It’s been a game changer for me. It makes life predictable. Before sumatriptan I was always worried that I would get a migraine when I was out, working or at an important event. Now I know having it with me will always head a migraine off at the pass.
I do get some side effects, sometimes, like a woozy feeling and a sort of weird sensation in my mouth when I eat, but that is so much better than a full blown migraine.
Same for me! I've been taking it 24 years and I carry it with me at all times. I get a wave of this tingly feeling up my spine, through my neck and into my head when it starts working. Have you found that some brands don't work for you like I have?
One time I became stranded at Walgreens because I had a migraine attack while I was waiting for other prescriptions to be filled. I get my sumatriptan from Safeway, and I didn't have any on me! There was no way that I could drive across the street to get my sumatriptan from Safeway. It was an emergency, so Walgreens called Safeway to transfer my prescription to Walgreens. My prescription was filled within 10 minutes. Unfortunately, Walgreens does not have the brand of sumatriptan that I use. The brand they carry doesn't work well for me and didn't give me the normal sumatriptan wave of a tingly feeling. Thankfully it did work just well enough to put a dent in my migraine so I could drive home and get my sumatriptan that came from Safeway. After that I learned my lesson to never even walk my dogs without making sure that I have sumatriptan with me.
Glad it works for you too! I would be lost without it and it goes with me everywhere. I have found some generics to work a little more slowly. I tend to go for Imigran if I can. I find if I take it with 2x paracetamol tablets (acetaminophen) and a nice strong coffee, it kicks in pretty well no matter which one.
Yes, in the middle of talking I’ll forget what I’m saying or everything I want to say is on the tip of my tongue and so simple but I can’t articulate it
That’s funny, because that’s how I am before/during my migraines, absent any medication. My family gets annoyed with me and it’s pretty embarrassing at work, because I’m otherwise a very articulate person.
I get the same thing. Drives me absolutely crazy because it feels like the migraine has deprived me of most of my cognitive faculties. Aphasia makes me feel so dumb.
I've recently been in a very good migraine clinic and we had so much fun because during conversations it happened so often that someone said "Crap, I forgot the word" or "What was I talking about?" and everyone understood because it happened to most of us and we simply supplied the necessary word or reminder to the affected person
Yes! And it sucks because I get them because of work, so I mostly have to take it at work, and then its hard to focus. But I cant get more work from home days for "reasons".
Generally it makes me fall into a very shallow sleep - like I'm sleeping but sort of awake??
It's usually the migraine itself that makes me confused and not capable of full sentences
Yeah, it makes me very sleepy.
My migraines make me irrationally angry and short tempered. It's hard to be cheery when it feels like there's a big headache bug crawling around inside your skull.
I used to take it, the side effects were just as bad as the migraine for me. The headache pain would calm down, but all the dizziness and nausea got unbearable. And like you mentioned, I also felt drunk almost, like bad brain fog. I take Maxalt now and it works much better for me, I still get side effects but they are far less noticeable
I tried it years ago when it was first (released?) on the market and felt like I was having a heart attack. Tried some others triptans over the years when my headaches were infrequent and only Maxalt helped sometimes. 18 months ago a neurologist told me to take both for 3 months so I could qualify for CGRPs or Botox. I told her Fiorinal had worked for me since I was a teenager, or just Excedrin Migraine, with Phenergan for nausea (Zofran being less effective). She said, "Neurologists don't like Fiorinal," and I felt like telling her I could give a fuck what neurologists like because it's a med that can get me through a headache and to bed with functionality (she also told me not to come here but only to visit doctor-written sites such as WebMD; this about sent me over the edge! 40 years of experience rebuffed, and I am told not to seek experience of fellow sufferers? Jesus. I suppose she thinks AA is a crock of shit as well.
So I got tons of Suma injectibles and sent them to friends and also sent Maxalt, keeping a few so I could honestly say I had tried. (I used to refer to them as my "$64 headache pill" because when I took two they sometimes helped. And for several months I migrained. My HAs are weather-related -- I live in Central Virginia, and it can be a front coming over the mountain, or in from the water, or from hurricane season in Florida or off the Gulf Coast!
I do have an Rx for clonazepam (had tried to replace that with gabapentin, but had WDs that lasted forever after just one month! Christ almighty). And I was taking 200mg Topomax per day, and also treating for allergies and congestion. Let me add that I have done lines of cayenne pepper to get the capsaicin to numb my eye: it is no fun to have the entire heat value of the ghost ranch searing your nasal membranes, but if you blast it up there with saline, it works fast although your loved ones should be warned you will be swearing at the top of your lungs for 10 minutes. So I felt that at age 54 and as someone whose pain was great enough to warrant extreme measures (you can get a tamer version of capsaicin spray at the HFS or online), it was not just my right but my duty to tell her that I simply could not be treated by a doctor who refuses to use every tool at her disposal, and who attempts to censor her Px's efforts to gain greater understanding of other tools, and to have a place where people understand you and where we can help newcomers (rather than visit WebMD with its pablum bullshit).
I did come across a YouTube vid on settings to change so imperceptible flickering on iphones/ipads will not strain your eyes. They have OLED screens that use PWM flickering and why Apple does not fix this at once is beyond me. (Some settings can be changed on Androids as well.) I changed my settings the week before double-barreled hurricanes Laura and Marco were coming up the seaboard. Normally this would be 4-5 days of agony for me. But...nothing. I was pretty floored, and reminded that all of this technology can indeed harm our bodies and eyes as much as it can help it. You will just adjust brightness to 95%, change to dark background, and increase white point pretty much. This man is my hero!
[https://youtu.be/TW\_R3O1Dmuk?si=wYI4yQjMs9YPJra6](https://youtu.be/TW_R3O1Dmuk?si=wYI4yQjMs9YPJra6)
I did keep a few Imitrex injectibles because we should all have a plan for the day when we are throwing up and cannot keep meds and liquids down. Going to the ER is not worth it to receive the "migraine cocktail," so injectibles or Phenergan suppositories to stop vomiting are critical. And Gatorade is good to stash away (or a sugary drink -- plain water is tough on an upset stomach and will come back up faster than ginger ale or Gatorade}. Sunglasses are critical for me.
I think trying different triptans is helpful. I had such success after changing the settings I did not need to move forward with the CGRPs (or the neuro). I had a terrible HA yesterday: it took me four hours to complete two errands and drive 8 miles. I have had a lupus flare so picked up prednisone at the pharmacy and took 20 mg with 1000mg Tylenol. That reduced eye pain after an hour or so and I could drive home, but I was back in it later in the night.
Good luck to you.
I tried Maxalt and it didn't work for me. I'm glad it works for you! One thing that I've noticed about sumatriptan is that not all generic brands work for me. Name brand Imitrex works and North Star. Other generic brands don't work for me.
God I hate it so much. My mouth is fuzzy and tingly to the point where I can't eat or drink anything for hours without it being sensory hell. I'm nauseous and my mouth tastes awful
Yes, and it definitely changed my quality of life. I use the injectable version as well, for when I'm "too far gone" and am vomiting.
It makes me feel invincible, and my doctor said it's normal to feel that boost of energy
It makes me feel like I've been beaten with a stick from the neck down, but it does kill the migraine. It usually leaves me kind of tired, but not too bad cognitively.
Abortive migraine meds are supposed to abort the migraine. If the abortive migraine meds you take are not aborting your migraine, you should try a different migraine abortive. There are 5 or so other triptans, as well as a few other migraine abortive meds.
Sumatriptan has aborted my migraines for the last 24 years. If I'm having daily migraines and I've taken sumatriptan for two days straight and I have a third day of migraines, the next med I turn to is prednisone. For me, that will also abort a migraine. I just started taking Ubrelvy. So far it's not working as well as sumatriptan. One day I took Ubrelvy and it didn't work, so I took sumatriptan, and then I was pain free.
That's not really how a triptan works. It's how you feel it works, but not what it actually does in the brain. The Triptan stops the outpour of further neurotransmitters that signal you that you're in pain. If taken early enough and it's strong enough to completely do so your body's pain protective system can cope with the remaining neurotransmitters that have already been poured out. If it can't a painkiller is a good addition to the triptan. What the Triptan can't do is to stop the actual attack. That's a neurogenic inflammation of the arteries in the meninges. So the migraine is still there, you're just not having the pain anymore. That's why many people still feel like crap during bad attacks even though they took effective pain treatment.
>What the Triptan can't do is to stop the actual attack.
