This has been called "rebound" headache in the past. The perception, however, was that if you
took medication, the next day's headache was the rebound headache, and that's all there was to it.
More recent research has shown that it is not that simple. A pattern of frequent medication usage
leads to an increase in the occurrence of headaches. This is sometimes called pharmacologically
maintained headache, or analgesic abuse headache.
If you are a migraine sufferer, and you start having more frequent headaches as a consequence of
using excessive medication, headaches may become less "migraine-like," and may lose some of
the usual migraine features, such as sensitivity to light and noise, or nausea, and the pain may
become dull in character.
Present recommendations, based on studies done, are not to take over-the-counter medications
more than 15 days a month, and not to take prescription analgesics more than 9 days a month.
Prescription analgesics that can cause medication overuse headache include triptan medications,
ergot medications, opioids, and those containing butalbital.
A survey of family doctors found that this headache type was the third most common headache
seen. Headache clinics in the US report that 30 to 80% of new patients seen have medication
overuse headache.
About 3% of the adult population suffers from chronic daily headache; it may be more prevalent
in the adolescent population. This condition is not well-understood, although research into this
type of headache is ongoing. Sometimes it starts up as daily headaches from day 1, and is called
new daily persistent headache. In other cases, other headache types such as migraine or tension
type headache occur more and more frequently, becoming chronic until they finally become
daily or near-daily. Sometimes, chronic daily headache occurs because of medication overuse.
Recent studies have shown that risk factors for the development of chronic daily headache include
sleep apnea and other sleep disorders, snoring, and obesity in addition to medication use.
Headache occurring following head or neck injury; often associated with dizziness, fatigue,
or memory problems.
took medication, the next day's headache was the rebound headache, and that's all there was to it.
More recent research has shown that it is not that simple. A pattern of frequent medication usage
leads to an increase in the occurrence of headaches. This is sometimes called pharmacologically
maintained headache, or analgesic abuse headache.
If you are a migraine sufferer, and you start having more frequent headaches as a consequence of
using excessive medication, headaches may become less "migraine-like," and may lose some of
the usual migraine features, such as sensitivity to light and noise, or nausea, and the pain may
become dull in character.
Present recommendations, based on studies done, are not to take over-the-counter medications
more than 15 days a month, and not to take prescription analgesics more than 9 days a month.
Prescription analgesics that can cause medication overuse headache include triptan medications,
ergot medications, opioids, and those containing butalbital.
A survey of family doctors found that this headache type was the third most common headache
seen. Headache clinics in the US report that 30 to 80% of new patients seen have medication
overuse headache.
About 3% of the adult population suffers from chronic daily headache; it may be more prevalent
in the adolescent population. This condition is not well-understood, although research into this
type of headache is ongoing. Sometimes it starts up as daily headaches from day 1, and is called
new daily persistent headache. In other cases, other headache types such as migraine or tension
type headache occur more and more frequently, becoming chronic until they finally become
daily or near-daily. Sometimes, chronic daily headache occurs because of medication overuse.
Recent studies have shown that risk factors for the development of chronic daily headache include
sleep apnea and other sleep disorders, snoring, and obesity in addition to medication use.
Headache occurring following head or neck injury; often associated with dizziness, fatigue,
or memory problems.
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