People who get chronic tension headaches may rely on Fioricet for relief from the pain. Fioricet is a prescription combination drug that contains acetaminophen, butalbital, and caffeine. Butalbital, one of the main active ingredients in Fioricet, is classified as a barbiturate and acts as a sedative in the body.
It is a Schedule II drug in America, meaning it has a relatively high potential for abuse, dependence, and addiction. The other active ingredients in Fioricet are caffeine, which is a central nervous system stimulant, and acetaminophen, which is a pain and fever reducer. Fioricet is generally taken by mouth with or without food every four hours as needed. It can also cause dangerous side effects or an overdose if it is abused. Due to the high risk of addiction, many doctors will prescribe other over-the-counter headache relief medications before prescribing Fioricet.
Butalbital is also sold under the brand name Fiorinal aspirin, butalbital, and caffeine and may sometimes be used to treat migraines. The following terms are street names or slang for barbiturates , such as butalbital:. Although the risks of becoming addicted to Fioricet are low, especially if you take the medication exactly as prescribed, it can still happen. The risks of addiction rise significantly when a person becomes physically dependent on Fioricet and develops a tolerance.
At this point, he or she will need more of the drug to get relief from headaches. However, continually taking larger or more frequent doses of Fioricet can cause addiction. Consuming large amounts of Fioricet can also produce a high that feels similar to being drunk, which may serve as motivation to misuse it. Some people use Fioricet recreationally by taking large doses of it to get high or by using it with opioids or prescription painkillers to enhance its effects.
Misusing Fioricet to get high or using it in any way other than how it was prescribed can have serious consequences like tolerance, dependence, addiction, and withdrawal. Once you are addicted, it can be very difficult to stop using it.
If you have taken Fioricet regularly for a long time, you are likely to experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it. Fioricet withdrawal symptoms usually include: 6. If you are experiencing Fioricet withdrawal, it is highly recommended that you detox under the supervision of a doctor or at a medical detox center. My physician recommended that I cut back, due to rebound headache, every 4 days.
Do you have any recommendations for alternative medication s that I can try? One of the problems with Fioricet is that it has a long half-life of about 36 hours, which means that it takes 1. It takes between 5 to 6 half-lives for the drug to reach a steady state, and you can still see traces of the drug in the blood and urine for more than 10 days after taking Fioricet or Fiorinal.
There is an increased risk of tolerance and habituation to the drug when taking multiple doses daily. The severity of withdrawal symptoms is directly related to the amount of the medication taken and can include anxiety, weakness, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, involuntary muscle twitching, fatigue, decreased blood pressure, and dizziness. Authored by Isaak Stotts, LP. Fioricet is the brand name for a prescription-only medication that contains butalbital, acetaminophen, and caffeine.
It is used for the treatment of severe headaches, such as tension headaches and migraines. As it contains butalbital, a barbiturate, many people want information on whether it may show up on a drug test.
How long does Fioricet stay in your system? How does it work? Will it show up on a drug test? This article will discuss how it works in the body, its metabolism, half-life, and more. As this medication is a combination of 3 different drugs, the body metabolizes these substances differently.
Butalbital is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Elimination of the drug happens via the kidneys. Some metabolites can also be present in the urine sample. As for acetaminophen , the elimination of the drug is by liver metabolism , followed by renal excretion of the different metabolites. Acetaminophen is very hard on the liver for this reason and may cause liver failure.
Caffeine is rapidly absorbed by the body. The drug clears through the urine. This drug is FDA-approved for the treatment of tension headaches alone, though it is used off-label for other severe forms of headache. How does Fioricet work? Each of the three active ingredients treats a tension headache differently.
Butalbital, as a barbiturate , causes a depressant effect on the central nervous system. It helps calm the individual, which is particularly useful as tension headaches are frequently caused by stress. It explains why it is dangerous to combine with other depressants , like alcohol. Acetaminophen has analgesic properties and is well established in the treatment of mild pain and headaches. However, its analgesic action is not fully understood. It may either be due to inhibition of the synthesis of chemicals known as prostaglandins or by binding one of its metabolites to cannabinoid receptors.
The medical action of caffeine is linked to its antagonist effect on adenosine receptors, which results in constriction of blood vessels in the brain. On its own, caffeine does not reduce pain from headaches. This medication is a mixture of three different drugs, so its onset and duration of action are not so straightforward.
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