What Are the Treatments for Migraine With Prophylactic Drugs?

Treating migraines with prophylactic drugs is becoming more common. A prophylactic, meaning preventative, keeps migraines at bay, reducing the number of them that suffers see each month. This can be a better treatment plan than only attacking the pain and symptoms when a migraine strikes. There are five forms of prophylactic drugs that are acceptable for migraines: beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, divalproex sodium, antidepressants and methysergide.

Beta Blockers

• Beta blockers are most commonly prescribed for the prevention of migraines. First used as a treatment for angina and high blood pressure, these medications affect the response to some nerve impulses. They decrease the work of the heart, also decreasing the heart's need for additional oxygen. Propranolol is the most common drug form of beta blocker and has been effective in migraine treatment.

Calcium Channel Blockers

• Calcium channel blockers play a role in vessel constriction and are generally used to relieve angina, correct an irregular heartbeat or prevent migraines. These drugs affect the movement of calcium into the cells of the heart and blood vessels. This relaxes blood vessels and increases oxygen and blood supply to the heart. They have proven to be effective in preventing migraine attacks, allowing patients relief.

Divalproex Sodium

• Divalproex sodium, frequently sold as Depakote, was first used to prevent seizures. There are some complications to taking this medication, even in nonseizure patients. It has been the most effective of all drug types in preventing migraines and shows great promise for migraine suffers. While this is true, the medication must be taken in a timely manner and patients weaned off, or seizures can occur.

Antidepressants

• Antidepressants prevent migraine pain by affecting the level of serotonin. First used to treat clinical depression, these drugs have shown effectiveness in preventing migraine symptoms, yielding patients fewer occurrences of pain. According to the National Migraine Association, the medical community widely accepts the use of antidepressants as a prophylactic drug because migraines and depression are related. Because depression occurs in migraine suffers at a rate of 47 percent compared with 17 percent in the general population, a combined treatment can be successful.

Methysergide

• Methysergide, also known as Sansert, was widely used for migraine prevention for more than 50 years. While this drug is still available in Canada, it was removed from the U.S. market in 2003 because of complications related to extended use. Patients were at a high risk of developing retroperitoneal fibrosis, a disease that attacks the fibrous tissue in the retroperitoneum, the portion of the body containing the kidneys and renal tract. This is a slowly progressive disease and is also called chronic periaortitis when associated with an abdominal aortic aneurysm.