About Medications Used to Treat Migraine Headaches

Migraines are extremely painful headaches. They can cause incredible throbbing pain to one or both sides of the head, visions of flashing lights and a feeling of nausea, among other sensations. Medications designed to deal with migraines fall into one of two classifications. There are drugs to relieve pain symptoms, and there are medications that attempt to prevent migraines.

Triptans

• A class of drug called triptans is used by many people when a migraine occurs. Triptans can effectively relieve pain, help with nausea and reduce the sensitivity to light and sounds known as an aura that accompany many migraine headaches. Initially, a drug called Imitrex was used for this purpose, but medications such as Maxalt, Amerge, Axert, Relpax and Frova have also proven effective. Triptans do have side effects such as dizziness and nausea.

Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are known as NSAIDs. Over-the-counter NSAIDs such as Advil and Motrin can often handle a migraine that is not severe, but when the pain is more intense, special drugs that combine aspirin, caffeine and acetaminophen may work. Excedrin Migraine is one such medication. Prescription versions of these pain relievers are an option when the over-the-counter ones do not help. NSAIDs taken frequently over a span of time have been shown to result in stomach bleeding and ulcers, so their use must be carefully monitored.

Other Pain Relief Options

• Ergotamine was a popular choice to fight migraine pain before the advent of triptans and is still available, although it is now considered less effective than triptans. Some migraine drugs combine a sedative called butalbital with acetaminophen or aspirin, but they are recommended only for severe migraines since they cause symptoms of withdrawal. Opiates are sometimes used when other drugs fail to bring a migraine's pain to a manageable level. They do contain narcotics and can become addicting, so they are not normally prescribed for migraine pain except when there is no other solution. Anti-nausea drugs are also used to fight that symptom of migraines.

Preventive Drugs

• Drugs originally designed to treat other conditions have proven that they can prevent migraines from occurring or at least keep the severity of the headache down. Beta-blockers that are used to treat high blood pressure are used against migraines, as are drugs such as Isoptin and Calan. Drugs used to reduce symptoms of hypertension such as Zestril and Prinivil also work to keep migraines away, although medical experts don't exactly understand how this works. Antidepressants like Vivactil and Pamelor also work well in keeping migraines at bay. Depakote and Topamax, which are anti-seizure medications, can also prevent a migraine, but the dosage must be small to avoid the considerable side effects that can occur when they are used.

Botox

• Oddly enough, it has been found that people who are subject to migraines who receive Botox injections for cosmetic purposes have fewer and less severe headaches. It is theorized that Botox has some sort of effect on the nervous system, which causes migraines to happen less. While Botox does not have this effect in every patient, it has produced enough results that it is a possible option when other drugs designed to prevent migraines fail to do the job.