Permanent Damage from Imitrex

[Brad]

I appreciate the feedback, but I feel like taking it is not really an option. My understanding from my neurologist was that most migraines come on quickly and last a few hours. If that were the case, I would just ride it out. However I generally feel mine approaching for as much as a day and have had them last up to 30 hours, the whole time with head in hands crippled on the couch. (I have had MRI's and nothing is irregular) Even understanding that there is a potential trade off I feel as though taking it is the less of 2 evils. I see a lot of negative comments on these sites and feel as though I can't be the only one who sees this as heaven sent.

[Scared by Big Pharma]

I at one time felt that way too. Another thing you need to know is that Imitrex can bring about rebound headaches. So the more you take the more headaches you can have.
I went through a few years where my migraines escalated to 9-11 a month!!! As I have always felt my migraines were hormone related, I am hopeful that in a few years (I am 48) they will be all but gone.
I went for hormone testing using the saliva and urine (blood tests not that conclusive I guess).
We discovered my adrenal function was off, so have been working on that with natural supplements and such.
I know you are in that smaller percentage of men who suffer from migraines, so not sure what part, if any, hormones can play.
I guess the testing wouldn't hurt...it's even covered by blue cross and other insurance carriers.
Also consider trying to eat as much food that is not loaded with chemicals.
If you are a diet soda drinker or consume any diet or sugar free stuff, that is the first thing you should eliminate from you diet.
Aspertane (splenda, etc.) can not only cause headaches but is defintely tied to brain tumors, other tumors, cancer, etc. It is not a safe substance by any means...
I know exercise helps and sadly I am not a big one for going to the gym or stuff like that...but even just walking or riding a bike can help....keeps the adreniline (spell?) going and that helps cut down headaches!
I would strongly suggest you find a naturopathic dr. and work with them (after testing) to see if any supplements can help.
I am down (thank goodness) to no imitrex, only about 3 headaches a month and most times I can manage them with excedrin or motrin. I am not saying they go away instantly, but I usually am still functioning and can get through the day.
I only get a few now that knock me off my feet.
Just some thoughts of other avenues to try...
Good luck.

[Brad]

I am interested in the adrenaline comment you made as when I began getting them I was in a HIGH stress job and would seem to only get them on the weekends. This being the only thing I could nail down as consistency of them. I later spoke with a neurologist who referred to them as "weekend headaches" Hearing that was an actual thing other people had experienced made me feel better but even when I would keep active on the weekends it didn't seem to help. I will certainly explore this avenue some more. Anyway, I appreciate your time and all your feedback, best of luck to you with your headaches, they are truly awful!

[Scared by Big Pharma]

IF you are a coffee drinker and change your routine on the weekends, that can trigger a headache.

Also I have learned (I should go on to be migraine expert!) that getting in/out of bed the same time can also play a part in this. If you sleep longer on weekends, for instance.
I try to keep the same schedule.
Good luck...I know how frustrating this can be. People who have never felt this kind of pain just don't understand it.
I have had two children and I think labor pains aren't as bad!
:) Hang in there!
Keep tabs if your are getting another headache too soon after your dose of imitrex (or any other pain reliever for that matter) as they can all cause rebound headaches.
Another supplement you can look into is MACA. I have been using for about three months (under direction of my naturo-dr.) and that seems to have helped things level off too.
I guess more of us have adrenal fatigue than we realize too. Do a quick google search and you can learn a lot about how important this gland is.

I am so paranoid about using too much pain meds, I will suffer long with any other type of pain before I will take something!
Hey, supposed to be a beautiful weekend in NE.
Enjoy...

