Migraine Headache Treatments
Nearly 30 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches.
Migraines occur more commonly in women than in men and typically
occur in people aged 15 to 55 years.
A recent study of 171 migraine sufferers, published in the
journal Headache, suggests that over-the-counter Excedrin
Migraine works better the prescription Imitrex (sumatriptan) for
treating migraines. The patients who took the Excedrin Migraine
at the onset of a headache experienced less pain after four
hours than those who took Imitrex.
This result is probably true for some patients but not all.
Excedrin Migraine contains acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine.
The problem with continual use of this combination is that it
often leads to rebound headaches. You should also not take more
than two tablets per day and no more than twice per week. This
greatly reduces your chances of rebound headaches. If you are
experiencing more than two migraines a week, you will need a
prescription medication.
Another study found that taking an NSAID, like naproxen, with
Imitrex (sumatriptan) works much better than taking either
medication alone for migraine headaches. The researchers
concluded that the best combination is 50mg of Imitrex
(sumatriptan) combined with 500mg of naproxen.
Imitrex (sumatriptan) is in a class of medications called
triptans. There are seven triptans currently available in the
United States. They are Imitrex (sumatriptan), Maxalt
(rizatriptan), Zomig (zolmitriptan), Amerge (naratriptan), Frova
(frovatriptan), Relpax (eletriptan), and Axert (almotriptan).
Triptans are used only for migraine treatment because they are
effective only at relieving the pain caused by migraines. They
are slightly useful for some other headache types but not for
all headache pain or for any other type of pain.
The current guidelines for migraine headaches state that NSAIDS
are first line therapy. That means they should be used first. If
someone is allergic, or the NSAIDS do not work, then the
triptans are the drugs of choice.
Patients who suffer from migraine headaches should have a
treatment plan in the event they get a migraine. This plan
should include both preventive medication and medications to
stop the migraine. The first line medications, NSAIDs and
triptans, are the primary choices.
This study suggests that the NSAID combination of acetaminophen,
aspirin, and caffeine is more effective than oral sumatriptan at
relieving migraine headache pain, when taken at the onset. More
studies should be conducted to confirm these results since
patients with headaches that cause vomiting or require the
patient to lie down were not studied. This study did confirm
that both the combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and
caffeine and triptans appear to be effective first-line
therapies for patients with migraine headaches.
I would recommend using a store or generic brand headache
medication containing 250mg of acetaminophen, 250mg of aspirin,
and 65mg caffeine first, for mild migraines. This combination
costs about 4