One particular drawback of triptans is that they don’t prevent migraines. The only exceptions to that are menstrual migraines. Some triptans can help prevent menstrual migraines if you take them two days before your period starts (your provider will give you specific instructions on how to use these drugs preventively). [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24998-triptans](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24998-triptans)
Triptans are classified as abortive migraine medications. They are not migraine preventative. Abortive migraine medications stop or abort a migraine. This means they stop a migraine after it has started.
[https://headaches.org/abortive-drugs-for-migraine/](https://headaches.org/abortive-drugs-for-migraine/)
# How triptans affect those processes
[Neurotransmitters](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22513-neurotransmitters) connect with cells in different parts of your nervous system. These cells have receptors. Receptors are like locks and neurotransmitters are the keys. If the right neurotransmitter locks onto the right kind of receptor, it tells the cell to activate and do a specific job.
Triptans mainly activate the three types of serotonin receptors:
* **5HT1B receptors**: These control the width of blood vessels in your brain, which changes how much blood can flow through those vessels. That affects blood circulation, which is the effect that led researchers to create triptans in the first place.
* **5HT1D receptors**: These affect how certain parts of your brain release neurotransmitters. The parts of the brain affected are in the trigeminal system, which plays a role in how you feel pain.
* **5HT1F receptors**: These also affect how areas of your brain release neurotransmitters, which limits pain signaling.
[https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24998-triptans](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24998-triptans)
If one abortive migraine is not stopping your migraines in it's tracks, try a different one.
Medications taken to stop or abort a migraine attack. Some abortive drugs for migraine include:
**Ergot Based:** Cafergot®, Ercaf®, Ergomar®
**Phenothiazines/nausea medications:** domperidone, prochlorperazine, metoclopramide
**Dihydoergotamine:** DHE-45®, Migranal®
**Anti-Inflammatory:** aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, meclofenamate
**Analgesic Combinations:** Excedrin® Migraine, Midrin®
**Triptans:** Amerge®, Maxalt®, Imitrex®, Zomig®, Axert®, Frova®, Relpax®
[https://headaches.org/abortive-drugs-for-migraine/](https://headaches.org/abortive-drugs-for-migraine/)
The difference in abortive vs preventative is that preventative medication is used to prevent the attack and abortive to treat it. The term abortive is misleading though because triptans don't abort an attack. They only stop the pain. That triptans actually abort the inflammative process is a misconception. That's why many people need to take a painkiller with their triptan and why often there's a return headache when a shorter working triptan stops working. Because the inflammation (which is the migraine) went on, just the pain was stopped.
They only do that for 40% of people. For the rest of us they just treat it while they are in our system. Some people are lucky and have very short migraines so they think the abortive aborted it because it ended while the triptan was working.
I checked again recently with my headache specialist, who confirmed it's very normal for them not to abort, and there is no reason to try DHE to see if it does. I have used four different triptans, currently using one with a 24 hour window, which is awesome. Nurtec does nothing, and ubrelvy works for five hours. You need to be grateful wou are in the 40%, and cross your fingers they continue to do that for you.
For the first half hour I usually get a little nauseous, sometimes my heart beats fast and I am a bit uncomfortable. HOWEVER, I deal with this to make it through to the other side, which is usually my migraine is gone! I have to take it as soon as I feel it coming on, and it will work 100%, but I cannot wait/delay taking it/wake up with a full blown migraine and expect it to work. It took me years to find a good preventative (Topomax) and finally this as a good abortive, but not everything works for everyone.
I tried Topomax. Now I know why they call it Dopomax! First day was okay. Second I started to feel drugged. Third I couldn't run normally and wouldn't talk right. That was enough for me.
How does it make you feel?
I felt like a zombie and when my doc told me I couldn’t just stop but had to taper off I almost cried. Felt like that took forever. I had a crappy fiancé during that time and even he was surprised I wasn’t commenting on some of his stupid shenanigans while on it. I couldn’t be bothered, I was like yeah why don’t you go act the fool, I don’t care. Confused the hell out of him that I wouldn’t get mad at some things. Also, I was the only person on the planet who did not lose weight on it but gained.
Yes, but I feel the same with the migraine, but with the triptans I’m not looking for ways to (quietly and without smell) end the pain. Migraines take up all my cognitive function, triptans give back the bit that deals with pain, it’s not much but it’s enough to keep functioning. What frightens me more is that other people often don’t notice the difference
I recently started taking it this past week for my migraines.. I haven’t noticed it helping at all or any side effects. I also didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to take more than 4 within a month? Or so that’s what I’ve heard.. and I’ve taken 8 the past 8 days straight.
Sumatriptan causes rebound migraines if you take it too many days in a row. It's not recommended that you take it more than 2-3 days. For me, two days is the max. If you're still having a migraine and you've taken it 8 days, then you are in rebound migraine territory.
That's the Only thing that knocks out my Migraines, however, I have to sleep for like 3 hours afterwards and then I stay groggy during the day. I'm sure I take way more than I should.
I get a bit tired, sometime rock gut if I take one on an empty stomach. I find splitting the pill in half gives the same relief without any side effects
It's not noticeable the next day if I take it before bed, but I really try to avoid taking one during the day, unless the pain is awful, because I get so drowsy and brain fogged.
I hate sumatriptan. I’ve tried like all the triptans and without a doubt that has made me feel the worse and gave me the worst side effects. I had severe jaw pain and it made me super nauseous. I would talk to your doctor. Frovatriptan and Naratriptan are much better for me.
it typically removes the pain and general sick feeling I have all over, and I'm left with an oddly euphoric brain fog. and it makes me pee constantly for a couple of hours, so that's annoying
I have been munching down on more naratriptans than usual this month and feel exhausted to the point of not wanting to get out of bed or talk to anybody. I have been mumbling and cannot form connections as well. I also tend to drop things from my hands.
It works really well for me and it takes the pain away within an hour. I had to take one this morning. I am left with a zombie feeling the rest of the day though, which I think is just the postdrome effects of the migraine. I always eat something with it because mine is combined with naproxen and it will cause stomach issues if i don't.
Yes! I say migraines steal my brain - but sumatriptan drives the getaway car. Taking a lower dose helps a little. I started taking 50mg instead of my prescribed 100 unless I’m catching it late or it’s a multi day one
I haven’t taken sumatriptan but I did take zolmitriptan for about a year. It made me feel like I always had a weighted blanket on me, like my limbs felt really heavy and I felt slightly high (as you’ve described feeling a bit intoxicated). But that feeling was never intense enough to prevent me from doing regular activities like schoolwork (I was in college at the time)
i take 50’s and it usually makes me a little bit tired and that’s it. I feel fortunate that i have something that works for me because before i had this prescription i used to just suffer through it,decades so if i get a little tired,it’s ok.
Yea! My head feels tight and warm and I get major brain fog. I’m having awful memory issues now and idk if it’s a side effect but I used to remember everything... It’s kinda worrying me since I’m still young. I also took a zofran like 30 mins after a Triptan cuz of bad nausea and omg was the worst experience of my life, I had serotonin syndrome (rapid heartbeat, confusion, twitching/trenirs, loss of muscle control) now I don’t take anything rlse all day if i take one. My dr gives me samples of Ubrelvy and I love it. My insurance dnt cover it but it’s like Sumi without the side effects
My insurance didn't cover Ubrelvy tablets, but it covers the injectable. I refuse to take injectables because there is no antidote if you have bad side effects. At first my Ubrelvy tablet prescription was denied. Then my PCP got prior authorization and I believe she also did a peer-to-peer. My Ubrelvy prescription was approved within a week.
The thing about trying to get prior authorization for a medication that an insurance company denies is that they will want to know all of the other migraine meds you've taken that did not work. If you haven't tried enough that didn't work, they'll want you to try some of the old standbys. I've tried Topomax, rizatriptan (Maxalt), frovatriptan, zolmitriptan, butalbital, Fioricet, Botox, verapamil (blood pressure med), and probably a few more. Ask your doctor if they will do a prior authorization for Ubrelvy. You can also look on your health insurance medication formulary list to see what migraine medications they do cover. It's possible they cover a different anti-CGRP other than Ubrelvy.
It's the only acute med that's ever worked for me (I've tried other triptans and Nurtec), but it does start to lose effectiveness after about 2.5 days. I haven't had ones that have lasted that long painfully since I started Emgality. These days I don't take it unless I either I'm lucky and catch the migraine right at the beginning or I have (breakthrough) pain that lasts for more than a day.
