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Medication overuse headaches are commonly known as rebound headaches and typically are the result of overusing headache pain relief medication. Rebound headaches are generally a daily occurrence and often start when you first wake up in the morning. It doesn’t matter if you’re using over-the-counter (OTC) or doctor-prescribed medication, when you use more than the recommended dose, you’re at risk of suffering a medication overuse headache.
Symptoms vary and, in addition to pain, may include:
If your headache continues for more than a couple days, or symptoms get more acute, consult an experienced headache doctor immediately. Dr. Mark Cohen at Neuro Injury Specialists is a neurologist and pain management specialist and will find the safest, most effective ways to treat your specific medication overuse headaches.
Some medications, whether prescribed by your doctor or OTC, are known to cause these headaches when not used as directed.
The process usually follows a certain path:
The result is overuse — too much medicine too often.
Common pain relief medications that can lead to rebound headaches includes:
While these medications can be beneficial if you follow the directions on the bottle, unless you stop taking the pain medicine altogether, this process of overuse can become an endless cycle. Headaches may even start to come more frequently and be more severe.
A medication overuse headache usually goes away once you stop taking the medication. These headaches can happen to anyone but are more common if you have a history of migraines and tension headaches. They affect two out of every 100 people yearly; 80 percent of those affected are taking migraine medication.
Rebound headaches can’t be cured, but they do respond well to treatment. Usually, the first thing that the neurologist does is to instruct you to stop taking your current medication. Depending on what you’re taking, your doctor may recommend changing to another.
Other recommendations include:
Pain relief medications are drugs. Stopping your current medication can cause your body to experience withdrawal symptoms including more severe headaches when the medication wears off. Withdrawal from barbiturates, opioids and benzodiazepines is risky. This may require hospitalization so that your doctor can monitor and supervise your withdrawal and treatment.
Rebound headaches don’t go away unless you stop the medication. But stopping may not be an option, especially if you suffer with chronic migraines or other chronic headaches. Without treatment, however, your headaches will continue to recur. And when they return, you may want to take more medication.
Forgoing or even delaying treatment for a rebound headache without the guidance of a neurologist increases your risk of more severe health issues including:
Chronic use of pain relief drugs can cause your body to build up a tolerance to them. This then renders the medication less effective, increasing the desire to take more. The more you take, the less effective it is. Taking more also increases the risk of damaging your kidneys and liver.
Waiting to get diagnosed and treated slows recovery. Slow recovery increases the risks of developing additional complications. Even though headaches are common, and many types of headaches go away on their own, they should never be ignored. Pain management is so much more than prescribing medication.
It often involves lifestyle changes such as:
The doctors and staff at Neuro Injury Specialists are experts in pain management and offer a well-rounded, integrative approach. They are experts in identifying what type of headache you suffer from through advanced diagnostic testing and offer personal, effective treatment options. They effectively address your symptoms as well as the root cause through comprehensive neurocognitive assessments.
Because pain medication drugs can be addictive, they also offer complete pharmacological intervention to ensure that the medication you take is right for you. Services also include cognitive behavioral therapy and neurofeedback. Don’t suffer needlessly from headaches contact the headache specialists today at Neuro Injury Specialists.