Scared of sumatriptan

[stopbeeping]

I've had a migraine all weekend I only had it three times in the last 3 years I think and I've vomited from the pain in my eyes and back of head

Have been vomiting all day and I've now started getting sick bile

The script is being prepared now for sumatriptan but I've read horror stories now I'm scared
But I'm in excruciating pain

I am struggling to use the screen but my husband can loook at responses on here

Thank you

All drugs have potential side effects. As PP have mentioned, this is available OTC so not considered too risky.
It give me tingly extremities and sore jaw sometimes but these are a walk in the park compared to migraine.
It's most effective if taken right at the start, e.g. when (if) you get aura.

Sumatriptan literally saves my life.
I could rattle around on normal painkillers and feel sick all day, or take a triptan and be back to normal within 30 minutes. It feels like someone unclenching a fist inside your head.

Sumatriptan doesn't stay in your system for very long, maximum efficiency after 2 hours then it starts to wear off so if in the rare case you don't tolerate it well, it won't be long before it's out of your system.

My Ds gets a tiny bit of heartburn with them, I have no side effects whatsoever.

Are you taking another drug that might cause serotonin syndrome? I am, but my GP said it's really rare, and basically you might feel dizzy. Triptans are magic.

I too found sumatriptan very effective if taken at the beginning of a migraine. My issue was that they would come on during the night so I would wake up with it in full swing. I found it really hard to even swallow the tablet because of the nausea

what was a game changer for me was a nasal spray called Zomig, prescribed by my GP Comes in a single does spray. I always have one in my beside drawer and if I wake with one use it straight away while lying down and within 30 mins it will be gone.

Can’t recommend it highly enough

Another one here who has found it amazingly effective. I used to lose whole days vomiting and feeling like death in a darkened room. Now I take a tablet at the first signs of a migraine and it just makes it disappear. No side effects at all for me, just fantastic. No idea how I would manage without it now!

@drspouse I agree, triptans are indeed magic!

Sumatriptan is a life saver. I used to get migraines twice a week that lasted up to 3 days and would make me vomit etc... Sumatriptan changed my life. Take it at the first sign of a migraine. It takes about 2 hours to kick in, then the migraine starts to go.

Now your migraine is at its peak, the sumatriptan might take a bit longer to work, might even be a bit too late, but please don't be scared of taking it. It is a wonder drug.

Next time though, take it when the symptoms first start as sumatriptan stops the migraine reaching the point of unbearable pain and vomiting 🤮

(One thing to be cautious of is not to take sumatriptan too often as it can cause rebound headaches)

Life changing for me too. Enable me to work.

Omg I take them all the time. They have totally changed my life. The only side effect I get is a slightly achy shoulder when I take them.

Take them and buccal anti sickness all the time....mid migraine I couldn't read a screen or the warnings to be honest and wouldn't give a monkeys

I probably wouldn’t have a job still without triptans. On average I take 4 per month for several attacks.
I take them alongside pain relief - paramol from pharmacy if it is a bad attack.
life it too short and precious to keep being ill if there is a safe solution

I get chronic migraines, and aside from being treated with Aimovig (which definitely decreases the frequency, but doesn't prevent them entirely at all), I eat Sumatriptan like candy (okay, not exactly like that, but definitely more often than I'd like). I find them to be effective while having few side effects. They allow me to carry on with my work or social activities at a slightly slower pace, rather than lying in agony in a dark room puking until I literally faint. Sumatriptan is the only reason I can function and keep a job.

I definitely think you should at least give them a chance.

Scared of what??? It is a magic pill for migraines. It definitely works. One sumatriptan and one naproxen 500mg and my wife is still in bed but no longer vomiting or light sensitive. The pain is reduced from cracking lightening through her skull to a weird dull vibration feeling

I only just read that you are on your phone whilst you have a migraine that can't be helping, let alone how can you even have that phone light near your face 😆 maybe it is working if you can tolerate your phone? Hopefully it works well for you and you get some relief xx

I use the nasal spray and it's a miracle drug. I hope you get some relief soon.

Never heard any horror stories. Sumatriptan works like a dream for me.

What horror stories? It's incredibly effective and has saved me so many times.

I got into a habit of having too many when I had a bad migraine patch and I had to stop as they were providing terrible pressure. I saw a neurologist though who guided me to other options.

Yes, dihydrocodeine which the doctor told me was not a risk
I feel so sick and sore still
I've taken 6 tablets now for the 24 hour period
Which starts when now
Can I take more? Or a different brand
Called docs and shut

Can you take them for a few days in a row? I am so insatiable thirsty but throw up when I drink

Snap! It’s good to hear someone else with them mention suicide. Not that you’ve felt like that, but that im not alone/ insane. Frankly it felt like a coldly logical solution prior to injecting. I was scared to go out and become a laughing stock the way they drove you actively over the edge like a mad person.

Yes to the weird sensation of liquid being poured over your brain. I hate that feeling. At times I’m also briefly queasy but it passes

Sumatriptan has changed my life. I went from debilitating migraines where I lost days at a time because of them, to a pretty normal life. I get some minor side effects (heavy feeling in limbs), but I couldn’t manage without them. Absolute lifesavers.

Sumatriptan saved my life. I was having 3 day migraines, sometimes with a day or less break between them. Now I take sumatriptan when I get the early warning signs of a migraine, and it's gone in an hour, and I also get them much less frequently. I don't think I would have survived being that miserable for much longer, even though I'm normally quite a positive person but it made me so depressed because my whole life was ruined by migraines. I went from often being unable to hold a conversation, to being able to work full time. Life changing magic. I was hesitant before I took it too, but it was like turning the lights back on after being in the dark for a long time. I got myself back.

I've had serotonin syndrome from antidepressants three times, but never had a problem with sumatriptan.

Never heard any horror stories?
I think it’s amazing

I understand your concern, OP. But as someone who has debilitating migraines and now can't take things like sumatriptan, but once could, you have my sympathy with regards to the worries about serotonin syndrome.

I had a horrible adverse reaction to an off label antipsychotic that was prescribed for severe anxiety and insomnia after a head injury and post concussion syndrome. It gave me a permanent neurological involuntary movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia that is a bit like Tourette's and Parkinson's disease combined. Any type of medication that acts on the neurochemistry can aggravate my involuntary movements, so this will include the drugs like the triptans.

I truly wish that I could take medication now without worrying about it exacerbating my movement disorder... 😫 Please don't worry about the sumatriptan. It will really help you and relieve your symptoms. Migraines are awful, and using the treatment to help you is much better than suffering.

You will be fine, OP. Hugs 🤗