Drugs and Medications |
People who take headache medications frequently risk developing a chronic daily headache. Most patients who develop such a headache have been taking regular doses of one or more headache medications to suppress their frequently occurring natural headache, and they continue to do so after the chronic daily headache sets in. Although this daily headache is not impressively reduced by the medication, it often flares up markedly when doses are delayed or skipped. In this way Headache medications can become highly addictive and make the headaches worse and more frequent as time goes on. Analgesic Rebound Headache (ARH) is the result of taking certain types of popular headache medications at regular intervals. Research at The Headache Clinic shows that at least 30% of our patients are suffering from ARH caused by abuse of headache medications. ARH is often worse and more frequent than the original headaches. The Headache Clinic aims to eliminate chemical dependencies through correct diagnosis and treatment, resulting in a long-term drug free prevention of headache pain. Patients who take frequent doses of headache medication should visit the Headache Clinic to prevent further unnecessary damage. There are two main types of medication used to treat headache:
When certain abortive drugs are taken a number of times a week on a regular basis, they can cause Analgesic Rebound Headache (ARH). As ARH developes, the analgesics lose their effectiveness. This leads to the patient having to take them more frequently and in larger doses. The headaches become more frequent and more severe, and even the preventative medication that they may be taking becomes less effective. Although simple analgesics like aspirin and paracetamol can lead to ARH, it is more frequently caused by analgesics which contains additional substances like caffeine or codeine. At The Headache Clinic, the emphasis is on non-drug therapy, and most of our patients are able to eliminate or drastically reduce their intake of harmful headache medication. |