Migraine

Ive taken both Imitrex and Axert. I had horrible side effects from the Imitrex. Chest pains, sweats, vomiting. I felt like a sumo wrestler was sitting on my chest. Today my neuro prescribed me Axert and i felt the same symptoms but to a lesser degree. It agitated me to a point where i dont want to take it. Its not comfortable. The pain hurts bad enough to make me forget the migraine. I dont want to waste the money on trying more tryptans but I also dont want to limit myself to a certain group of pills. Has anyone else had these side effects? If so, did you try other tryptans? Did you get the same feelings or did they change with different pills?

Thanks for the help,
Liz

Liz,

I haven't had that problem, but know that other have. Some find one of the triptans that they can use, others don't. Each of the triptans binds to different combinations of serotonin receptors and it's worth trying others. Your doctor should have samples that you can try before filling a prescription.

Other Migraine abortives you can ask about are Migranal Nasal Spray, DHE-45 injections, and Midrin.

Hope this helps!

When it came out, Amerge was touted as the "kinder, gentler" triptan. It supposedly comes on more slowly and lasts longer. I think Frova may be the same way. You might ask your pharmacist in addition to your doctor.

Gretchen

Liz,
I had awful yucky reactions to Imitrex also... I never took axert, but maxalt did the same for me....


I use frova now- or amerge whenever I have insurance strangleholds. I don't feel like I get ANY side effects from frova. Amerge makes me a little sleepy... but not for long...

jamie

quote:

Originally posted by EBerger:
Ive taken both Imitrex and Axert. I had horrible side effects from the Imitrex. Chest pains, sweats, vomiting. I felt like a sumo wrestler was sitting on my chest. Today my neuro prescribed me Axert and i felt the same symptoms but to a lesser degree. It agitated me to a point where i dont want to take it. Its not comfortable. The pain hurts bad enough to make me forget the migraine. I dont want to waste the money on trying more tryptans but I also dont want to limit myself to a certain group of pills. Has anyone else had these side effects? If so, did you try other tryptans? Did you get the same feelings or did they change with different pills?

Thanks for the help,
Liz

Amerge was the first triptan I tried because of my side effect issues.

quote:

Originally posted by gwp:
When it came out, Amerge was touted as the "kinder, gentler" triptan. It supposedly comes on more slowly and lasts longer. I think Frova may be the same way. You might ask your pharmacist in addition to your doctor.

Gretchen

I used to get chest pain from Maxalt and Zomig. I pretty much ignored it, since the drug was working as an abortive. You probally should not ignore that sort of side effect. For me those milder chests were probally an indication I should I reconsidered those meds, becuase they did lead to more severe incidents. Anyway I went onto Imitrex shots and for a good while all I used to get is dizziness and palapatations. Then I started getting angina chest pain and shortness of breath. I was of course taken off of it, but because of my milder experiences with previous triptans, I was not put on another. Likely because some of the incidents on Zomig were also quite bad. With the angina and then shoulder neck pain, followed by a rush of blood, dizziness and... a migraine.

Depending on the side effects and their duration, your doctor may suggest a different triptan or may decide you should not be on them. As they did with me, they might check out your heart, just to see if anything is potentially going on there. Personally I love triptans, since they do the job they are designed to do and often do it well, which you can't say for many other meds. But when I think of all the extremely freaky incidents that have occured with Imitrex and others, I think it is probally a good thing I am not on them.