Rebound headache help

Long story short. I took excedrin for three years and realized that the headaches were getting worse and more often. I was taking four to six excedrin a day. I found information online about rebound headaches being caused by caffeine and the OTC pain medication. I quit taking excedrin, but rotated between advil, aleve, and tylenol hoping that my issue was solely caffeine related (which i quit completely). Unfortunately my headaches were just as frequent and I continued to take the OTC advil, etc...for another few years. Last year I quit cold and suffered quit a bit the first six months. One year later the sympoms have subsided mostly, but I typically feel like my head is being squeezed (like when you wake up in the morning with not enough sleep). This is a constant symptom. I Routinely (every couple of weeks) get a severe headache that will last three days (unless i take one advil). My neck muscles are stiff quite a bit as well. I have done pilates, chiropracter, and accupuncture, along with deep massage.

My question is just: when will the head symptoms finally go away (or won't they). Does anyone have a similar experience? I'm getting tired of feeling like poo every day.

I would recommend going to a neurologist and doing if a Prednisone taper if you can handle prednisone.  I had to do that for rebound headache syndrome and it really worked well.

I, too, I had the PFO closure done for chronic, daily migraines. Guess what: it didn't work. :(

soalone

Never heard of PFO...whats the long term for it?

Looks like a dead thread but had to post for future readers:

My story is almost identical to yours; headaches daily for three years. Have been increasing in frequency recently and getting more severe. I too wake every morning with that pressure feeling in my skull right in the forehead, Furthermore the Alieve I take every morning for the last 3 years is becoming less effective. (i have also been rotating between advil and tylenol) I have done everything under the sun: two neurologists, one MRI, blood testing, allergy testing and treatment, vision testing, acupuncture, massage every week for months, chiropractor for a year, homeopothy, quitting coffee, eliminating gluten in diet, vitamin D and B12, ect.

The neroulogist I just saw believes I have rebound headaches and has put me on a prednisone taper as well as high blood pressure medication (used as a preventative for headaches). The predinisone is to help me detox. It's the first day and let me tell you...it sucks. Like blurry vision and nausea sucks...

Just to note I already tried anti-depressants and anti-seizure as a preventative but I never quit the Alieve, ibuprofen, or tylenol I was taking daily...

This being the first day of this new detox I will be sure to report back at the end of the taper as to if it helped.

By the way, when nothing else helps Sumitriptan works for me.