Chronic headaches and migraine
When headaches occur for at least 15 days of the month for more than 3 months they are known as chronic headaches. This entity has been increasingly recognised with the addition of chronic migraine to the Third Edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders in 2013.
Chronic headaches may include headaches of various kinds however most people suffer from migraine or tension-type headaches. Often people start by having an occasional migraine or tension-type headache and they become more frequent over time.
Overuse of symptomatic medication is considered one of the most important risk factors leading to chronic migraines. A vicious cycle occurs where frequent headaches cause the sufferer to take medication frequently, which then causes a rebound headache as the medication wears off, causing more medication use, and so on. This can occur with different types of pain relief medication including paracetamol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin. NSAIDs have been found to be protective against progression to chronic migraines if used in patients that have fewer than 10 days of headaches per month. Other medications that are more commonly implicated in the progression to chronic migraine are:
- Opiates (e.g. Codeine in panadeine forte or Mersyndol or Endone) - Chronic migraines are much more likely to occur if used more than 8 days per month (particularly pronounced in men)
- Triptans (most common treatment of migraine) - Progression to chronic migraine is seen only in patients who already have a high frequency of migraine (10-14 days per month).
Get frequent migraines? Act now!
If you or a member of your family suffer from frequent migraines then we may be able to help. Simply contact us to book an appointment for assessment and treatment at one of our clinics (or if you have any questions).
