What Is a Rebound Headache?

Rebound headache, also called medication-overuse headache, can occur when medications used to treat acute headaches are taken too frequently. The sequence is often familiar: a headache begins, medication is taken, and there is temporary improvement. As that cycle repeats, headaches may become more frequent rather than less, and some people end up with headaches on most days of the month.

Medication-overuse headache is most often described in people who already have an underlying headache disorder such as migraine. In other words, the original headache condition does not go away — a second, overlapping pattern is added on top of it. That is one reason frequent headaches can be difficult to sort out without a careful history.

The risk is not the same for every medication or every person. It varies depending on which acute medication is used and how often it is taken, which is why there is no single universal threshold that applies to everyone.

Importantly, this is not a reason to abruptly stop prescribed medications. Anyone with frequent headaches, or who is using acute headache medication often, should discuss the pattern with their healthcare professional, because treatment may involve addressing both the medication pattern and the underlying headache disorder together.

Do not stop a prescribed medication on your own. Instead, bring the pattern to your clinician: which medications are used, how often, and how the headaches have changed. A simple headache record is often very helpful. A headache and migraine evaluation reviews the history and examination, considers whether testing is needed, and builds an individualized plan that may address both acute medication use and preventive treatment. Treatment recommendations are made during an appointment, not through this website.

It can also help to understand the headache type underneath the pattern — for example the difference between tension headache and migraine, what a cluster headache is, and whether migraine can cause a stroke.