Fioricet is a medication commonly used to treat headaches and migraines. It contains three active ingredients: butalbital, acetaminophen and caffeine. Butalbital is in a class of drugs called barbiturates.
Barbiturates depress the central nervous system (CNS) causing sleepiness. Barbiturates are addictive. When someone takes a barbiturate frequently, their body becomes dependent on the drug and tolerance develops. The dependence causes them to need more drug to get the desired effect.
Unfortunately, Fioricet can cause a rebound headache. A rebound headache is a headache that happens within a few days of the previous headache and is caused by the medication used to treat the first headache. This leads to the person taking more Fioricet to treat the rebound headache, which causes dependence and tolerance to happen quickly.