Are you taking 3 or more Advil tablets and 2 Excedrin tablets to treat your headache, yet the pain not only persists but worsens? You could have a condition that affects up to two-thirds of patients who seek help at headache treatment centers in the U.S. known as medication-overuse headache. Medication-overuse headaches are headaches that are present for at least 15 days a month or have developed or markedly worsened because the sufferer took too much medication.

If you get a headache, take medication properly and don't use it more than twice a week. See your doctor if the headache persists. If your doctor suggests that you have a medication-overuse headache, work with him or her to taper off the drugs. Ask your doctor whether a drug designed to prevent headaches (a prophylactic agent) might help.

Read more from Dr. Avitzur on medication-overuse headaches and how to prevent and treat them. Also, have a look at our Treatment Ratings (subscribers only) for migraine headaches and our FREE Best Buy Drugs report on lower-cost migraine drugs.