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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
There are not many studies on headaches as adverse reactions to medications. However, in most cases, when it comes to drug-induced headaches, there are two main causes of this adverse drug reaction (ADR): vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels) and an increase in intracranial pressure.What is a medication overuse headache?You may be surprised to learn that medications used to treat headaches can cause headaches. These are called medication overuse headaches (MOH), previously referred to as analgesic rebound headaches. MOH can be debilitating as the headache sufferers take more than the recommended dosage to alleviate their headache pain which, in turn, causes daily or near-daily severe headaches. When someone uses pain medicines several times a week to relieve headaches, a medication overuse headache can happen. Once the medication wears off, the pain returns, prompting headache sufferers to take more pain medicine. This leads to a vicious cycle of having severe headaches and taking increasingly more headache medication, hoping for relief. Consequently, the headache returns more severe and frequent. To prevent medication overuse headaches, you should take prescription medications exactly as prescribed by your family medicine doctor and avoid self-treating with non-prescription medicines. For over-the-counter pain relief, do not use more than the recommended dose to treat chronic headaches. Consult your family or internal medicine doctor if you have a headache history or your headache becomes more frequent and severe. A referral to a headache specialist may be beneficial for you.If your doctor suspects a rebound headache, they may ask you to maintain a headache diary. Discontinuation of overused medication is the treatment of choice for this type of headache. Your doctor will instruct you either to stop the medication abruptly or taper down slowly. Below are some of the common medicines that can cause rebound headaches:Acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)Over-the-counter pain medicines such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and naproxen (Aleve) can cause rebound headaches. The risk is especially high if you take more than the recommended daily dose. Medication misuse headache is common with the combination of non-prescription medicine containing acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine. This headache pattern is believed to be in part due to caffeine withdrawal symptoms.Prescription pain medicinesVarious migraine medications, including triptans (Zomig, Imitrex, Maxalt, Amerge, Frova, Relpax, Axert, and others), have been linked to medication overuse headaches. In addition, prescription pain medicines like opioids (for example, combinations of acetaminophen and codeine) have a high risk of causing rebound headaches.Which medications can cause headaches as a side effect?Some medicines that can cause headaches as a side effect are described below.Birth control pills Headache is a frequent side effect of hormone therapy such as birth control pills, patches, shots, rings, implants,
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