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What Are Side Effects of Migraine Medications?

Migraines are painful headaches that can often debilitate a person who experiences them. They can occur as little as once every few months to a few times a week depending on how serious they are. When migraine pain gets too overwhelming, many people turn to migraine medications to help deal with the issue. However, many migraine medications can have side effects that need to be understood before going on the medication.

  1. Types

    • Before discussing side effects, it is important to understand that there are two main types of migraine medications: pain relieving and preventative. A pain-relieving migraine medication is taken after the effects of a migraine occur to help reduce the pain. A preventative migraine medication is one taken regularly to help chronic migraine sufferers stay clear of migraine headaches.

    Overuse

    • The first side effects of migraine medications can come from overuse. This is most common with taking onsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin or ibuprofen. If taken for too long a time, NSAIDs can cause cause ulcers and other types of internal bleeding.

    Triptans

    • Triptans are another common kind of medication used for pain relief during a migraine headache episode. These drugs, such as Imitrex and Amerge, can cause serious side effects such as nausea or dizziness, and in some cases have even been the cause of strokes or heart attacks.

    Opiates

    • For severe migraine sufferers, opiate containing medications such as codeine may be prescribed to help severe episodes of pain. However, opiates have the same milder properties as heroin, and as such have some of the same side effect problems of dependence.

    Rebound Headaches

    • The most common problem with migraine medications is rebound headaches. Rebound headaches occur when the body has headache pain due to taking too much medication over a period of time. This is most commonly seen in pain relief migraine medications and is usually treated by placing the migraine sufferer on preventive medications instead of pain relievers.

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