[JMZ]

A friend just told me about possible heart damage from imitrex yesterday, and I found this chat exchange on the website. My doctor prescribed Topomax as an alternative last year, but never mentioned heart damage as possible side effect; just that Topomax may be a good alternative since I was taking imitrex so often (probably a total of 14 days in a month). I find that a smaller dose of imitrex than prescribed usually does the trick. About five years ago, chest pains worried me enough to take a break from imitrex for a few years. Exedrin migraine became the replacement, but the doctors told me too much caffeine intake, and put me back on imitrex. It seems that imitrex - the contrictors are indiscriminate, so I guess I can see how imitrex could affect other areas, including heart and eyes. I plan to visit the doctor to find out why exactly this is "b-a-d stuff"; has anyone out there had diagnosis of permanent heart damage from this medication, and is it life threatening? What's the lesser of two evils - because migraines for many such as me, are so debilitating - not able to function/go to work, etc.

[Scared by Big Pharma]

People have DIED immediately after taking Imitrex.
Start with this site:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1995/...
and just google Imitrex death, or Imitrex lawsuits.
It is b-a-d stuff....Drs. want you on IT vs. Excedrin as sales of Excedrin DON'T put a penny in their pockets. No kick backs from drug companies if you aren't on their meds..

[Drew]

I have been battling with Migraines for years now and have been on Imitrex for about 9 months. I went to an endocrinologist a week or so ago to get things checked out and my adrenaline level were really high. Does anyone know if Imitrex can increase adrenaline levels??

[Scared by Big Pharma]

not sure about increased adrenaline, but adrenaline plays a big role in headaches. Mine is too low,(very low) so working on actually getting it up.
But I believe it is one of those things that either extreme can be bad.
Find a naturopathic dr. who can discuss this with you. "regular" drs. are uselss when it comes to this stuff.
There are some natural helpers out there to regulate adrenel function.
Good luck.
The imitrex is bad news no matter what way you slice it. I wish I'd never taken my first one.

[Tim107]

Anyone here claiming how much better it is not to take Imitrex over having a migraine, has never had a true migraine, or you wouldn't be saying that. Some or many are so bad you wish you were dead. Many times your in bed for days, throwing up, or rolling on the floor in pain and crying (speaking from my own experience before I started taking Imitrex/Zomig).
I think some here are also blaming Imitrex when something else may have just as easily caused it. People react differently to different drugs, its just the way it is, and its the same for any drug. Imitrex is a miracle medicine for many who have true migraines. And I honestly mean that.
I noticed a bunch of people saying you take 100mg every day. Well your not supposed to take over 4 100mg pills per week. I currently take Zomig, but have taken Imitrex in the past.
Pills like asprin have very little affect on true migraines. Despite any claim by Excedrin.
Banning Imitrex would be sumbitting many to a life of hell. And thats not an exaggeration.
I know the health nuts like to claim how much safer herbs are, but I almost died from taking Feverfew... I had a terrible reaction to it.

[Tim107]

It appears most of these posts are from the same person trying to scare everyone.

[Scared by Big Pharma]

We'll see if you are still calling it a lifesaving drug if it damages your heart, Tim107.
My former dr. said to me: "I wonder what your heart will look like when you are 60?" When I asked why she would say that (no history of heart problems in my family, or prior heart issues) she said "because the sumitriptons (imitrex/zomig etc.) can damage EVEN healthy hearts".
AND YES i have had true migraines....so don't say that I don't know what I am talking about!!! That is an insult.
I am not saying that every day is a walk in the park but I have chosen to guard my OVERALL health rather than chance having heart problems or other problems caused by Imitrex down the road.
YES....IT CAN cause other problems!!! You are only kidding yourself if you think otherwise.
Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones who don't have any damage from it....maybe not. Time will tell.
And yes, anyone can have a reaction to anything. Sadly Feverfew did that to you. Think about how the folks feel after losing relatives to a tripton after they took it for a migraine and ended up with a massive coronary and died! Read the reports...we "health nuts" aren't making this up. This is not a SAFE drug. It is effective for some for migraines but it is not "SAFE".
Read the imitrex web site....they will talk about the dangers of their own med!
I am warning people so that they can make informed decisions. Something my own dr. didn't bother to take the time with me to do!
That is negligent. Patients need to know the risks as well as any benefits from a drug.
Given that information many might of chosen never to take VIOXX either. That was "safe" ...but oh yeah...now banned. Same with Baycor (for cholesterol). It was "safe"...now banned.
You are living in a dream world if you think there is a great safe drug from BIG PHARMA out there.

