My Migraines

Medication-overuse headache

How many days of painkillers or triptans is too many?

Doctors count medicine in days a month, not tablets. Here are the lines they use, and a counter to see where your month stands.

The lines, in days a month

MedicineLine doctors use
Simple painkillers: paracetamol (acetaminophen), aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAIDs15 or more days a month
Triptans, ergotamines, opioids, and combination painkillers (for example ones with caffeine or codeine)10 or more days a month
A mix of types, where no single type reaches its own line10 or more days a month in total

A day counts once, however many tablets you took that day. So two triptans on Tuesday is one triptan day.

The lines come from the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3), the reference headache doctors use. Medication-overuse headache is when someone with a headache disorder has headache on 15 or more days a month, and has taken medicine at these levels for more than three months. One busy month above a line is not the diagnosis on its own.

A worked example

In a month you took ibuprofen on 6 days and sumatriptan on 5 other days. Neither is over its own line: 6 is under 15, and 5 is under 10. But together that's 11 days with an acute medicine, which is over the 10-day line for a mix of types.

Many clinics advise fewer. Some headache services suggest keeping any painkiller or triptan to no more than two or three days a week. Your own doctor may give you a different limit, and theirs is the one to follow.

Count your month

Tap a day once for a simple painkiller, twice for a triptan-type medicine, three times for both. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere; it clears when you leave the page.

P · simple painkillerT · triptan, ergot, opioid or combinationBoth

These are counts, not advice. Talk to your doctor or prescriber before changing how you take any medicine.

Why it matters

Medicine taken this often can itself keep headaches going, and it usually improves after the overuse stops, with a doctor's help. The classification notes that diagnosing it almost always needs a diary, because people rarely remember how many days they took something. That's the reason to keep count.

My Migraines counts these days for you, separately for each type of medicine, and puts them on a one-page report for your doctor.

MJWritten by MJ, who makes My Migraines. MJ is not a doctor; every medical statement on this page links to its source. Last reviewed November 10, 2026.

Sources

  1. International Headache Society. ICHD-3, 8.2 Medication-overuse headache and 8.2.6, multiple drug classes not individually overused.
  2. American Migraine Foundation. Medication overuse headache (PDF).
  3. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Neurology. Medication overuse headache information (PDF), June 2026.