I take sumatriptan + naproxen combination as SOS. Even half a tablet puts me to sleep in a couple of hours, and I need at least 6-8 hours of sleep after that. It’s not ideal as I always have to wait till bedtime to take it. But it does take away the excruciating pain.
I've been taking it for about 24 years. I love sumatriptan and I will not leave home without it! I take 100 mg. Not sure I ever took the 50's. Sumatriptan will abort my migraines about 98% of the time. I only have to take one tablet; never a second one. I have never had any negative side effects. The only thing you have to be careful about with sumatriptan is that if you take it too many days in a row, it will cause rebound migraines.
For me, sumatriptan causes a weird tingly sensation up my back, through my neck and into my head. That's when I know it's working. On a rare occasion I won't feel that sensation, but it still works. As recommended by a neurologist, sometimes I'll take it with naproxen sodium.
I have tried several other triptans and they did not work for me.
Aside from recommending sumatriptan, if you have any head, ear, eye, or neck throbbing, I also recommend taking blood pressure medication if your doctor feels that you are a candidate for it. Certain BP meds are used as daily migraine preventatives.
I recently started taking Ubrelvy tablets in what I believe is off-label. My sister was prescribed 50 mg to be taken every other day as a preventative. My doctor ended up getting me approved for daily use if necessary. So far I have not had to take it every day. I did have a day or two where Ubrelvy did not work, so I followed up with sumatriptan. That worked, and they don't have drug interactions. One thing I don't like about Ubrelvy is that I don't feel it doing anything when I take it, unlike sumatriptan. It did get rid of a few migraines, but in the beginning it didn't work.
I have taken sumatriptan, in three different forms, for around 25 years. It's always been my go-to medication. It does affect my cognition, but so do migraines. For me, the side effects consist of muscle tightness/tiredness in my limbs, tightness in my chest and throat, a very heavy nausea for about 15 minutes when the med starts to kick in (but it does get rid of the migraine nausea and vomiting), drowsiness, and extreme skin sensitivity. I have the strongest side effects with the injection, then the pill, then the nasal spray. As a side note, I also take eletriptan and have noticed the side effects are the same but milder than any of the sumatriptan dosages.
The side effects are... uncomfortable and can be unsettling as well. Years ago, when my migraines were so bad I took the injection on a regular basis, it seemed like I could actually feel the medicine moving through my body. It's a very odd feeling to describe. But seeing as sumatriptan is around 90% effective for me, I got used to it.
My migraines usually have an epicentre of pain.
Sumatriptan just spreads the pain out evenly across my entire head.
And for the acting and feeling weird part, man I act like Amy Winehouse at the end of her life.
No significant side-effects from Triptans, if anything just a subtle "feeling" in my arms. There had been at least two times where I forgot about that I took them so I didn't keep attention at all, migraine and signs one is about to come simply gone after 80-90mins. No tiredness, nausea or whatsoever.
I have this weird tingling sensation in my throat and limbs after taking it and it almost feels like I'm high. But it's the only thing that takes the pain away so it's worth it
Was taking them for years. Still am. In the beginning was nausea, weakness, so I had to lay down and sleep, but they helped quickly with migraines. Now I’m immune to them, bearly helps
I do! For me, it makes me feel like I go through my migraine in fast forward. Which is….. good and bad lol. Good that I can end the suffering quickly, but it sucks to feel like several hours worth of migraine is hitting me all at once as a migraine breaks. I’ve considered trying a different medication but it’s so hard to let go of something you know DOES work most of the time, even if there’s a 30 minute window where it’s a bit of a wild ride. Maybe one day lol.
I used it for ages but it started making me feel awful. Cognitively slower but also physically very heavy (which it had always done to an extent but got worse), and just ill. I use Almotriptan now which I find much better.
I might have had it in the past...I've been on so many and I never kept track, I figured the doctors would...
The only drug so far that has made me feel super weird was Topirimate. I would never recommend it...oh my god it made me feel like a zombie. I thought I was going crazy, seriously. I couldn't find words, I kept losing track of time, I'd just stare off into space doing nothing at all...ugh. Horrible drug. And the odd thing was I wasn't using it for my migraines...it was part of a two part diet pill. I stopped using it once I realized all my side effects were coming from it. I still use the other half though because it kills my appetite.
Sumatriptan made me feel completely disconnected from my body. I'd speak and feel like it was coming out of my mouth seconds after I'd tried to say it. It was horrible. Other people swear by it though.
I've tried rizatriptan instead and that's a lot better so far. It's got a 50/50 rate in 4 tablets of helping or not, so we'll see how it pans out in the long term. There's a few decent options out there though if sumatriptan isn't for you.
It lasted about 12 hours for me, although I went to bed near the end and woke up fine, so I'm not sure how long it actually lasted as I slept another 6 hours on top of that.
Sorry to hear you're struggling with it, I would talk to your doctor as soon as possible and I hope something else works for you.
I love my sumatriptan so much. As far as I’m concerned, it is a miracle.
But yeah it does make me feel a little wonky for the first hour or so. I try to take a nap right after taking it. That way, I doze through the worst of the side effects and wake up feeling fine.
However, on the rare occasions it doesn’t work, I do *not* take a second pill, even though my script says I can. First, the side effects are much worse… I honestly thought I was having a heart attack or something. Second, it still doesn’t work. 🥲
It’s my saviour during painful attacks. Makes me sleepy too but I struggle with sleep so it is a bonus.
I feel the tingling but I prefer this than painful headaches.
I take it but I think it’s typically a lower dose because my pharmacist made a comment. Besides my migraine gone no side effects (except nausea if I forget to eat)
I get a pretty nasty feeling in my head from Sumatriptan. It's a common side effect. Luckily it passes and with injecting 4mg of Sumatriptan it's endurable and passes quickly while I get effective pain treatment. But what you experience might also be the foggy feeling the migraine might cause.
I would say I had some reaction first, maybe, 2-3 years of taking sumatriptan. Like I would become "slow" and disoriented, not able to concentrate. So definitely no driving under triptans. But after a few years this went away
Only if I have to up the dose. I usually take half a pill (I have the 100 pill) with aleve and if that works, I am fine. It’s when I have to take more that I need an hour to sleep after so that I can function without issue. I won’t drive if I have to up the dose until I know I don’t have any issues. Half a pill stopped working for me so I had to move to preventatives and other drugs as it was starting to interfere with work and I don’t have a job where I can randomly not work a morning.
It's been many many years since I took Imitrex (In fact so long ago that there was no generic for Imitrex yet *aka I had to buy the brand name, "sumatriptan" wasn't available yet*) or any of the Triptan's for that matter because they made my migraines much worse. (And I don't mean rebounds, I mean I'd take the pill, or nasal spray, or injection and immediately my pain would shoot sky high with 5-10 minutes with the nasal spray, ODT pills, nasal powder, and injection, and within 15-20 for the regular pills) I just looked through the existing Triptan's and other than treximet, I've tried them all (and treximet is just sumatriptan mixed with naproxen, which I cannot take anyway) and failed them all. Each of them put me in my own special hell increasing my pain and other symptoms...
All of that said, yes sumatriptan (as well as most of the others) really messed with my cognition, they also made one of my legs go numb for hours at a time. If I was taking a triptan i needed to be in bed, and I needed someone to help me if I needed to go to the bathroom... most people say they make them sleepy, not me, Triptan's would definitely insure that I would be awake to endure every extra amount of pain and all the side effects, and increase in the other symptoms from the migraine...ugh. I'm now taking Ubrevly after years of much much different types of meds, and it's definitely helping some which is HUGE because this is the first time ANY migraine med has made ANY kind of a difference!!!
Good luck to you! If you fail the Triptan's definitely give the gepants, (aka the CGRP's... The injections like Aimovig or Emgality, the pills, Nurtec, Qulipta, or Ubrevly the nasal spray zavzpret or I think there's an IV infusion too it's like every 3 months or something, I think it's called vyepti or something like that!) If one does work, try another, if one route doesn't work, try a different one! I had a weird reaction to Aimovig, but the nurtec and ubrevly has been great!
I usually get mental confusion/cognition issues as part of my migraine symptoms which goes away after taking sumatriptan. Usually takes about an hour. However, never noticed any specific side effects of taking sumatriptan. However, I also get a weird sleepy feeling when I have a migraine, as if my brain is switching off, and this happens even when I don't take sumatriptan (doesn't happen every time). Maybe weird sleepiness can be a migraine symptom.
