THURSDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Taking barbiturates and
opioids such as codeine and oxycodone too often for migraines could
double the chances of having chronic migraines a year later, new
research says.
The study, expected to be presented Thursday at the American
Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Chicago, found no increased
risk for chronic migraine among people using other common
treatments such as triptans or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs), including aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen.
Having migraines on 15 or more days a month is considered a
chronic condition.
Those studied had been diagnosed in 2005 with episodic migraines
(fewer than 15 days of headache per month) and asked about the
types of medications they used that year. Those who took medicines
containing barbiturates or opioids for only eight days a month in
2005 were twice as likely to develop chronic migraine a year later
as those who didn't take such drugs.
"People who use drugs that contain barbiturates and opioids, if
only for a total of seven to eight days a month, appear to
significantly increase their risk of migraine progression," study
author Marcelo Bigal, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New
York City, said in a prepared statement. "Strict limits for these
types of drugs should be enforced among people with migraine as a
way of preventing their migraines from becoming more frequent and
more painful."
More information
The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about
migraines.
