Medication overuse headaches

According to a recent estimate cited on the ABC Health Report, about 1% of Australians experience frequent headaches which are due to the very pain relievers they take to kill the pain. This could mean that up to one in three people with daily headaches have medication overuse headache and this as their problem.

The pattern is of someone with a past history of headaches which become progressively more frequent. People most at risk are those who are scared of their headache and who dose themselves ahead of time. Caffeine can make it worse.

Any pain medication can do it – from paracetamol to aspirin to newer migraine drugs. The theory is that pain sensation is re-set to a higher level in the brain and there’s rebound between doses.
The treatment is drug withdrawal but with medications like aspirin, being drug free can take up to a few months to be effective; and for some people it’s hard psychologically. Relapses are common but it’s possible that people can be helped by relaxation exercises, tai chi or exercise.