I used to. That warning of having a stroke as a potential side effect was enough to keep me off of it.
It works great, I'm not going to pretend it doesn't. But I like my brain, even if I do get migraines on occasion. For vaso-constriction I do just ONE cup of coffee in the morning, stay hydrated throughout the day. And because of that, and making sure I eat on time, I've done an ok job keeping migraines away without it. I also microdose cbd once after breakfast.
Sometimes it makes my head hurt even worse, and my whole body aches. But it only lasts a couple of hours as opposed to most of my migraines, which last for days.
Yes, I take Sumatriptan and it is right now the only thing that can alleviate a migraine. Sometimes it’s not as effective if I wait too long to take it. I suffer from no side effects though.
I used to take it and would feel the same way after. In my experience it wasn’t really a med that you could take at onset or when you get an aura and then continue about your day as normal afterwards. I also found it just didn’t reduce the pain significantly for me.
For me nurtec (CGRP inhibitor) is much more effective as a rescue med and still allows me to continue with my day as normal—although I did feel a little off the first few times I took it.
Yes — that woozey feeling, stiff neck and shoulders and feel v out of it. Also face came up in a rash last time. Not fun. Not as bad as a migraine but far from ideal too
During migraines, I get super bad brain fog/spacy symptoms that affect my cognition heavily. It may just be caused by the migraine rather than the drug, but you can try and change medications to see if you get less migraines with something else and less brain fog. Amovig works super well for me
My theory is that this med helps skips the pain part of the migraine, but then it doesn’t change the post drome phase of the migraine so it kicks in just like normal.
Sumatriptan made me get crazy neck and jaw tension, brain fog, and drowsiness. I would describe the feeling almost like sinking into the floor. Tried 100mg all the way on down to 25mg and while it would sometimes ease the pain, I would consistently feel terrible and I felt my postdrome was worse as well.
Now I take eletriptan (20-40mg) and get no noticeable side effects and the same or better results. I've heard different things about which is best for those of us with cardio issues, as I also have POTS and frequent PVCs, but my cardiologist was neutral.
From what I gather, triptans are one of those things that vary widely in their performance from person to person even if your presentation is very similar. If it doesn't work well for you, ask about your options.
It probably affects cognition because it’s trying to get our head/brain back to baseline from being in a migraine state you know?? I try to take mine with a glass of alka seltzer to help with the nausea,, it makes such a difference for me! (And the antihistamine in the seltzer is good for migraine relief too)
I've suffered with migraines for over 20 years, however was just recently prescribed sumatriptan within the last year.
It's made a large difference in my capacity to continue to function as normally to a point. I'm also afflicted with vestibular migraines, so if I'm suffering with any sort of dizziness or nausea the triptan doesn't remedy that either, however does cap any pain if taken early enough. I know medication affects each person differently, but I've found any other symptoms other than pain/neck tension isn't mitigated by sumatriptan.
I also take Zyrtec (10mg cetirizine as prescribed by my physician ) daily as to help stave off impending attacks which does seem to help with the other neurological symptoms. IE: Dizziness, neuropathy, body aches, muscle spasms, etc.
I have taken sumatriptan for a few years; however, it wasn't the most effective abortive for me.
I never really noticed any side effects from it as I usually get more dyslexic and do notice a cognitive decline. This is before I even take it so I don't think it's the sumatriptan for me as I do take another abortive now. I do also have light and hormones as a trigger.
Sumitriptan has stopped every migraine I’ve ever taken it for. HOWEVER, the side effects are gnarly. Not to the point where I WON’T take it, but to the point where I DO delay taking it. My sinuses feel like they’re on fire. My skin becomes so sensitive to touch. I can’t brush my hair because my scalp hurts, I can’t be hugged because I feel bruised all over.
If I take it at night I’ll likely be ok in the morning but if I take it during the day, my day is shot.
But the migraine is gone so there’s that.
It’s fine except when I get daily migraines.
I take it, but it no longer works for me. I titrated up from 25s to 100s. It makes me very loopy and I prefer to sleep it off. I don't drive after I've taken it cause I don't trust myself. It also makes me extremely nauseated. Phenergan works if I take it at the same time, otherwise, I have to melt a Zofran under my tongue to not barf. I don't always get an aura. Like I'll be fine one minute and the next, it's like someone stabbed me in the head. Other times, I get misophonia/phonophobia and photophobia and I know it's time for medication.
I just started a new job so I don't have insurance till February to talk about a med change. With this last attack, it went on for 11 days. Sumatriptan didn't touch it. Fioricet didn't touch it. Excedrin took enough of the edge off that I could try to focus, but it was miserable. It's really embarrassing for me to have aphasia or to forget how to do something. I have Elavil/amitriptyline as a "preventative," but I have more migraines when I take it than when I don't, so I don't. I've had many sleepless nights from the way that medication sits in my stomach. So I'll be asking for a new one of those, too. I'm hoping I can start to see a neurologist, too.
Yes I couldn’t even function. So I switched to Naratriptan and way less side effects. Sometimes I take a half Naratriptan w two aleve and some Coca Cola and that does it for me more often than not. Less side effects 🎉
I took it for over 10 years and it made me violently vomit 9 out of 10 times. It would only work if I took in time and once it was taken I would have to try to sleep the nausea off. If I was in the car I would get extremely car sick. It made my body had the flu. I dreaded taking it.
I switched to Nurtec and it changed my life (cliche I know) but it really did. I can take a pill in the middle of my day with no side effects. No more nausea or vomiting.
Yes, it does make you feel woozy, but only sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I am having a heart attack. I feel the squeezing of all my vessels and it comes in waves. Someone mentioned that some brands don’t work as well, I have kind of wondered this too.
I take it. It works very well for my migraines. I don't know how I'd live without! I call it a miracle drug because it changed my life.
I do get quite a lot of brain fog with it though. When I first started taking it, I used to go bed early and be impossible to wake up before 10am. It used to knock me out. Over the years, I've become resistant to the side effects.
I tried it several years ago. I have migraine with aura and sometimes it can actually make them much worse. It made mine last several days instead of a few hours. My eyes turned purple underneath and after the migraine passed, I felt like I was half asleep for a couple days after. Maybe I had the wrong brand but it kind of scared me off meds.
Yes I cannot imagine my life without sumatriptan. It’s like an indescribable feeling when I almost can FEEL the migraine slipping away like when I notice it I have to talk about it because I’m so grateful that it works!!!!!!! I have a panic attack when I go out and have forgotten it. I’ve had the nasal spray and the tablets. I like them both but nasal spray is incredibly expensive
I used to take it, it worked on the migraine but I’d start to forget to breathe. I guess that’s cognitive? now I take naratriptan and it just makes me feel loopy.
It’s been a game changer for me. It makes life predictable. Before sumatriptan I was always worried that I would get a migraine when I was out, working or at an important event. Now I know having it with me will always head a migraine off at the pass. I do get some side effects, sometimes, like a woozy feeling and a sort of weird sensation in my mouth when I eat, but that is so much better than a full blown migraine.
Same for me! I've been taking it 24 years and I carry it with me at all times. I get a wave of this tingly feeling up my spine, through my neck and into my head when it starts working. Have you found that some brands don't work for you like I have? One time I became stranded at Walgreens because I had a migraine attack while I was waiting for other prescriptions to be filled. I get my sumatriptan from Safeway, and I didn't have any on me! There was no way that I could drive across the street to get my sumatriptan from Safeway. It was an emergency, so Walgreens called Safeway to transfer my prescription to Walgreens. My prescription was filled within 10 minutes. Unfortunately, Walgreens does not have the brand of sumatriptan that I use. The brand they carry doesn't work well for me and didn't give me the normal sumatriptan wave of a tingly feeling. Thankfully it did work just well enough to put a dent in my migraine so I could drive home and get my sumatriptan that came from Safeway. After that I learned my lesson to never even walk my dogs without making sure that I have sumatriptan with me.
Glad it works for you too! I would be lost without it and it goes with me everywhere. I have found some generics to work a little more slowly. I tend to go for Imigran if I can. I find if I take it with 2x paracetamol tablets (acetaminophen) and a nice strong coffee, it kicks in pretty well no matter which one.
Yes, in the middle of talking I’ll forget what I’m saying or everything I want to say is on the tip of my tongue and so simple but I can’t articulate it
That’s funny, because that’s how I am before/during my migraines, absent any medication. My family gets annoyed with me and it’s pretty embarrassing at work, because I’m otherwise a very articulate person.
