strange effect of caffeine?

[Mothercooter]

I get severe headaches and the only medicine that has ever helped including prescription pain meds is "Goodys headache powders". This basically aspirin, caffeine, and tylenol crushed into powder form.

Here are the ingredients:

Drug Facts

Active ingredients (per powder)...........Purpose
Acetaminophen 260 mg......................Pain reliever/Fever reducer
Aspirin 520 mg............................Pain reliever/Fever reducer
Caffeine 32.5 mg..........................Pain reliever aid


each powder contains: potassium 51.1 mg
store at room temperature Inactive ingredients lactose monohydrate, potassium chloride


Okay so the first thing you'll notice is that its got caffeine and thats a no-no but I still take them sometimes (only occasionally) because the headaches are so bad and nothing else helps.

Here is my question:

When I take them, within 5-10 mins (15 max if its a bad one) my headache is gone. However, I also get this strange reaction. I get this weird "happy" feeling. Seriously it feels like someone slipped me something. Its a serious mood alteration where all of a sudden, not only am I all of a sudden relieved of my pain but all seems right with the world and Im exaggeratedly happy.

So, I have taken aspirin and tylenol (acetominophen) alone plenty and never get this reaction. So it must be the caffeine I guess. I dont remember cokes doing this to me when I used to drink them but then again even though I didnt drink them that often maybe I had built up a tolerance to this effect of caffeine.

Does caffeine really do this? I was starting to believe these things were laced with coccaine. My mom takes these same powders for her headaches (they are hereditary) but says she has never had this reaction. Of course, she drinks tons of coffee though.

Any thoughts?

[Mothercooter]

Wow just did a bit of searching on the net and sure enough, its the caffeine. Read quite a bit of bad stuff so I am going to try and maybe just use an aspirin/tylenol combo though im sure its the caffeine that gets rid of the headache, Im going to try and find something else not that I havent already been looking.

[Porcelain]

Yeah, it sounds like your brain is craving that caffiene. I had heard once that caffeine withdrawals were a lot like coccaine withdrawal, just not as intense.

[spirittalker]

caffiene is considered a mood altering drug. I did notice that there is some lactose in there but it's prolly negligable.

[josephina]

Are your headaches migraines? Among other things, three characteristics are family history, euphoria and that they are assisted by caffiene. I get migraines and have the same two symptoms. Not all migraines have flashing lights etc.

[Mothercooter]

Yeah, my mom and me have had them since childhood