imitrex

[motox320]

I have been having what they think are Migraines without aura.

In the monring I am usually fine, and then they hit me about 2pm or so, then its of and off until evening.

Def. light bothers me. The pain in both sides of the head, sometimes aloot of pressure on the top of the nose. Eye pain too. Some nasuea, but I have not thrown up. This has been happening near daily for 1 month. Before this, no history of heaches. Me 25 male, had a grandfather who had migrains, but thats it.

This month, I had a MRI-MRA of the brain, which was normal, then a CT anigram of the neck, which was normal besides a small right verterbral artey, which I have had since birth.

My doc wants me to try imitrex.

Do you think it is safe.

I had 2 echos of my heart this summer, for another reason, and both were normal good.

Blood pressure is high only under stress like 150/90, but when at home or when calm is more like 110/70 or below.

is this medication safe? has anyone else ever take it? does it work?

[marileew]

Now... just if you're wondering how the stuff works at all... I can let you know that too.

Well, during a migraine... a bunch of stuff happens in your brain that causes all the symptoms of a migraine.

The main two things that happen are cortical spreading depression and/or sub-cortical spreading depression (in your case probably sub-cortical spreading depression since you have migraine without aura, it's what causes the pain) and temporary dysfunction of a cluster of cells in the brain stem (that's what makes light bother you and gives you nausea, and also causes pain).

Because of these things happening, other chemical processes take place... like, a chemical-chain reaction is set off. One of the ways in which the triptans help is that the serotonin in your brain is effected dramatically by all the processes taking place during a migraine and the triptans help to interfere with how the serotonin in your brain is being effected by the migraine, which will in effect stop the migraine or prevent it from progressing.

Also, the chemical processes that take place result in the constriction and dilation of blood vessels in the brain and head, and the triptan (if it hasn't stopped the migraine from happening because you weren't able to take it prior to a migraine which you probably aren't going to be able to do since you don't get aura) will help constrict the blood vessels without stopping blood flow at all and even though constriction is a problem during the first phase of a migraine, by the time you HURT, well the hurt is because of the dilation, not the constriction, and keeping the blood vessels constricted and/or constricting them again will stop the dilation and therefor stop the pain. Basically, before you ever feel the migraine, your blood vessels constrict, and because they do this, they then dilate afterward, and it is the dilation part that causes the pain.... so if you can stop them from dilating (without stopping blood flow at all) then you can stop the pain... and that is exactly what the triptan will do.

Triptans do one last thing... some neurons are misfiring pain signals during a migraine... that is where the temporary dysfunction of the brain stem comes in... basically.. your brain stem is always telling your trigeminal nerve system (the nerves in your head and face, and the nerves that hurt during a migraine) "don't hurt, there is no reason for us to hurt right now" and when you have a migraine those neurons get temporarily confused and start telling your trigeminal nerve system "we're hurting! we're hurting!". What the triptan is going to do is it is going to stop these neurons from firing (or I guess you could say from misfiring) and so they won't communicate with the trigeminal nerve system, so no pain signals get sent.

Anyway... I hope the imitrex works! Let me know how it goes! Keep in touch! :)

[marileew]

Hi there!

Short answer: yes it's usually safe, I take something like it, and yes it usually works.

Long answer:

I am so glad that you asked about imitrex! I take a triptan, like imitrex, and personally I think that triptans are the best treatment for acute migraines, and they are also the most prescribed medication for acute migraines. It's important though to let you know that I am not a doctor and I am not a pharmacist, so if you ever have any questions about medications and their safety, one of the best places to ask on medhelp is in the "Ask A Pharmacist" Forum which you can get to here: http://www.medhelp.org/forum_disclaimers/show/296

Or you could ask your own pharmacist where you will fill the prescription, they will be happy to let you know all about imitrex, how to take it, and what the possible side effects are and what medical conditions and medications you should not mix it with. Even if a doctor prescribes you something, it is always a good idea to check with your pharmacist just to make sure there aren't any medication mixing issues because not every doctor will have your entire medical history and current medications, but your local pharmacist SHOULD have that all on file and if they don't you can let them know everything when you fill the prescription.

