hi there all,
just wondering if anyone out there has ever used imigran aka 'sumatripan', as i have been prescribed this today. this is the first time i have been prescribed anything specifically for CHs. i have suffered with CHs for approx 14yrs and only recently found out what the excruciating pain is...

anyway, i just wanted to know if anyone had ever had any of the side effects that comes with imigran, because i really want to have this medication tonight in hope for some sleep, i am 9 days into my cycle and really cant handle another night with the beast, i desperatly need some sleep.  :'(

there is one side effect which i am very worried about-chest pains/heart attacks.  as it states on the leaflet  do NOT use if you are a heavy smoker, i am a smoker but my doctor still prescribed it to me ?...

also does anybody else suffer from severe pain of the jaw bone, especially during/after an attack, or is it just me? :-?

i will really appreciate any comments or advice, ;D
kind regards
alan

I've seen others with known heart conditions report here that imgran was dicey for them and they can't use it. Over the past 15 years or however long its been since it came on the market I've used probably hundreds of injections by now without a side effect.

I'll definitely get pain in the upper jaw around the back teeth area during an attack - I know this is common, leading many such as myself to have had their wisdom teeth extracted in the misguided belief that the pain could be originating from there.

I've been smoking like a chimney for years and using imitrex injections for years. I'm still here.

YMMV.

thanks for your reply to both my comments, its much appreciated, i suppose every one reacts differently to drugs, and im just curious to see how other peolpe are affected...you said you've used imigran, could you tell me how it works? if i have it when an attack starts does it just get rid of the pain of that attack or does it last for hours, preventing more attacks? as sometimes i can have upto 8-10 attacks in one night! i dont fully understand how it helps?

its funny you saying that about jaw/tooth pain, as i have had 2 teeth pulled over the past few years, thinking it was them that was causing all the pain. and being mis-guided by DRs/dentists, obviously it wasnt!

in a way i'm glad i know what's causing it, at least i can stop having my teeth pulled out...  ;D

kind regards

thanks seeworthy for your reasurrance, but i forgot to mention that the imigran i have is a nasal spray, not an injection...does it work the same? does it have the same side effects?

kind regards
;D

I tried Imitrex pills and found them useless. I am assuming this is a pill. There the ch would start i would take the pill and after the Ch was gone maybe the pill did something...

I switched to injections, and found the auto injector gave me too much which is typical of may of us, and so learned the Q-Tip trick listed on the left sidebar menu.

I thought that worked well, untill I got rebounds from Hell.

I tried no more drugs unless you consider breathing o2 a drug.

That works for me now and has for years.

If you never tired that, I suggest you do. There is masks you can buy from this site, others have. Your Doctor should have mentioned this if he knows anything.

You need bottled 100% o2 and nothing less, and a high flow rate.

Since i am a mechanic welder i just use torches o2 and make sure the actelene is off. I breath off my fist which is wrapped tight around the torch grip with no head mounted.

What happens is a hard shadow wakes me up, and I get dressed fast, having my clothing all laid out and ready.

Then I go to the shop in the barn breathing deeply as i walk there, to get out the warmed air i was breathing in my bed room.

I grab the torch grip, turn on the tank, turn on the grip knob and sit down in a lawn chair I have waiting and breath deeply at 45 psi, turning the knob off between breaths.

I was told to hold my breath 30 seconds, but that caused me to become winded and tired, so I do 10 seconds instead. I try to exhale thru my nose, in the hopes that remaining o2 will get thru to my bloomin EYE....

Like you I lost 2 perfectly good teeth to this blasted beast.

Last: When I read about o2 I looked alot like this   ::)

I was WRONG. Get o2

edited typos to make real words  ;D

When I use Imitrex, which is the same as Imigran, I get a sort of flushed feeling and tightness in my face.  It is sort of unpleasant but I know within 5 minutes my pain will be gone. I have to be careful in using it though.  If I use too much, I feel that I end up having more attacks.   02 is the best way to go.

Zyprexa is what I would use for a good nights sleep.... I take 5 or 10 mg (I forget the exact dose) at 1st onset and it would take me through the night.

Oxygen is my first line of defense, but Zyprexa tends to work very well for me.

Some docs even have samples of Zyprexa!!!!

Otherwise, pain free days and nights ahead!!!!

mightymeated wrote on Dec 30^th, 2009 at 7:04pm:

..you said you've used imigran, could you tell me how it works? if i have it when an attack starts does it just get rid of the pain of that attack or does it last for hours, preventing more attacks? as sometimes i can have upto 8-10 attacks in one night!

Yep you do want to save your inhaler blast for the onset of an attack. With any luck it will abort that attack, and I find that when I'm at peak cycle and guaranteed to be getting hit hard at night, Imigran will knock the attacks out for at least 3 hours, whereas with O2 I will be getting hit again every hour. Could be a flaw in my O2 technique at fault there, or as Batch has pointed out, maybe my PH needed adjusting. I don't mean to say a discouraging word about O2 because I agree with the others that its an essential, frst line  component for your arsenal.

I use both the inhalers and the injections.  The injections are a quick delivery so I get a little flushing but that passes quickly and the pain is eliminated.

Actually I welcome that tingly flushing feeling. It forcasts a soon to be be pain free experiance.

Alan,

I've been there--I get multiple nighttime hits, sometimes every hour at the worst stage of the game.  Have you tried melatonin????
This was not a cure all for me, but at times gave me some painfree nights.  Towards the end of the last cycle I combined it with benadryl.
PLEASE GET AN O2 tank!!!!!  I recommend it if you are getting multiple nighttime hits.  I use imitrex as a last resort when the O2 is not working (usually at peak of cycle).
Do you have O2???
I feel like I get rebound headaches from the imitrex.  It gives me immediate relief but the next headache comes quicker than it normally would :(  Still I will sometimes use it as a last resort.
Tonight I recommend even if you use the imitrex, after you use it, take some benadryl.  I bet you will find you get a solid 4 hours afterward.
Good luck to you, I hope you get some sleep.  Hang in there.

I was also thinking about bringing up the melatonin (even though it doesn't help me personally), but if I remember correctly its not sold over the counter in the UK.