Treatment of Medication Overuse Headache

MOH treatment
Medication overuse headache, the so-called MOH, is per definition an inappropriately treated headache. Therefore, treatment of MOH, can be viewed as an adjustment of the treatment towards a more efficient and optimal headache treatment.
Evidence based treatment of MOH consists of three elements: 1) Withdrawal of the overused and inefficient acute medication; 2) Adding an efficient preventive treatment strategy; and 3) Close follow-up and use of headache calendar.
This approach has shown to reduce headache days per month by fifty percentage; and about 70% of patients revert to an episodic headache form, meaning maximum 14 days per month with headache. Also, disability is decreased, and quality of life is increased. So, let’s have a more detailed look at each element in the MOH treatment strategy.