Now... as for what I do know... imitrex is a medication that is for migraines and it is one of the BEST classes of medication for migraines because it actually interrupts the physiology of the migraine... I will talk more about this in a little bit to answer your question about what it does and how it works... but I have to get into what happens during a migraine so it's a bit of a long answer so first I'll answer a few more of your other questions...

I get migraines as well and although I do not take imitrex, I to take a triptan, which is what imitrex is. The triptan that I take is called zomig, and I take a nasal spray version. There are lots of triptans on the market and imitrex is one of the first, the generic name is called sumatriptan and it is what they will give you in the hospital, but by injecteion, if you ever go in for a migraine... they won't give you any other triptan at the hospital usually because sumatriptan by injection is pretty much the best triptan out there!! But, the names of some other triptans are maxalt, axert, zomig (like i take) ... etc. There are lots on the market so if imitrex doesn't work for you, there are more you can try that might work better for you.

Are triptans safe? Well, for a normal healthy adult who isn't on any other medications YES they are VERY SAFE!!! And in that situation, for migraines, they are the BEST type of migraine medication to use unless you suffer from "basilar migraine" or "Hemiplegic migraine" ... but it does not sound like you suffer from either of these conditions, it sounds like you suffer from regular migraines, and anyway your doctor would not have prescribed imitrex if it was not the right medication for your type of migraine.

When are triptans not safe? Well... if you are taking some types of very old antidepressants called MAOIs or if you are taking some types of more regularly prescribed antidepressants in VERY high dosages but often it is still safe but your doctor or pharmacist will let you know if there is a possible interaction. I take a antidepressant and a triptan and there is NO problem for me... so it is only sometimes, in some situations, with some antidepressants that there is a problem. Also, if you have some medical conditions, heart conditions are really the only ones I can think of actually, it is not safe to take triptans. I do not think that your sometimes high blood pressure counts at all as a heart condition in this case... it is usually only if you have a very serious heart condition... but if your blood pressure is caused by an underlying heart condition that is serious, please phone your doctor just to double check about the heart condition and triptan interaction. I know that a lot of people here have high blood pressure and use triptans, and I have a very high pulse and take blood pressure medication and still use triptans... so I am pretty sure your high blood pressure thing is fine... but check with your doctor if you are not sure.

So... the last question. Does it work? Well... it depends when you take it and what type of a triptan you have, really. If you take your triptan, the imitrex, at the first sign of a migraine, YES it will work!! If you wait to take it until the headache is very bad, then it may not work as well. If you wait a very long time and the headache has been going on for a long time, then it probably will not work, but, if you haven't tried it at all then it is usually worth a shot, and they will give it to you in the hospital if you go to the hospital with a migraine and you haven't taken it yet. But, if you take it RIGHT AWAY then yes it will work. For some very few people, triptans don't work, especially if you suffer from chronic migraines... but that is because not all medication works for everyone.... but for most migraine sufferers, especially for occasional migraine sufferers, triptans are the best medication if taken at the first signs of a migraine.

Now... how long it will take to work all depends on what type of form you have the medication in... a tablet, a quick dissolve tablet, a nasal spray or an injection. If you have it in a tablet, it may take up to 2 hours to work... and I am just being honest there. A tablet form can work much faster than that, and usually will work in ONE HOUR.... but worst case scenario it can take 2 hours to work. That is why I always strongly suggest quick dissolve tablets or nasal sprays... or for people who suffer very hard to treat migraines or chronic migraines, injections. But, good news!! If you actually have a prescription for IMITREX then even their regular tablet is quick dissolve... just make sure that the pharmacy doesn't try to give you a generic version of the sumatriptan in a non-quick dissolve tablet instead of the brand-name imitrex version which automatically comes in a quick dissolve tablet. Imitrex ALSO comes in a nasal spray and an injection. The imitrex tablet should work in HALF AN HOUR. The imitrex nasal spray can work in 10-20 minutes.... same with the injection pretty much. But, if you ever get a prescription for a triptan that is NOT imitrex, make sure that it is a quick dissolve tablet or a nasal spray... the only two nasal sprays I know of are imitrex and zomig (what I take) and the only quick dissolve tablets I know of are imitrex, zomig and maxalt.