The working of painkillers?

Question

I have a lot of headaches, both tension and migraine. I have different kinds of painkillers and mostly they work fine but sometimes I can feel them stop working and the headache returns. Is it possible that one type of tablet is a painkiller and another type a pain delayer? Or is there a physical reason some headaches outlast the pain medication?

Answer 1

There are different type of painkillers which got some differences in their mechanism of action and duration of its effects. Also, different products made by different manufacturers have some differences in their active ingredients- for example paracetamol from different companies would have some differences in its effects.

First and foremost, you need to know the causes of your headaches especially if it has been recurrent for a while. Granted you have been taking the same painkillers and it seems not to work anymore, it is possible that the cause of the headaches could have increased that taking your usual painkillers could no longer relieve the pain or it is also possible that you start to develop tolerance to the painkillers you are on.

Painkillers wil not be the best solution for your headaches. Knowing what causes the headaches and treating or eliminating the cause would be the best decision.Consider going for a check up- see a doctor at once.

Answer 2

The simple way to answer this question is that different painkillers work in different ways.
For example paracetamol works on the part of the brain that registers pain. Drugs like asprin and ibuprofin are targeted pain killers that lock onto receptor sites in the bodies cells at the site of the pain.

Headaches can be caused by many different things,
If you are suffering from frequent headaches perhaps a better solution would be to find what is causing the headaches rather than trying to blanket the problem with lots of different painkillers most of which probably won't be effective.

And of course the first thing to try for any headache is a pint of water your brain is 70% water and nearly all of us don't drink enough, headaches are a common side effect of mild dehydration.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I take a strong paracetomol based painkiller on prescription, my previous GP prescribed 2 different painkillers. However, having just moved house my new GP asked why the 2 because the receptors in the brain can only absorb a certain amount in a certain time. You certainly need to consult your GP to get these headaches looked into. Could be something simple as eye strain from using PC too much.Hope you get it sorted, good luck.

Answer 4

Your body probably developed a tolerance for the meds depending on how frequently you take them. Pain delayer? Well pain medication doesn't fix the problem just makes you not feel it for a while. So in a way, they are on pain delayers, unless they are time released meds.

Dink lots of water. It will help.

Answer 5

Greetings.........painkillers or specifically known as analgesic is use to reduce to pain felt by the patient......looks on your case it may be that the headache is resistant to the painkillers because of you had use it for long time to reduce you headache problems......for more informations on painkillers functions you could visit this website at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analgesic............by the way I would like to advise you that if the headache symptoms still going on, you should went to a neurologist for consultations......wish you get well soon

Answer 6

I seem to remember from my biology days that strangely, pain killers work by heightening the sensitivity of your senses. So the wearing of is when sensitivity returns to normal. headaches are a reaction to a condition in your body (ie dehydration, stress etc). if the condition still exists when the pain relief stops working then of course the pain will return. My advice would be to determine what causes your headaches and try to cure it while the pain relief is at its strongest (ie drink of water, long hot bath etc).

Answer 7

REAL migraines are not commonly relieved with HEADACHE medications. They are two different problems. I would guess that when the headache returns, you are experiencing a real migraine and should probably be taking a migraine specific medication ie: triptan, ergotamine, etc.

Answer 8

Many people develop tolerance with chronic analgesic use so the dose must be increased. For others it's psychologic dependence. Most times it is a combination.

See a specialist. Let him do the necessary investigations to exclude any serious intracranial pathology. If all's normal, continue on your regimen and consult your GP with respect to what is the ceiling dose for your medicaion.

Answer 9

FIRST find out why you get headaches go to your gp
secondly do not use too many painkillers your probably making urself immune to them by having loads of them all the time.
try natural remedies such as warm milk, a warm bath etc