Triptan for migraine headache

Migraine headache treatment.

On 1992, the FDA approved the first of a class of medications that many Migraineurs would come to call "miracle drugs." That drug was the injectable form of sumatriptan (Imitrex®, Imigran®), the first of the triptans. The more technical name for this class of medications is selective serotonin receptor agonists. Triptans are not pain medications as we traditionally think of them. Traditional pain medications don't end the pain of migraine headache. They simply increase our tolerance to it, temporarily. Unless the Migraine attack has run its course while a pain medication is working, the symptoms will return when the pain medication wears off. Triptans are termed abortive Migraine medications. They cannot prevent Migraines. They are used to abort a Migraine attack, to stop the attack itself and the associated symptoms. Drugs in this class need to be taken early in the Migraine attack to be most effective. In addition to Migraine attacks, triptans are also sometimes helpful for cluster headaches.

Triptans should only be prescribed after a thorough examination to rule out contraindications. Those contraindications include:
- uncontrolled hypertension
- family history of coronary artery disease or heart attacks
- history of stroke
- risk factors for coronary artery disease
- uncontrolled diabetes
- high cholesterol levels