Most people with recurrent headaches are not receiving medical treatment for the disorder. For some, this is simply because the headaches are moderate and infrequent, and so can be dealt with by taking a couple of aspirin or a nap. For others, though, they do not believe that there is medicine available to alleviate their symptoms, or that the medicine will have too many side effects. Most headache sufferers believe that narcotics are the only thing that they will be offered and do not want to take such strong and potentially addictive drugs.

Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. While it is true that not everyone will be helped by prescription medications all of the time, many medicines have been developed that have good results for many. These medicines are grouped into two categories: abortive and preventive. Abortive medications are used to stop, reverse, or lessen the effect of a single headache attack. Preventive medications attempt to prevent the attacks from occurring, although they usually end up reducing the total amount of attacks that a person has. Which ones your doctor prescribes for you will be based on your individual condition, but if the attacks are frequent and chronic, you will probably be given both.

Over the counter pain killers (analgesics) are abortive medications. Sometimes your doctor will prescribe for you a stronger dose of a typical analgesic, like ibuprofen. These can be combined with an additional pain killer, usually a narcotic in a low dose, like Tylenol with codeine. If your headaches are frequent and occur more than twice a week, your doctor will not prescribe these. Analgesics can cause rebound headaches if taken too often and narcotics are addictive. Chronic recurrent headache sufferers do have other options with abortive medications. For moderate and severe strength headaches, a class of drugs called triptans are used the most. Sumatriptan is the most commonly prescribed version and goes by the brand name Imitrex. The triptans act on serotonin, a chemical in your body that narrows blood vessels. They are also believed to reduce other chemicals that cause headache pain and related symptoms, like nausea. Ergotamine may be prescribed instead, and also works in a similar fashion by narrowing blood vessels in your brain. For extremely severe headaches, opiates, (like codeine, morphine, Dilaudid, or Demerol) will probably be chosen. These can be used very successfully as long as they are not used often. An injection of an opiate can bring quick relief from a crushing headache. The addiction, though, can become worse than your original problem.

Preventive medications are prescribed on a trial and error basis. They work for some, but not others. They work sometimes but not always. Since the cause and origin of migraines, tension type, and cluster headaches is not understood, developing medication to prevent them is difficult. Of FDA approved medications currently prescribed for headache prevention, only valproic acid (brand name Depakene) and topiramate (brand name Topamax) have been proven to be effective. Both are seizure medications and it is unsure why they work for headache prevention. Beta-blockers, like timolol (Blocadren) and propranolol (Inderal), affect the arteries and veins and are used to treat high blood pressure. It is unknown how methysergide (Sansert) exactly works, but it is believed to narrow veins and arteries that lead to the head. Obviously, these are fairly strong drugs and may have strong side effects. These medications must be taken daily to work. Additionally, there can be a significant time period between beginning this therapy and noticing any effects. If you and your doctor want to try preventive medications for your headache disorder, understand that you will both have to be flexible and patient.