Extended use of medication to treat pain can actually make headaches worse. Though less common than migraines , the effects can be even more harmful and affect the quality of life and performance of normal daily activities. These headaches are also very expensive to treat.

Medication overuse headaches are headaches that occur more than 15 days per month along with overuse (if medication is taken more than 10 or 15 days per month) of a pain medication for more than 3 months.

People that experience medication overuse headaches

These headaches typically do not occur in individuals taking medication for chronic pain in other areas of the body. Most patients have a pre-existing headache disorder and take medication to relieve the headache pain specifically.
Nearly 63 million people globally suffer from medication overuse headaches. It also is more likely to occur in women than in men in most countries.

Medications that cause medication overuse headaches

The most common culprits of these specific headaches are over the counter pain medications, specifically paracetamol and ergotamine. Headaches from overuse of triptans and NSAIDs are also on the rise. Although headaches do not appear to result from opioid use, they are not recommended to treat headache pain as it can change episodic headaches into chronic headaches.

Causes of  medication overuse headaches

Like with many headaches, the mechanism underlying medication overuse headaches is not well understood. It is thought to be related to altered functioning of pain-related pathways such as serotonin and endocannabinoids.

Treatments of  medication overuse headaches

Studies have shown that just being educated and receiving advice on how to manage these headaches can reduce the number of headache days experienced. Educated patients were also able to cut down on the amount of medication taken. Detoxification, either by slowly tapering off the medication or ending treatment immediately, also reduced overuse following treatment.