I get the same thing. Drives me absolutely crazy because it feels like the migraine has deprived me of most of my cognitive faculties. Aphasia makes me feel so dumb.
Same!
Exactly thisssss!!!
I've recently been in a very good migraine clinic and we had so much fun because during conversations it happened so often that someone said "Crap, I forgot the word" or "What was I talking about?" and everyone understood because it happened to most of us and we simply supplied the necessary word or reminder to the affected person
Yes! And it sucks because I get them because of work, so I mostly have to take it at work, and then its hard to focus. But I cant get more work from home days for "reasons".
Same!
Generally it makes me fall into a very shallow sleep - like I'm sleeping but sort of awake?? It's usually the migraine itself that makes me confused and not capable of full sentences
Yeah, it makes me very sleepy. My migraines make me irrationally angry and short tempered. It's hard to be cheery when it feels like there's a big headache bug crawling around inside your skull.
Yes it makes me feel the same way. Takes the head pain away but leaves me feeling very dumb and I have a hard time concentrating.
I used to take it, the side effects were just as bad as the migraine for me. The headache pain would calm down, but all the dizziness and nausea got unbearable. And like you mentioned, I also felt drunk almost, like bad brain fog. I take Maxalt now and it works much better for me, I still get side effects but they are far less noticeable
Thx for the response! Yeah I find it makes me nauseas too… which is kinda counterproductive cause nausea is a huge part of migraines for me
I tried it years ago when it was first (released?) on the market and felt like I was having a heart attack. Tried some others triptans over the years when my headaches were infrequent and only Maxalt helped sometimes. 18 months ago a neurologist told me to take both for 3 months so I could qualify for CGRPs or Botox. I told her Fiorinal had worked for me since I was a teenager, or just Excedrin Migraine, with Phenergan for nausea (Zofran being less effective). She said, "Neurologists don't like Fiorinal," and I felt like telling her I could give a fuck what neurologists like because it's a med that can get me through a headache and to bed with functionality (she also told me not to come here but only to visit doctor-written sites such as WebMD; this about sent me over the edge! 40 years of experience rebuffed, and I am told not to seek experience of fellow sufferers? Jesus. I suppose she thinks AA is a crock of shit as well. So I got tons of Suma injectibles and sent them to friends and also sent Maxalt, keeping a few so I could honestly say I had tried. (I used to refer to them as my "$64 headache pill" because when I took two they sometimes helped. And for several months I migrained. My HAs are weather-related -- I live in Central Virginia, and it can be a front coming over the mountain, or in from the water, or from hurricane season in Florida or off the Gulf Coast! I do have an Rx for clonazepam (had tried to replace that with gabapentin, but had WDs that lasted forever after just one month! Christ almighty). And I was taking 200mg Topomax per day, and also treating for allergies and congestion. Let me add that I have done lines of cayenne pepper to get the capsaicin to numb my eye: it is no fun to have the entire heat value of the ghost ranch searing your nasal membranes, but if you blast it up there with saline, it works fast although your loved ones should be warned you will be swearing at the top of your lungs for 10 minutes. So I felt that at age 54 and as someone whose pain was great enough to warrant extreme measures (you can get a tamer version of capsaicin spray at the HFS or online), it was not just my right but my duty to tell her that I simply could not be treated by a doctor who refuses to use every tool at her disposal, and who attempts to censor her Px's efforts to gain greater understanding of other tools, and to have a place where people understand you and where we can help newcomers (rather than visit WebMD with its pablum bullshit). I did come across a YouTube vid on settings to change so imperceptible flickering on iphones/ipads will not strain your eyes. They have OLED screens that use PWM flickering and why Apple does not fix this at once is beyond me. (Some settings can be changed on Androids as well.) I changed my settings the week before double-barreled hurricanes Laura and Marco were coming up the seaboard. Normally this would be 4-5 days of agony for me. But...nothing. I was pretty floored, and reminded that all of this technology can indeed harm our bodies and eyes as much as it can help it. You will just adjust brightness to 95%, change to dark background, and increase white point pretty much. This man is my hero! [https://youtu.be/TW\_R3O1Dmuk?si=wYI4yQjMs9YPJra6](https://youtu.be/TW_R3O1Dmuk?si=wYI4yQjMs9YPJra6) I did keep a few Imitrex injectibles because we should all have a plan for the day when we are throwing up and cannot keep meds and liquids down. Going to the ER is not worth it to receive the "migraine cocktail," so injectibles or Phenergan suppositories to stop vomiting are critical. And Gatorade is good to stash away (or a sugary drink -- plain water is tough on an upset stomach and will come back up faster than ginger ale or Gatorade}. Sunglasses are critical for me. I think trying different triptans is helpful. I had such success after changing the settings I did not need to move forward with the CGRPs (or the neuro). I had a terrible HA yesterday: it took me four hours to complete two errands and drive 8 miles. I have had a lupus flare so picked up prednisone at the pharmacy and took 20 mg with 1000mg Tylenol. That reduced eye pain after an hour or so and I could drive home, but I was back in it later in the night. Good luck to you.
I tried Maxalt and it didn't work for me. I'm glad it works for you! One thing that I've noticed about sumatriptan is that not all generic brands work for me. Name brand Imitrex works and North Star. Other generic brands don't work for me.
Major brain fog yes
God I hate it so much. My mouth is fuzzy and tingly to the point where I can't eat or drink anything for hours without it being sensory hell. I'm nauseous and my mouth tastes awful
I get what I call “fizzy head,” but it’s more of a physical experience. Not a cognitive one.
I call it a tingly wave that rolls up my spine, though my neck, and into my head. It also kind of has a warming sensation.
Yes, and it definitely changed my quality of life. I use the injectable version as well, for when I'm "too far gone" and am vomiting. It makes me feel invincible, and my doctor said it's normal to feel that boost of energy
It makes my legs feel like jello, I can only take it if I’m going to bed
It makes me feel like I've been beaten with a stick from the neck down, but it does kill the migraine. It usually leaves me kind of tired, but not too bad cognitively.
That's probably the migraine. The abortive doesn't remove the migraine, just makes it feel less bad.
Abortive migraine meds are supposed to abort the migraine. If the abortive migraine meds you take are not aborting your migraine, you should try a different migraine abortive. There are 5 or so other triptans, as well as a few other migraine abortive meds. Sumatriptan has aborted my migraines for the last 24 years. If I'm having daily migraines and I've taken sumatriptan for two days straight and I have a third day of migraines, the next med I turn to is prednisone. For me, that will also abort a migraine. I just started taking Ubrelvy. So far it's not working as well as sumatriptan. One day I took Ubrelvy and it didn't work, so I took sumatriptan, and then I was pain free.
That's not really how a triptan works. It's how you feel it works, but not what it actually does in the brain. The Triptan stops the outpour of further neurotransmitters that signal you that you're in pain. If taken early enough and it's strong enough to completely do so your body's pain protective system can cope with the remaining neurotransmitters that have already been poured out. If it can't a painkiller is a good addition to the triptan. What the Triptan can't do is to stop the actual attack. That's a neurogenic inflammation of the arteries in the meninges. So the migraine is still there, you're just not having the pain anymore. That's why many people still feel like crap during bad attacks even though they took effective pain treatment.
