Migraine is a problem for many patients. Almost everyone experiences head pain at least once in their life. As a rule, they are accompanied by dizziness, nausea, vomiting, as well as numbness, tingling and weakness in the limbs, photo- and phonophobia. After an attack, patients complain of increased fatigue, lethargy and drowsiness. Sometimes there are cases when the disease is so advanced that only triptans for headache can help the patient. It is worth noting that migraine is a disease of women, as they are more susceptible to this pathology than men. Approximately 10-18% of the adult population is diagnosed with migraine.
Headache problem is familiar to everyone
Most people do not seek qualified help from doctors, but try to cope with the disease on their own, while taking analgesics. It must be said that this approach does not help, but only exacerbates the course of the disease. Uncontrolled useanalgesics can provoke the development of drug-induced chronic headache. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are a huge number of questions about which headache pills are the most effective.
It is unrealistic to completely recover from migraine, but you can improve the quality of life with the help of special drugs prescribed by a neurologist. To date, a huge number of migraine remedies are known, which are quite effective both during an attack and in the period between attacks. Next, we will take a closer look at migraine drugs: a list of drugs for stopping and interictal therapy. Triptans have been proven to be the most effective medications for treating severe headaches. For prophylactic purposes, the following groups of drugs are prescribed:
- β-blockers;
- antidepressants;
- antiemetic;
- water-soluble B vitamins;
- calcium blockers;
- anticonvulsants.
Acceptance of all the above listed pharmaceuticals must be prescribed by a qualified specialist.
Why does my head hurt?
Before understanding how triptans work against headaches, the price of which depends on the manufacturer, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of the pathology. Headache develops due to irritation of the receptors of the meninges and cerebral vessels. With excessive stretching and overflow of blood vessels, especially veins that are in a hypotonic state, developssevere pain, which can only be eliminated with the help of special pharmaceuticals. Many researchers who have been looking for drugs for the treatment of migraine for a long time have come to the conclusion that triptans are the best remedy for eliminating this pathology.
Properties of triptans
The action of drugs is aimed at narrowing the dilated vessels of the brain. Triptan is a drug that acts on the nuclei and receptors of the trigeminal nerve, which, in turn, reduces the sensitivity of the pain threshold. Triptans are modern anti-migraine drugs that have a rather high selectivity for the blood vessels of the dura mater encephali and a negligible selectivity for peripheral and coronary vessels.
Presented drugs effectively relieve pain at the level of the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve. In addition to all of the above, triptans are drugs that can not only reduce the frequency of relapses of the pathology, but also eliminate its accompanying clinical manifestations (for example, nausea, vomiting, sound and photophobia).
Key Benefits of Triptans
Their pharmacological properties include a high speed of obtaining results. Literally after half an hour, symptoms of a positive effect of the drug on the patient's body are observed. The therapeutic effect persists throughout the migraine attack. In the vast majority of patients, the headache does not recur.
In ourFor several days, scientists have proven that when the precursors of an attack are detected, you should immediately take triptans for migraine. Previously, there was a theory that migraine attacks should be treated in stages, starting with taking simple medications.
Migraine drugs: a list of the most popular medicines
The triptan group includes the following drugs:
- Zomig.
- "Amigrenin".
- Sumatriptan.
- Imigran.
- Relpax.
- Trimigren.
- Sumamigren.
- "Rapimed".
- Almotriptan.
- Naramig.
- Naratriptan.
- Frovatriptan.
- Zolmitriptan.
The effect of drugs for each patient can be strictly individual, therefore, in order to verify the effectiveness of a particular medication, doctors recommend trying it for three migraine attacks. The tryptamine group of drugs is characterized by high bioavailability, they easily and quickly overcome the blood-brain barrier, effectively stop migraine attacks even in the pain phase. It is advisable to prescribe these medicines to patients with moderate and severe severity of the disease.
Recommendations for use
Quite often we hear the same question: which headache pills are best? Experimental studies have shown that triptans are the most effective treatment for migraine symptoms. Migraine triptans are best taken whendetection of the first signs of an attack. The maximum analgesic effect is observed within two hours after taking the medication. Before taking the drug, carefully read the instructions and consult with your doctor. It is very important to prevent an overdose of the drug. Migraine triptans are not recommended for use with antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, or in conjunction with antidepressants.
