Florissant patients with near-daily headaches are often caught in a medication-overuse cycle rather than a worsening disease. Treatment here breaks it with a structured wean, the withdrawal window covered by treatment that does not feed the cycle, and preventive treatment started at the same time.
From Florissant the clinic is a straight run south, either down Lindbergh Boulevard or via I-270 and around the north side of the airport to Woodson Road.
Why are my headaches happening almost every day?
A large share of people arriving with headaches that have become near-daily are not experiencing a worsening disease. They are experiencing a cycle their own medicine cabinet is sustaining, and no preventive treatment will outrun it until that is addressed.
The thresholds are lower than almost anyone expects. Butalbital combinations cross the line at about five days a month and opioids at eight. The full picture, including how a wean is actually structured, is in medication-overuse headache and medication stewardship.
Why is it so hard to stop taking headache medication?
Because stopping the medication makes the headache worse before it makes it better, and that worsening reads as proof the medication was necessary. It is not — it is withdrawal, and it usually runs days to a couple of weeks. What makes it survivable is covering that window with treatment that does not feed the cycle.
What should I track before my first headache visit?
Count your treatment days for a month before your visit, honestly, including the mild days and the over-the-counter tablets. That single number changes the plan more than anything else you can bring. Why the count matters so much is explained in chronic or episodic migraine.
Patients west across the Missouri River are covered on headache treatment for St. Charles.
Frequently asked questions
How many days of pain medication is too many?
The thresholds are lower than most people expect. Butalbital combinations cross the line at about five days a month, opioids at eight, and simple over-the-counter analgesics at around fifteen, with combination products much sooner. Count every treatment day for a month, including the mild days, and bring that number to your visit. See medication-overuse headache.
Can preventive treatment work while I am still overusing medication?
Not on its own. When the medicine cabinet is sustaining near-daily headaches, no preventive treatment will outrun the cycle until the overuse is addressed. That is why preventive treatment here starts at the same time as a structured wean, with the withdrawal window covered by treatment that does not feed the cycle.
Will you make me stop my medication right away?
No, and an abrupt stop with nothing covering it is why people fail on their own. The approach is explained in medication stewardship.
I only take over-the-counter tablets. Does that still count?
It can. Simple analgesics cross the threshold at around fifteen days a month, and combination products much sooner. See medication-overuse headache.
How long before the headaches settle after a wean?
Usually days to a couple of weeks for the withdrawal itself, with improvement after that. Preventive treatment is started at the same time rather than afterward — get in touch to talk through the sequence.