The Dangers of Overusing Painkillers: Understanding Drug Overuse Headaches

▲The more I take painkillers, the more my head hurts! It may be a “drug overuse headache”. (Photo by reporter Liu Chunsheng)

Thirty-year-old Xiaofang has had headaches since adolescence and was diagnosed with migraines. In the past six months, work pressure has been high, and headaches have become more and more frequent. They occur four to five times a week. In addition to the painkillers prescribed by the doctor, I also go to the pharmacy to buy cold medicine every day. In the past three months, I used to take effective painkillers and cold medicines, but now the effects of the medicines are getting shorter and shorter, the effect is getting worse, and the headache is getting more and more painful.

Physician Lin Boyu from the Department of Neurology at Douliu Branch of Chengda Hospital said that after a doctor’s examination, Xiaofang was diagnosed with “drug overuse headache”. serious. The headaches in these patients usually resolve gradually after the overuse of the medication is stopped.

According to the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, if painkillers are used for more than 15 days per month for more than three months, the standard of drug overdose is reached, and some drugs even exceed 10 days to be considered overdose. Painkillers are not only prescribed by doctors, but some medicines are also easy to buy from pharmacies. In addition, the major brands of cold medicines that everyone is familiar with also contain painkillers. Sometimes if one is not careful, it will be overused . Dr. Lin Boyu pointed out that there are three main ways to treat “drug overuse headache”: first, reduce the excessive painkillers; second, use drugs to prevent headache attacks; third, lifestyle adjustment.

In terms of reducing the excessive amount of analgesics, Dr. Lin Boyu said that, except for morphine and barbiturates, which are prescribed by doctors, need to be gradually reduced, other analgesics can be directly used according to the patient’s determination. Either stop completely for a period of time, or gradually reduce the use of the drug. Most importantly, follow-up use of painkillers requires adherence to the two correct medication principles of “eat less” and “eat early”. “Eat less” means no more than twice a week; “Eat early” means to use it within one hour of the headache, and the effect is the best.

Will reducing the excessive amount of painkillers make the headache worse? Initially there will be a few weeks to months of exacerbation of the headache. However, Dr. Lin Boyu said that studies have shown that through various doctors prescribing “drugs to prevent headache attacks” to adjust the body, so that headaches are not easy to attack, this period of headache exacerbation can be reduced, and patients can also recover from “drug overuse headaches.” “Recover faster and better.

In addition to medications to prevent headache attacks, lifestyle modifications can also help prevent headache attacks, such as: implementing regular exercise, regular sleep, healthy diet (avoid sausage, bacon, MSG chocolate, cheese, citrus, red wine) relaxation, acupuncture and so on.