To achieve the desired result, patients should adhere to the following recommendations for taking triptans:
- For mild to moderate headaches, take 1 tablet (or one spray);
- second dose of the drug is taken no earlier than 2 hours later;
- during the day you should not take more than two doses;
- Triptans are not recommended for more than two days per week.
Thyramine-containing foods should be excluded from your diet during the treatment period:
- cocoa;
- chocolate;
- beans;
- eggs;
- celery;
- citrus;
- food additives;
- cheeses;
- tomatoes;
- nuts;
- alcoholic drinks.
Don't eat cold food either.
If migraine occurs, triptan, the price of which will be indicated below, can also be used with other medicines, such as domperidone or metoclopramide.
Side effects
When overdose of the drug, patients face the following problems:
- dizziness;
- anaphylactic shock;
- feeling stiff;
- nausea;
- feeling warm;
- infarction of the spleen, intestines;
- vomit;
- dry mouth;
- myalgia;
- abdominal pain;
- drowsy;
- burning sensation on the skin;
- Quincke's edema;
- tachycardia;
- urticaria;
- polyuria;
- muscle weakness;
- reducing attention;
- sensitivity disorders;
- hemorrhagic diarrhea;
- frequent urination;
- Spasm of the coronary vessels.
Despite all this, migraine triptans are a fast acting remedy. Subject to the dosage and frequency of taking the drugs, the risk of side effects is minimal. In general, all triptans are well tolerated by the body. Side effects, if they occur, are moderately expressed and disappear spontaneously without medical intervention. The main disadvantage of triptans is their cost. Unfortunately, not all patients can afford such medication.
Contraindications
Migraine triptans are not recommended for the following conditions:
- stroke;
- angiospastic angina;
- pregnancy;
- cerebrovascular accident;
- breastfeeding period;
- coagulopathy (blood clotting disorders);
- teenage years;
- pathology of the cardiovascular system;
- hypersensitivity tobioactive substances of the drug;
- uncontrolled hypertension;
- arrhythmias;
- liver and kidney disease;
- atherosclerosis.
Before prescribing certain triptans, the attending physician must identify risk factors for atherosclerosis. These factors include the following:
- diabetes mellitus;
- post-menopausal women;
- smoking;
- hypertension;
- obesity;
- high levels of pathological cholesterol in the blood;
- age over 40 for men;
- genetic predisposition to heart attack.
Some patients who are at risk should receive their first doses of tryptamine under specialist supervision and ECG monitoring.
Migraine treatment regimen
There are general therapeutic principles for the treatment of a disease that justify themselves in most cases:
- treatment should begin with the use of analgesics or their combination (including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs);
- if the use of an analgesic did not give a positive result, then after 45 minutes you should take a triptan;
- if the triptan was ineffective, then in the next attack you need to use another drug from the triptan group;
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be used for an atypical headache attack.
The use of modern triptan-based migraine treatments is making life easier for many patients. NotIt is worth remembering that you can take these medications as prescribed by a doctor and only with an established diagnosis. There are situations when triptans and other non-specific analgesics do not give the desired result and do not eliminate the pain syndrome. In this case, doctors, as a rule, prescribe complex therapy with the use of anticonvulsant medications, as well as beta-blockers. These drugs include the following drugs:
- Penbutolol.
- "Fed up".
- Betaxolol.
- "Topiramate".
- Neurontin.
- Phenobarbital.
- Timolol.
- Propranolol.
- "Labetanol".
- Bellataminal.
- Metoprolol.
- Topamax.
- Acebutalol.
How to reduce the frequency of seizures?
To reduce the frequency of migraine attacks, patients should adhere to the following rules:
- eat regularly;
- eliminate foods and drinks that provoke seizures (beer, chocolate, cheeses, champagne, citrus fruits, red wine) from your diet;
- quit smoking;
- stay outdoors as much as possible;
- avoid stress;
- do sports (swimming is ideal);
- avoid long journeys by bus, boat, car.
Headache triptans: price
Triptans are produced in different dosage forms: injection solutions, nasal spray, tablets, rectal suppositories. The form affects the cost of the drugrelease, dosage, number of tablets in the package. As a result, the price of these drugs fluctuates in a wide range - 150-1500 rubles per package.