[Aram]

I have been using Imitrex for almost 20 years, I know it is not good for me but could not function without it.... I can have them for a week! in one of what I call my attacks. I have been a part of the migraine clinic wiht no success, after ruling out tumors they only treated the symptoms. Botox injections in my head! helped for about a week but wore off, antidepresants, anticunvulsants. Acupncture, naturepath... I have tried everything. The best answer I have had which never came up before is through the last naturopath I went to but his treatment just took too long I did get better but for a while but then went on holidays and was imposible to keep the super strict diet I had been on for 6 months what he said he thoght the problem is, is a GALLBLADDER PROBLEM, they call them Gallbladder attacks. Following my comment is a link but you can also google The book of herbal wisdom + gallbladder. It is really incredible, it talks about the pain in the back, pain more in the right side of the forehead, eyes feeling like they will pop out, etc. It simply recomends taking a homeopathic medicine....Im just going to buy it and see if it works...If the symptoms seem similar I would look into it.

http://books.google.ca/books...

[Scared by Big Pharma]

Abram:

Just remember that using multi doses of Imitrex can cause rebound headaches...so if you choose to continue using this, should only use very infrequently. Thanks for the info on gallbladder. Going to check that out..who knows?
I still think for me, mine are hormonal.
Good luck.

[elaine]

Does anybody get migraines that last entire time of menstruation? I don't know what to do. I don't want the rebound headaches so I try not to take the imitrex every day of my period. Maybe every other. I am 50 years old and don't know if this is due to menopause. I still get my periods regularly (at least most of the time). Any help would be appreciated.

[always a headache]

elaine wrote:

Does anybody get migraines that last entire time of menstruation? I don't know what to do. I don't want the rebound headaches so I try not to take the imitrex every day of my period. Maybe every other. I am 50 years old and don't know if this is due to menopause. I still get my periods regularly (at least most of the time). Any help would be appreciated.

Sorry to hear u get them so often. Been roughly 20 Years 4 me. I used 2 get the worse ones 4 @ a week before my cycle, then the bad ones were only during my cycle, even changing again to the week after! They seem to still be changing every few years or so it's scary and confusing. Seems hormonal but I cant figure out exactly what hormones are too high or too low and when. I used to keep a log of when I got them and what I took and possible causes...gave to doc, but I guess he saw no pattern. I dont know. It lead to many trials of preventative drugs and I got side effects from those most of the time too!

4 at least a couple years now I get mild to moderate migraines DAILY. I try 2 prolong taking the half of 100 mg imitrex till I'm sure it wont go away on its own.(RARELY!) But my neurologist tells me 2 take it RIGHT AWAY as soon as I feel it hurting and to take the whole 100 mg if I think I need it. Problem is, I can't tell if the headaches are all migraines anymore as I get them so often. I don't know what a 'simple or regular' headache feels like or if it will respond to over the counter drugs. You can't mix over the counter drugs with imitrex so I dont risk it. I dont want it to escalate to one that puts me in the ER so I'm scared not to take the imitrex. I take 50 mg of imitrex daily. Most of the time it helps.

I suspect some now are rebound, but on rare occasions I can go a few days without needing to take imitrex. Wouldn't that be enough time to get the imitrex out of my system? Then when they return from vacation they're back to the same torture routine.

HAS ANYONE EVER EVER EVER HAD THESE AND GOT RID OF THEM? We love that the imitrex helps. We need for it to work. We are scared of the consequences in the long run to our bodies and overall health!