Anybody Know About Butalbital?
 

I was prescribed Butalbital/Acetaminophen/Caff Tabs for my Headaches.I tried it once and landed insomnia I believe but not for sure.Any feedback is appreciated greatly.:grouphug:

Butalbital is a barbiturate. It is also know as fioricet. It is combined with caffeine, Tylenol and sometimes codeine. It helps for tension headaches. Helps to relax the muscles. Should make you pretty drowsy. Barbiturate's are total downers and are stronger then benzo's. Be careful to take this medication only as prescribed. Many people commit suicide by taking barbiturates as they can stop you from breathing in excess doses. Should help for your headaches. I know you get a lot of tension in your neck and face.
Brain

Basically What I want to know lol
 

Thanks Brain~Is it another medicine that needs tapering when discontinuing use?:eek:

The combination you describe is brand named Fiorinal, another is Fioricet; a generic is Prenalin, and there are others.

It is used to break the Acute Tension, and / or Migrainous Headaches, only to be used 4 and sometimes per some Neurology schedules 5 times max daily pills; and only for those times when you have an Acute Headache.

It should not be used other than on those times when you have an Acute Headache, not regular daily schedule usage.

Barbituates are not meant to be used daily, in a fashion like Prozac, Pristiq, etc.

If they are used daily, a tolerance builds and they become useless and more and more dosings become needed, and addiction is a hazard. Then withdrawal problems will arise.

Hi. Not that you need anymore information about Butalbital, but I used it a lot for menstrual migraines for years. Yes, it's the caffeine that will interfere with your sleep. The caffeine is good for the headache because it expedites it into your bloodstream and also provides vaso-constriction to lessen the pain.
The barbiturate (sp) effect works great for relaxing spasms in your head (that's my personal experience). Extra information: I've taken two tabs when I had serious headache and have repeated dose at 3 hours. I wouldn't push it beyond that though. My neurologist actually suggested that. You can also take Tylenol with Fiornal (nor Fiorcet!!) because they are different medications. Of course nobody would ever, ever suggest alchohol with this type of med but I allowed myself one drink while on it and even though I felt a little more drowsy I was not in danger-just in case you are out for dinner or something. I think it can be an addictive drug so be judicious when using it. But as I said I got relief from it like no other med so don't deny yourself the right to feel pain free.

One other thing that I think is important, is that barbiturates, will act on the metabolizing enzymes in the liver and affect the metabolism of other drugs you might be taking.

This is one reason they are not used much anymore. They used to be very very common.

Here is a drugchecker:
http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/butalbital.html

more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butalbital

The tertiary headache speciality clinics where I am have a limit
of dosing for these products containing acetaminophen and caffeine (Fioricet and Esgic), for 2 days a week only. Otherwise patients may develop MOH... Medication Overuse Headaches.

So just be prudent with this drug.

I never had a problem with rebound from Butalbital and I used it a lot. I did feel like I could've gotten addicted but once the drug cleared my system after a few days I forgot about it. There is so much caution about rebound from Butalibital it scares people into not using it. I had migraines so bad that I finally just ignored all the warnings and took what I needed to keep going. Now I don't get them anymore and I am fine!:winky:

Thanks for the responses. I only take this medication on a REALLY REALLY BAD day of headaches.I am trying to stay at a very min manor.I try to just stick with my antidepressant in the morning and my benzo at night. I have very strong control mind when it comes to taking medication now. I am really scared to be honest with medications now. I am scared because they all have so many warnings and I just choose to stay away from this medicine unless absolute needed.