Memo: migraine meds may cause migraines

Recent research confirms the notion that overuse of certain painkillers used to treat migraines may actual induce additional migraines:

Overuse of opiate and barbiturate painkillers may make migraine more likely to become a frequent event, researchers affirmed.

Both commonly used drug classes doubled risk that episodic migraine would increase to chronic migraine with a frequency of 15 days a month or more, Marcelo E. Bigal, M.D., Ph.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., and colleagues found in a population-based study.

But triptans, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and other over-the-counter medications did not increase the risk, they reported here at the American Academy of Neurology meeting.

Their findings suggest use of opiates and barbiturates should be monitored and support clinical experience "that medication overuse induces migraine transformation and that detoxification improves outcomes," Dr. Bigal said.