What causes chronic migraine?
What causes chronic migraine?
Chronic migraine develops over time due to a number of factors:
- The number of episodic headaches steadily increases over time.
- Medications once used to treat episodes of headache become overused in an attempt to keep the increased number of headaches under control. Barbiturate-containing medications (amobarbital [Amytal®], butabarbital [Butisol®]) and narcotics (opioids/opiates) are the reported prescription drugs that lead to developing chronic headache. The most common drugs responsible for medication overuse headaches are the over-the-counter medications, such as Excedrin® and generic equivalents, the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, and acetaminophen (Tylenol®).
Other factors associated with chronic migraine include:
- Obesity
- Snoring
- Mood disorders, especially anxiety and depression
- Ongoing disrupted sleep pattern
- Excessive caffeine intake
- History of severe emotional (stressful life events) or physical trauma