I personally think you did the right thing for you. During my first MC, I took a couple aspirin one day because I knew I would go off the Master-Cleanse if I didn't. My extreme caffeine withdrawal headache was just too much. Yes, I compromised my Master-Cleanse and the results were affected. But I chose to take the aspirin rather than go off the MC. I've done five MC's since then and never took any aspirin or other pain reliever (but the headaches and withdrawal symptoms haven't been as bad- that first Master-Cleanse where I kicked a 20 year caffeine habit was something else).