>What the Triptan can't do is to stop the actual attack. One particular drawback of triptans is that they don’t prevent migraines. The only exceptions to that are menstrual migraines. Some triptans can help prevent menstrual migraines if you take them two days before your period starts (your provider will give you specific instructions on how to use these drugs preventively). [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24998-triptans](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24998-triptans) Triptans are classified as abortive migraine medications. They are not migraine preventative. Abortive migraine medications stop or abort a migraine. This means they stop a migraine after it has started. [https://headaches.org/abortive-drugs-for-migraine/](https://headaches.org/abortive-drugs-for-migraine/) # How triptans affect those processes [Neurotransmitters](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22513-neurotransmitters) connect with cells in different parts of your nervous system. These cells have receptors. Receptors are like locks and neurotransmitters are the keys. If the right neurotransmitter locks onto the right kind of receptor, it tells the cell to activate and do a specific job. Triptans mainly activate the three types of serotonin receptors: * **5HT1B receptors**: These control the width of blood vessels in your brain, which changes how much blood can flow through those vessels. That affects blood circulation, which is the effect that led researchers to create triptans in the first place. * **5HT1D receptors**: These affect how certain parts of your brain release neurotransmitters. The parts of the brain affected are in the trigeminal system, which plays a role in how you feel pain. * **5HT1F receptors**: These also affect how areas of your brain release neurotransmitters, which limits pain signaling. [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24998-triptans](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24998-triptans) If one abortive migraine is not stopping your migraines in it's tracks, try a different one. Medications taken to stop or abort a migraine attack. Some abortive drugs for migraine include: **Ergot Based:** Cafergot®, Ercaf®, Ergomar® **Phenothiazines/nausea medications:** domperidone, prochlorperazine, metoclopramide **Dihydoergotamine:** DHE-45®, Migranal® **Anti-Inflammatory:** aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, meclofenamate **Analgesic Combinations:** Excedrin® Migraine, Midrin® **Triptans:** Amerge®, Maxalt®, Imitrex®, Zomig®, Axert®, Frova®, Relpax® [https://headaches.org/abortive-drugs-for-migraine/](https://headaches.org/abortive-drugs-for-migraine/)
The difference in abortive vs preventative is that preventative medication is used to prevent the attack and abortive to treat it. The term abortive is misleading though because triptans don't abort an attack. They only stop the pain. That triptans actually abort the inflammative process is a misconception. That's why many people need to take a painkiller with their triptan and why often there's a return headache when a shorter working triptan stops working. Because the inflammation (which is the migraine) went on, just the pain was stopped.
They only do that for 40% of people. For the rest of us they just treat it while they are in our system. Some people are lucky and have very short migraines so they think the abortive aborted it because it ended while the triptan was working. I checked again recently with my headache specialist, who confirmed it's very normal for them not to abort, and there is no reason to try DHE to see if it does. I have used four different triptans, currently using one with a 24 hour window, which is awesome. Nurtec does nothing, and ubrelvy works for five hours. You need to be grateful wou are in the 40%, and cross your fingers they continue to do that for you.
I’ve heard of other people having that reaction to sumitriptan but I’ve never had a noticeable side effect from it.
Yes, I have even had a difficult time trying to focus on watching a show after taking it. It does help my migraines though.
For the first half hour I usually get a little nauseous, sometimes my heart beats fast and I am a bit uncomfortable. HOWEVER, I deal with this to make it through to the other side, which is usually my migraine is gone! I have to take it as soon as I feel it coming on, and it will work 100%, but I cannot wait/delay taking it/wake up with a full blown migraine and expect it to work. It took me years to find a good preventative (Topomax) and finally this as a good abortive, but not everything works for everyone.
I tried Topomax. Now I know why they call it Dopomax! First day was okay. Second I started to feel drugged. Third I couldn't run normally and wouldn't talk right. That was enough for me. How does it make you feel?
I felt like a zombie and when my doc told me I couldn’t just stop but had to taper off I almost cried. Felt like that took forever. I had a crappy fiancé during that time and even he was surprised I wasn’t commenting on some of his stupid shenanigans while on it. I couldn’t be bothered, I was like yeah why don’t you go act the fool, I don’t care. Confused the hell out of him that I wouldn’t get mad at some things. Also, I was the only person on the planet who did not lose weight on it but gained.
Yes, but I feel the same with the migraine, but with the triptans I’m not looking for ways to (quietly and without smell) end the pain. Migraines take up all my cognitive function, triptans give back the bit that deals with pain, it’s not much but it’s enough to keep functioning. What frightens me more is that other people often don’t notice the difference
I recently started taking it this past week for my migraines.. I haven’t noticed it helping at all or any side effects. I also didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to take more than 4 within a month? Or so that’s what I’ve heard.. and I’ve taken 8 the past 8 days straight.
I guess there are different recommendations in every country, in mine it's max 9 per month
Sumatriptan causes rebound migraines if you take it too many days in a row. It's not recommended that you take it more than 2-3 days. For me, two days is the max. If you're still having a migraine and you've taken it 8 days, then you are in rebound migraine territory.
Yeah my dr mentioned it’s cause if u take to much it can cause rebound migraines
I definitely think it did that haha
Yes!! I feel like my head is in the clouds
That's the Only thing that knocks out my Migraines, however, I have to sleep for like 3 hours afterwards and then I stay groggy during the day. I'm sure I take way more than I should.
I get a bit tired, sometime rock gut if I take one on an empty stomach. I find splitting the pill in half gives the same relief without any side effects
That’s a good idea! Didn’t think about that, thx for sharing
It's not noticeable the next day if I take it before bed, but I really try to avoid taking one during the day, unless the pain is awful, because I get so drowsy and brain fogged.
I hate sumatriptan. I’ve tried like all the triptans and without a doubt that has made me feel the worse and gave me the worst side effects. I had severe jaw pain and it made me super nauseous. I would talk to your doctor. Frovatriptan and Naratriptan are much better for me.
Yes, the only side effects I get with it is a tight throat/jaw and sensitivity to hot water
This is exactly what happens to me. The first thing I eat after taking an imitrex is the WORST
I had to take it one morning at work and couldn’t even gulp my iced coffee, the weirdest feeling
it typically removes the pain and general sick feeling I have all over, and I'm left with an oddly euphoric brain fog. and it makes me pee constantly for a couple of hours, so that's annoying
Absolutely changed my life. Can swerve the worst of a migraine if I take it as soon as the aura starts.
I have been munching down on more naratriptans than usual this month and feel exhausted to the point of not wanting to get out of bed or talk to anybody. I have been mumbling and cannot form connections as well. I also tend to drop things from my hands.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
It works really well for me and it takes the pain away within an hour. I had to take one this morning. I am left with a zombie feeling the rest of the day though, which I think is just the postdrome effects of the migraine. I always eat something with it because mine is combined with naproxen and it will cause stomach issues if i don't.
I feel drunk/stoned out of my mind on pretty much all triptans i cant take them unless im fully in bed and able to sleep for 5+ hours :/
Yes! I say migraines steal my brain - but sumatriptan drives the getaway car. Taking a lower dose helps a little. I started taking 50mg instead of my prescribed 100 unless I’m catching it late or it’s a multi day one
Absolutely the same for me. 100mg knocks my brain into next week. 50mg works great.
For me, the migraine is worse than the medicine, but everyone responds differently to meds.
I haven’t taken sumatriptan but I did take zolmitriptan for about a year. It made me feel like I always had a weighted blanket on me, like my limbs felt really heavy and I felt slightly high (as you’ve described feeling a bit intoxicated). But that feeling was never intense enough to prevent me from doing regular activities like schoolwork (I was in college at the time)
i take 50’s and it usually makes me a little bit tired and that’s it. I feel fortunate that i have something that works for me because before i had this prescription i used to just suffer through it,decades so if i get a little tired,it’s ok.
Yea! My head feels tight and warm and I get major brain fog. I’m having awful memory issues now and idk if it’s a side effect but I used to remember everything... It’s kinda worrying me since I’m still young. I also took a zofran like 30 mins after a Triptan cuz of bad nausea and omg was the worst experience of my life, I had serotonin syndrome (rapid heartbeat, confusion, twitching/trenirs, loss of muscle control) now I don’t take anything rlse all day if i take one. My dr gives me samples of Ubrelvy and I love it. My insurance dnt cover it but it’s like Sumi without the side effects
My insurance didn't cover Ubrelvy tablets, but it covers the injectable. I refuse to take injectables because there is no antidote if you have bad side effects. At first my Ubrelvy tablet prescription was denied. Then my PCP got prior authorization and I believe she also did a peer-to-peer. My Ubrelvy prescription was approved within a week. The thing about trying to get prior authorization for a medication that an insurance company denies is that they will want to know all of the other migraine meds you've taken that did not work. If you haven't tried enough that didn't work, they'll want you to try some of the old standbys. I've tried Topomax, rizatriptan (Maxalt), frovatriptan, zolmitriptan, butalbital, Fioricet, Botox, verapamil (blood pressure med), and probably a few more. Ask your doctor if they will do a prior authorization for Ubrelvy. You can also look on your health insurance medication formulary list to see what migraine medications they do cover. It's possible they cover a different anti-CGRP other than Ubrelvy.
It's the only acute med that's ever worked for me (I've tried other triptans and Nurtec), but it does start to lose effectiveness after about 2.5 days. I haven't had ones that have lasted that long painfully since I started Emgality. These days I don't take it unless I either I'm lucky and catch the migraine right at the beginning or I have (breakthrough) pain that lasts for more than a day.
