What are rebound headaches?

If you take too much medication it can actually trigger more headaches. This kind of a headache is called a rebound headache.

Fortunately, rebound headaches usually go away after the patient stops using the medicine.

Using too much of the typical over-the-counter medications also can lead to gastrointestinal problems.

Taking acute medications for migraine headaches too frequently can make your headaches more severe and more frequent. This worsening of headaches is called medication overuse or rebound headaches.

Medication overuse or rebound headaches can develop if short-acting, acute medications are taken more than 2 days per week on a consistent basis. Rebound headaches are easier to prevent than to treat, so see your doctor if you are regularly using acute medications more than 2 days per week.

Rebound headache is a type of chronic headache that can result from overuse of pain medicines. This is often a problem for people who have frequent, severe headaches.

A rebound headache occurs once pain medicine has worn off, prompting a person to take another dose. This can lead to a cycle of more frequent headaches and taking higher doses of medicine more often until a person builds up a tolerance. Eventually a headache results whenever the medicine is stopped. At that point, the person can't stop taking the pain relievers without having a headache.

Treating rebound headache can be hard. To break the cycle, medicine may be needed that helps prevent headaches, and the person needs to avoid pain medicine when headaches occur. Gradually, headaches may become less frequent and less severe.