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Head is pounding, so take a headache pill for quick relief. But beware: Too many of them can cause pain. And chronic. A victim tells.
After a bicycle accident or a fall, rehabilitation therapy is not unusual. But because of a headache? What sounds strange is reality for Simone Markwalder.
She has been in rehab in the headache program in Zurzach for a week. Massages, physio appointments and talk therapy are on the agenda. Before that, she had to do inpatient withdrawal in a hospital for a week, a so-called medication break. Because the 26-year-old suffers from medication overuse headaches, MÜKS for short.
Even as a child, Markwalder suffered from headaches and often had to take over-the-counter painkillers. After her apprenticeship, she learns from specialists that she suffers from migraines. The usual painkillers are now joined by migraine-specific acute painkillers such as triptans.
Caught in a vicious circle
But her headaches keep getting worse. In order to be able to continue working full-time, she took medication every day for a while. But these help less and less and the pain lasts longer and longer. It goes so far that her family doctor sends her to the emergency room. There she is treated with cortisone.
Simone Markwalder is caught in a vicious circle. Whenever she suffers from a headache, she takes painkillers in the hope that it will help. But it doesn’t bring her any relief. On the contrary: it is now the culprit itself. Diagnosis: MÜKS.
I have constant headaches – and have had for so long that I no longer know what a migraine feels like
Looking back in the rehabilitation clinic, Simone Markwalder noticed how she could no longer distinguish between migraines and MÜKS: “I have constant headaches – and have been for so long that I no longer know what a migraine feels like.”
Her doctors had warned her about the risks of the medication. She was aware that the MÜKS can result from the many over-the-counter painkillers in combination with the acute migraine remedies.
The medication break
After Simone Markwalder had two “status migraines” in a row – i.e. a migraine attack that lasted longer than 72 hours – she wanted to change something. That was no longer quality of life, she says. Her doctors have advised her to take a break from medication at home on her own.
The medication break cannot be compared to withdrawal from drug addiction. Painkillers are not physically addictive.
In the case of Markwalder, the break looked like this: In some cases, she gave up painkillers entirely and was instead treated with cortisone, among other things. She was cared for by her doctors and had regular check-up appointments. She has now had three such breaks.
The decision to rehab
Simone Markwalder’s life is severely restricted by the MÜKS, she withdraws and her relationships suffer as a result. It can not go on like this.
After the three unsuccessful breaks in medication and the constant headache, she decides together with her doctors for the headache program. This is a specialized rehabilitation program for sufferers of chronic headaches, such as MÜKS.
From endurance training to massages
The program looks like this: First, those affected must complete inpatient withdrawal. Then the actual and accompanied headache program begins in the rehabilitation clinic, which lasts two to three weeks. Elements of the headache program are: physiotherapy, medical massages, endurance training, relaxation procedures, pain psychological support and, if necessary, acupuncture.
These elements should help Simone Markwalder to live better with the chronic headaches. She gets to know different methods that can be integrated into her everyday life. For example, how she can relax, what alternatives there are to painkillers, how she trusts her body more and takes painkillers more consciously.
Back in life
We talk to her three weeks after her release. Simone Markwalder is fine. Since completing the program, she has not had to take any headache pills. She was able to apply the newly learned methods.
150 sufferers are treated annually in the pain program in Zurzach. According to a study by the rehabilitation clinic, two thirds manage to get by with less medication after inpatient therapy – and thus break out of the vicious circle.