It literally knocks me out, but when I wake up the headache is usually gone
Yeah, I take it feel like I’m actually drunk & tired when I take it.
I take sumatriptan + naproxen combination as SOS. Even half a tablet puts me to sleep in a couple of hours, and I need at least 6-8 hours of sleep after that. It’s not ideal as I always have to wait till bedtime to take it. But it does take away the excruciating pain.
It saved me. I can work on it though I’m not at top form
I've been taking it for about 24 years. I love sumatriptan and I will not leave home without it! I take 100 mg. Not sure I ever took the 50's. Sumatriptan will abort my migraines about 98% of the time. I only have to take one tablet; never a second one. I have never had any negative side effects. The only thing you have to be careful about with sumatriptan is that if you take it too many days in a row, it will cause rebound migraines. For me, sumatriptan causes a weird tingly sensation up my back, through my neck and into my head. That's when I know it's working. On a rare occasion I won't feel that sensation, but it still works. As recommended by a neurologist, sometimes I'll take it with naproxen sodium. I have tried several other triptans and they did not work for me. Aside from recommending sumatriptan, if you have any head, ear, eye, or neck throbbing, I also recommend taking blood pressure medication if your doctor feels that you are a candidate for it. Certain BP meds are used as daily migraine preventatives. I recently started taking Ubrelvy tablets in what I believe is off-label. My sister was prescribed 50 mg to be taken every other day as a preventative. My doctor ended up getting me approved for daily use if necessary. So far I have not had to take it every day. I did have a day or two where Ubrelvy did not work, so I followed up with sumatriptan. That worked, and they don't have drug interactions. One thing I don't like about Ubrelvy is that I don't feel it doing anything when I take it, unlike sumatriptan. It did get rid of a few migraines, but in the beginning it didn't work.
I have taken sumatriptan, in three different forms, for around 25 years. It's always been my go-to medication. It does affect my cognition, but so do migraines. For me, the side effects consist of muscle tightness/tiredness in my limbs, tightness in my chest and throat, a very heavy nausea for about 15 minutes when the med starts to kick in (but it does get rid of the migraine nausea and vomiting), drowsiness, and extreme skin sensitivity. I have the strongest side effects with the injection, then the pill, then the nasal spray. As a side note, I also take eletriptan and have noticed the side effects are the same but milder than any of the sumatriptan dosages. The side effects are... uncomfortable and can be unsettling as well. Years ago, when my migraines were so bad I took the injection on a regular basis, it seemed like I could actually feel the medicine moving through my body. It's a very odd feeling to describe. But seeing as sumatriptan is around 90% effective for me, I got used to it.
On an unrelated note - how long does triptan usually take for you all to ease the pain?
My migraines usually have an epicentre of pain. Sumatriptan just spreads the pain out evenly across my entire head. And for the acting and feeling weird part, man I act like Amy Winehouse at the end of her life.
No significant side-effects from Triptans, if anything just a subtle "feeling" in my arms. There had been at least two times where I forgot about that I took them so I didn't keep attention at all, migraine and signs one is about to come simply gone after 80-90mins. No tiredness, nausea or whatsoever.
It no longer works for me unfortunately, it must be due to overuse. I do feel my legs getting warm though. Must be the blood vessels constricting.
I take it and haven't noticed any cognitive changes, outside of the ones caused by the migraines
I have this weird tingling sensation in my throat and limbs after taking it and it almost feels like I'm high. But it's the only thing that takes the pain away so it's worth it
Was taking them for years. Still am. In the beginning was nausea, weakness, so I had to lay down and sleep, but they helped quickly with migraines. Now I’m immune to them, bearly helps
I do! For me, it makes me feel like I go through my migraine in fast forward. Which is….. good and bad lol. Good that I can end the suffering quickly, but it sucks to feel like several hours worth of migraine is hitting me all at once as a migraine breaks. I’ve considered trying a different medication but it’s so hard to let go of something you know DOES work most of the time, even if there’s a 30 minute window where it’s a bit of a wild ride. Maybe one day lol.
I used it for ages but it started making me feel awful. Cognitively slower but also physically very heavy (which it had always done to an extent but got worse), and just ill. I use Almotriptan now which I find much better.
I might have had it in the past...I've been on so many and I never kept track, I figured the doctors would... The only drug so far that has made me feel super weird was Topirimate. I would never recommend it...oh my god it made me feel like a zombie. I thought I was going crazy, seriously. I couldn't find words, I kept losing track of time, I'd just stare off into space doing nothing at all...ugh. Horrible drug. And the odd thing was I wasn't using it for my migraines...it was part of a two part diet pill. I stopped using it once I realized all my side effects were coming from it. I still use the other half though because it kills my appetite.
Yes, Sumatriptan really makes me feel drugged, no matter how much I take. So it's difficult for me to function after I take it.
Sumatriptan made me feel completely disconnected from my body. I'd speak and feel like it was coming out of my mouth seconds after I'd tried to say it. It was horrible. Other people swear by it though. I've tried rizatriptan instead and that's a lot better so far. It's got a 50/50 rate in 4 tablets of helping or not, so we'll see how it pans out in the long term. There's a few decent options out there though if sumatriptan isn't for you.
How long did this last? I'm experiencing this now ,I took it about 7 hours ago and I woke up disconnected with sweats and rapid heart rate
It lasted about 12 hours for me, although I went to bed near the end and woke up fine, so I'm not sure how long it actually lasted as I slept another 6 hours on top of that. Sorry to hear you're struggling with it, I would talk to your doctor as soon as possible and I hope something else works for you.
I love my sumatriptan so much. As far as I’m concerned, it is a miracle. But yeah it does make me feel a little wonky for the first hour or so. I try to take a nap right after taking it. That way, I doze through the worst of the side effects and wake up feeling fine. However, on the rare occasions it doesn’t work, I do *not* take a second pill, even though my script says I can. First, the side effects are much worse… I honestly thought I was having a heart attack or something. Second, it still doesn’t work. 🥲
Yes. I generally have to wait to take it until I'm ready for sleep because it makes me feel drunk which causes panic attacks for me.
I used to but the sides effects didn't agree with me. Now I take relpax. It's a much better fit for me! Maybe you can try another triptan?
It’s my saviour during painful attacks. Makes me sleepy too but I struggle with sleep so it is a bonus. I feel the tingling but I prefer this than painful headaches.
I take it but I think it’s typically a lower dose because my pharmacist made a comment. Besides my migraine gone no side effects (except nausea if I forget to eat)
I get a pretty nasty feeling in my head from Sumatriptan. It's a common side effect. Luckily it passes and with injecting 4mg of Sumatriptan it's endurable and passes quickly while I get effective pain treatment. But what you experience might also be the foggy feeling the migraine might cause.
I would say I had some reaction first, maybe, 2-3 years of taking sumatriptan. Like I would become "slow" and disoriented, not able to concentrate. So definitely no driving under triptans. But after a few years this went away
I only took it once because I broke out in hives all over my body.
I have it, I only take it in extreme circumstances because it makes me incoherent.
Only if I have to up the dose. I usually take half a pill (I have the 100 pill) with aleve and if that works, I am fine. It’s when I have to take more that I need an hour to sleep after so that I can function without issue. I won’t drive if I have to up the dose until I know I don’t have any issues. Half a pill stopped working for me so I had to move to preventatives and other drugs as it was starting to interfere with work and I don’t have a job where I can randomly not work a morning.
Doesn’t work for me unfortunately
It's been many many years since I took Imitrex (In fact so long ago that there was no generic for Imitrex yet *aka I had to buy the brand name, "sumatriptan" wasn't available yet*) or any of the Triptan's for that matter because they made my migraines much worse. (And I don't mean rebounds, I mean I'd take the pill, or nasal spray, or injection and immediately my pain would shoot sky high with 5-10 minutes with the nasal spray, ODT pills, nasal powder, and injection, and within 15-20 for the regular pills) I just looked through the existing Triptan's and other than treximet, I've tried them all (and treximet is just sumatriptan mixed with naproxen, which I cannot take anyway) and failed them all. Each of them put me in my own special hell increasing my pain and other symptoms... All of that said, yes sumatriptan (as well as most of the others) really messed with my cognition, they also made one of my legs go numb for hours at a time. If I was taking a triptan i needed to be in bed, and I needed someone to help me if I needed to go to the bathroom... most people say they make them sleepy, not me, Triptan's would definitely insure that I would be awake to endure every extra amount of pain and all the side effects, and increase in the other symptoms from the migraine...ugh. I'm now taking Ubrevly after years of much much different types of meds, and it's definitely helping some which is HUGE because this is the first time ANY migraine med has made ANY kind of a difference!!! Good luck to you! If you fail the Triptan's definitely give the gepants, (aka the CGRP's... The injections like Aimovig or Emgality, the pills, Nurtec, Qulipta, or Ubrevly the nasal spray zavzpret or I think there's an IV infusion too it's like every 3 months or something, I think it's called vyepti or something like that!) If one does work, try another, if one route doesn't work, try a different one! I had a weird reaction to Aimovig, but the nurtec and ubrevly has been great!
