Created: 1/30/2009 1:41:32 PM 
DALLAS, TX -- Millions of Americans suffer from migraines -- and when the agony hits, many people reach for a pill. But doctors warn that even common medications might be making your migraines worse! So here's some advice to make the pain stop. First, we meet Nancy Christy because she knows the crippling pain of migraine headaches.
"A bad day on a 1 to 10 can be a 9 or a 10," she says.
So Nancy turned often to a bottle of pills.
Nancy explains, "Just whatever you had in the cabinet, which was not a good thing."
Dr. Steven Herzog, a neurologist, says, "There's probably no other disorder that's more misdiagnosed, mistreated, and misunderstood."
Dr. Herzog is at Baylor University Medical Center. He says taking too much medication can be part of the problem. He says, "When you take those medications, they diminish your brain's capacity to produce the normal chemicals which fight pain."
So which medications are we talking about? Not just prescription drugs. Experts say common, over-the-counter medications can also cause painful rebound headaches if they're overused.
"It can be something as simple as plain old aspirin, all the way up to a prescription pain medication," the doctor explains.
The rebound headache usually hits 24 to 48 hours later ... tempting sufferers to take more medication.
Nancy sees now that she "was pretty much in that pattern."
The doctor says a better strategy combines medication with proper diet, sleep, stress reduction techniques and work to avoid headache triggers.
"I'm very careful about the medications I put in my body."
Thanks to a balanced approach, Nancy's migraines are now out of mind.
As Nancy says, "You just go along and you're like, "Wow, I've had four good weeks."
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