A person who takes caffeine daily may develop a headache when the caffeine is stopped.
Caffeine is present in sources other than coffee and tea. Patients who drink large quantities of soft drinks (Coke, JOLT cola, Mountain Dew) or who take over-the-counter drugs containing caffeine (No-Doz, analgesics) may suffer a withdrawal headache.
Criteria:
(1) The patient consumes caffeine daily for >= 3 months.
(2) The person consumes >= 15 grams per month. (Surrogate measure: large amount of caffeine-containing beverages.)
(3) The headache starts within 24 hours of the last caffeine intake.
(4) The headache is relieved with 1 hour by 100 mg of caffeine.
(5) The headache disappears within 14 days after withdrawal from caffeine.
where:
• The amount of caffeine taken per day may be hard to quantitate when consumed in beverages. This could be calculated for over-the counter medications.
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