It Might Be Time For a New Migraine Rescue Medication

I've always had a love/hate relationship with my migraine rescue medication - sumatriptan. I started on Imitrex back when my migraines were turning chronic (11 years ago) and then switched to the generic when that became available a number of years ago.

I love it because it helps to provide some relief from the terrible migraine pain. I can't imagine not having a medication to help me treat the pain. I honestly don't know how I would cope without the assistance of this medication. Literally.

I hate it because of the side effects. The Imitrex always made me feel sick to my stomach. So much so that I still don't like taking any generic that comes in that same triangle shape that the Imitrex came in. The negative conditioning is that strong. The generics still leave me feeling queasy but to a lesser degree. But that's not the only side effect. There is often a weird feeling in my heart. It makes my breath terrible. Sometimes, a couple hours after taking it, my blood sugar will drop and my breasts get tender.

Slowly. over the past year, I've been feeling like the medication is not as effective as it used to be. More often than not I need to add 400mg of ibuprofen to my sumatriptan to get relief. That used to be a trick I used only to treat the worst migraines. Plus, it's becoming more common for the rescue meds to either not provide as much relief or wear off quicker than it used to.

I think it might be time to look for a new rescue med, which will be tricky because:
1. My migraine doc is in Minnesota and I'm in Missouri.
2. Right now what little bit of energy I have is being spent on dealing with the pain in my hands and feet.
3. Trying new medications for my hands and feet might impact a trial of new medications for my head.

I've decided to put it off until the spring or summer in hopes that I can get a better handle on my hands/feet and be on a stable medication regimen. I just hope the sumatriptan won't become completely useless before then.