Migraine sufferers may be getting more than they bargained for when they reach for common pills to tackle the potentially debilitating condition.
Thats according to researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, who found that the overuse of medications containing barbiturates or narcotics for migraine symptoms could actually increase the frequency of episodes in the longer term.
Their findings, published in the journal Headache, were based on a study of 8,000 migraine sufferers nationwide and could have clear implications for public health resources.
Lead author Dr. Richard Lipton said, “This confirms the longstanding feeling among many doctors that certain medications used to treat migraine may increase the frequency of headaches if overused.”
Primary care practitioners and patients should seek to avoid the use of narcotic or barbiturate medications to tackle migraine where possible, he advised. Patients requiring such medications need to be advised of the risks of medication overuse and dose limits should be applied.
Some 35 million Americans suffer from migraines, according to researchers at Einstein. The estimated cost to the labor market as a result of lost working days is $13 billion.
The use of a class of drugs called triptans or medications containing ibuprofen did not result in a greater propensity toward increased migraines, the study found.