Chronic daily headache, or CDL, is challenging to diagnose and treat, according to the journal "American Family Physician." Chronic headaches are often disabling and commonly cause depression and anxiety. Sufferers may have previously had intermittent migraines that progressed into daily migraines. Another common cause is overuse of certain headache medication that results in rebound headaches. Chronic headaches also can be a sign of a serious underlying disorder. Recent or sudden onset of daily headaches, worsening of the usual symptoms, and presence of other symptoms along with a headache, such as numbness, tingling, fever or loss of coordination, should be evaluated by a physician, warns "American Family Physician."
Medication Overuse Headache
Medication overuse headache, also called a drug rebound headache, causes 30 percent of chronic daily headaches, and is a common and easily treated cause of migraine headaches that become chronic. Use of headache medication such as Imitrex, Fioricet, Fiorinal, narcotics and formulas containing caffeine three times per week are enough to cause rebound headaches, according to "American Family Physician." Treatment includes stopping or gradually reducing the medication causing the rebound headache and use of headache medications that do not cause rebound headaches.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, causes breathing to stop many times during the night, sometimes hundreds of times. OSA causes collapse of soft tissues in the back of the throat that block the airway, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Symptoms include loud and interrupted snoring along with gasping and choking, waking frequently, excessive drowsiness during the day, morning headaches, irritability, and impaired function due to lack of sleep. Treatment depends on severity, and can include continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, a device worn at night that uses air pressure to prevent collapse of throat tissues. OSA is associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Your primary care physician will provide a referral for an overnight sleep study at a sleep center to make a diagnosis, states UMMC.
Brain Tumor
It is unusual for a headache to be the only symptom of a serious underlying disorder, according to "American Family Physician." Headaches related to brain tumors are usually described as severe, worse in the morning, and accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Brain tumors are usually accompanied by symptoms of neurological problems such as drowsiness, confusion, personality changes such as moodiness or becoming withdrawn, bizarre behavior, dizziness, loss of coordination, blurred vision, and seizures. Symptoms similar to a stroke can also indicate a brain tumor, such as weakness or paralysis on one side of the body; inability to express or understand language; and reduced ability to hear, see or smell.
References
- American Family Physician: The Patient With Daily Headaches
- Mayo Clinic: Chronic Daily Headaches
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: NINDS Headache Information Page
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Symptoms
- Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Brain Tumors