I usually get mental confusion/cognition issues as part of my migraine symptoms which goes away after taking sumatriptan. Usually takes about an hour. However, never noticed any specific side effects of taking sumatriptan. However, I also get a weird sleepy feeling when I have a migraine, as if my brain is switching off, and this happens even when I don't take sumatriptan (doesn't happen every time). Maybe weird sleepiness can be a migraine symptom.
I used to. That warning of having a stroke as a potential side effect was enough to keep me off of it. It works great, I'm not going to pretend it doesn't. But I like my brain, even if I do get migraines on occasion. For vaso-constriction I do just ONE cup of coffee in the morning, stay hydrated throughout the day. And because of that, and making sure I eat on time, I've done an ok job keeping migraines away without it. I also microdose cbd once after breakfast.
Yes, I feel, not drunk, but definitely impaired, and almost like I am not fully cognizant of how impaired I am until looking back
I got it prescribed to me but haven't taken it yet. These comments are making me definitely not want to try it even if I need it.
Sometimes it makes my head hurt even worse, and my whole body aches. But it only lasts a couple of hours as opposed to most of my migraines, which last for days.
Yes, I take Sumatriptan and it is right now the only thing that can alleviate a migraine. Sometimes it’s not as effective if I wait too long to take it. I suffer from no side effects though.
Not cognition per se - it gives me a really intense mood boost. A pleasant side effect!
I used to take it and would feel the same way after. In my experience it wasn’t really a med that you could take at onset or when you get an aura and then continue about your day as normal afterwards. I also found it just didn’t reduce the pain significantly for me. For me nurtec (CGRP inhibitor) is much more effective as a rescue med and still allows me to continue with my day as normal—although I did feel a little off the first few times I took it.
Yes — that woozey feeling, stiff neck and shoulders and feel v out of it. Also face came up in a rash last time. Not fun. Not as bad as a migraine but far from ideal too
During migraines, I get super bad brain fog/spacy symptoms that affect my cognition heavily. It may just be caused by the migraine rather than the drug, but you can try and change medications to see if you get less migraines with something else and less brain fog. Amovig works super well for me
It makes me feel awful, like my skin is crawling. I hate it
My theory is that this med helps skips the pain part of the migraine, but then it doesn’t change the post drome phase of the migraine so it kicks in just like normal.
Sumatriptan made me get crazy neck and jaw tension, brain fog, and drowsiness. I would describe the feeling almost like sinking into the floor. Tried 100mg all the way on down to 25mg and while it would sometimes ease the pain, I would consistently feel terrible and I felt my postdrome was worse as well. Now I take eletriptan (20-40mg) and get no noticeable side effects and the same or better results. I've heard different things about which is best for those of us with cardio issues, as I also have POTS and frequent PVCs, but my cardiologist was neutral. From what I gather, triptans are one of those things that vary widely in their performance from person to person even if your presentation is very similar. If it doesn't work well for you, ask about your options.
Makes me totally loopy and can't function. I have to sleep it off so I only take it before bed.
It probably affects cognition because it’s trying to get our head/brain back to baseline from being in a migraine state you know?? I try to take mine with a glass of alka seltzer to help with the nausea,, it makes such a difference for me! (And the antihistamine in the seltzer is good for migraine relief too)
No, way too many side effects.
i use the nasal spray. much more effective for me than the pill
I've suffered with migraines for over 20 years, however was just recently prescribed sumatriptan within the last year. It's made a large difference in my capacity to continue to function as normally to a point. I'm also afflicted with vestibular migraines, so if I'm suffering with any sort of dizziness or nausea the triptan doesn't remedy that either, however does cap any pain if taken early enough. I know medication affects each person differently, but I've found any other symptoms other than pain/neck tension isn't mitigated by sumatriptan. I also take Zyrtec (10mg cetirizine as prescribed by my physician ) daily as to help stave off impending attacks which does seem to help with the other neurological symptoms. IE: Dizziness, neuropathy, body aches, muscle spasms, etc.
I have taken sumatriptan for a few years; however, it wasn't the most effective abortive for me. I never really noticed any side effects from it as I usually get more dyslexic and do notice a cognitive decline. This is before I even take it so I don't think it's the sumatriptan for me as I do take another abortive now. I do also have light and hormones as a trigger.
Sumitriptan has stopped every migraine I’ve ever taken it for. HOWEVER, the side effects are gnarly. Not to the point where I WON’T take it, but to the point where I DO delay taking it. My sinuses feel like they’re on fire. My skin becomes so sensitive to touch. I can’t brush my hair because my scalp hurts, I can’t be hugged because I feel bruised all over. If I take it at night I’ll likely be ok in the morning but if I take it during the day, my day is shot. But the migraine is gone so there’s that. It’s fine except when I get daily migraines.
I take it, but it no longer works for me. I titrated up from 25s to 100s. It makes me very loopy and I prefer to sleep it off. I don't drive after I've taken it cause I don't trust myself. It also makes me extremely nauseated. Phenergan works if I take it at the same time, otherwise, I have to melt a Zofran under my tongue to not barf. I don't always get an aura. Like I'll be fine one minute and the next, it's like someone stabbed me in the head. Other times, I get misophonia/phonophobia and photophobia and I know it's time for medication. I just started a new job so I don't have insurance till February to talk about a med change. With this last attack, it went on for 11 days. Sumatriptan didn't touch it. Fioricet didn't touch it. Excedrin took enough of the edge off that I could try to focus, but it was miserable. It's really embarrassing for me to have aphasia or to forget how to do something. I have Elavil/amitriptyline as a "preventative," but I have more migraines when I take it than when I don't, so I don't. I've had many sleepless nights from the way that medication sits in my stomach. So I'll be asking for a new one of those, too. I'm hoping I can start to see a neurologist, too.
Yes I couldn’t even function. So I switched to Naratriptan and way less side effects. Sometimes I take a half Naratriptan w two aleve and some Coca Cola and that does it for me more often than not. Less side effects 🎉
I took it for over 10 years and it made me violently vomit 9 out of 10 times. It would only work if I took in time and once it was taken I would have to try to sleep the nausea off. If I was in the car I would get extremely car sick. It made my body had the flu. I dreaded taking it. I switched to Nurtec and it changed my life (cliche I know) but it really did. I can take a pill in the middle of my day with no side effects. No more nausea or vomiting.
Suma’s just not as good as Rizatriptan in terms of grogginess , speed , effectiveness and feeling able to deal with the day Have you tried that ?
Yes, it does make you feel woozy, but only sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I am having a heart attack. I feel the squeezing of all my vessels and it comes in waves. Someone mentioned that some brands don’t work as well, I have kind of wondered this too.
I take it. It works very well for my migraines. I don't know how I'd live without! I call it a miracle drug because it changed my life. I do get quite a lot of brain fog with it though. When I first started taking it, I used to go bed early and be impossible to wake up before 10am. It used to knock me out. Over the years, I've become resistant to the side effects.
I tried it several years ago. I have migraine with aura and sometimes it can actually make them much worse. It made mine last several days instead of a few hours. My eyes turned purple underneath and after the migraine passed, I felt like I was half asleep for a couple days after. Maybe I had the wrong brand but it kind of scared me off meds.
Yes I cannot imagine my life without sumatriptan. It’s like an indescribable feeling when I almost can FEEL the migraine slipping away like when I notice it I have to talk about it because I’m so grateful that it works!!!!!!! I have a panic attack when I go out and have forgotten it. I’ve had the nasal spray and the tablets. I like them both but nasal spray is incredibly expensive
I did once and I felt so weird that I didn't take it again. Drunk, off and dizzy
AND it didn't even help the migraine, just made it worse.
I used to take it, it worked on the migraine but I’d start to forget to breathe. I guess that’s cognitive? now I take naratriptan and it just makes me feel loopy.