If you take away just one sentence from his reply, let it be this one, "The authors concluded that frequent opiate use could produce CDH in susceptible individuals, and that patients with previous headache had a particular susceptibility to this outcome."
Summary:
Much has been learned about Medication Overuse Headache, aka rebound headache, in the last few years. Unfortunately, it seems that any medication we take for headache or Migraine relief has the potential to cause MOH if used more than two or three days a week. In the long run, a good preventive regimen that will reduce our need for MOH-causing medications is our best weapon against MOH. Until we perfect our preventive regimens to that point, it's essential to work with our doctors to avoid medication overuse, thus preventing MOH.
Resources:
The International Headache Society. "The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition." (ICHD-II) September, 2004.
Goadsby, Peter J., MD, PhD, DSc, FRACP, FRCP; Silberstein, Stephen D., MD, FACP; Dodick, David W., MD, FRCPD, FACP. Chronic Daily Headache for Clinicians. Hamilton, Ontario: BC Decker. 2005.
Sheftell, Fred D. & Bigal, Marcelo (2004) "Clinical Science: Headache Induced by Acute Medication Overuse." Headache Currents 1 (3), 64-68. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-5013.2004.10109.x.
Young, William B. (2004) "Clinical Science: Treatment of Medication Overuse Headache and Long-term Outcome." Headache Currents 1 (3), 55-59. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-5013.2004.10112.x.
Tepper SJ and Dodick DW. "Debate: Analgesic Overuse is a Cause, Not Consequence, of Chronic Daily Headache." Headache 2002;42:543-554.
Interview with Dr. Stewart Tepper. August 1, 2005.
