraines came back frequently and I was back on pain killers...tried numerous other preventatives and none worked so I was right back where I started.

I have tried virtually every preventative med on the market bar one, all triptans and the different formats they come in (except injections I have a phobia!) and have been on morphine for the pain. I have also tried reflexology, herbalism, homeopathy, accupressure, botox, osteopathy, physiotherapy, spiritual healing, craniopathy, etc but nothing worked.

Recently I was on google and saw DEKA titan, it is a way of controlling pain - its not a form of medication, and doesn't involve batteries or magnets. They are still trialling this in hospitals in China and Germany and have had some fantastic results with chronic pain of all kinds, especially for migraine sufferers. I have tried it for 3 migraine so far, with one of them the pain reduced by 15% which is so significant for me, and I actually didn't vomit at all during the whole migraine (first time that's happened in years). With the other two migraine it made no difference. However, with some individuals they can feel a benefit within days, others it will take several months of usage so patience is definately required.

Also, as with my experience it can initially seem hit or miss but I've been advised that I must persevere as we all react differently and the pain relief benefits will become more apparent. You need to wear the bracelet 24/7 (though not in the bath or shower, mustn't get water on it) and when you experience pain you use the electrodes (wires are attached to the bracelet and on the other end of the wires are electrodes - you put one electrode at the top of the spine, one at the bottom).

I have just been diagnosed with rebound headache (what a nightmare, accompanied with nausea too), I'm woken up by a headache and have been having daily constant headaches for several days. I did take pain killers until the diagnosis! So, yesterday I used my deka titan with the electrodes and today, the pain subsided and the nausea improved. I'm obviously still trialling this product as I haven't yet experienced the full benefits other users have felt, as per their testimonials.

I have been in contact with the company and have found them fantastic, incredibly helpful. I would recommend to anyone that suffers from pain (especially migraine) to have a look at their website. Extra data and testimonials were sent to me and I was put in touch with one of their users, infact she experienced an 80% reduction in migraine frequency.

Just thought this might help and give people another option towards managing the pain and helping people come off pain killers. A high percentage of users of this product apparently greatly reduce their use of pain medication over a period of time.

Thanks...

I started yesterday and it was a horrible day, I planned to go cold Turkey but I couldn't handle it in the end. I felt the pain coming on all day and tried not to take anything. It starts at the front of my head and gradually feels like my skull is splitting as it goes over the top of my head and to the back. I took a triptan in the end too late because I just got really sick. I called the doctor and should be getting a call today because I need to discuss other medications, I can't go cold turkey. The pain feels unbearable.

Today I am much better and I haven't taken anything yet, I sort of feel quite tired/not with it and there have been times when I thought he headache was coming but so far has stayed away. I also stopped eating chocolate because I am now thinking maybe it has something to do with it.