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Medicine
For Your Migraine
Migraine
headaches cause severe pain and tremendous disability, and yet
less than half of all people who suffer from these disabling headaches
are receiving appropriate treatment.
Migraine
headaches cause severe pain and tremendous disability, and yet
less than half of all people who suffer from these disabling headaches
are receiving appropriate treatment. Only about fifty percent
of the more than thirty million people with migraine have been
diagnosed by a physician, and can therefore get the powerful prescription
medications that can stop migraines in their tracks.
How does
a migraine behave?
Migraine often
manifests as a one-sided, severe, throbbing headache in or behind
the eye, and occurs in women three times more often than men.
It is associated with nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light
and sound, and is sometimes preceded by a visual aura, such as
multicolored dots or bright zigzag lines, which might obscure
vision for about twenty minutes. If left untreated, the entire
migraine attack can last from twenty-four to forty-eight hours
and is often associated with disability, preventing the patient
from working, going to school, or taking care of domestic tasks.
Triptans
Triptans are
the most powerful class of drugs available to stop migraine. This
type of medication shrinks the dilated blood vessels and decreases
the inflammation, which affects the meninges, or covering of the
brain during the migraine attack.
There are
five triptans available in the U.S. The first triptan became available
in 1993, when sumatriptan was launched as a self-injectable shot.
It is now available to people in the form of nasal sprays and
tablets. The second triptan released was zolmitriptan, which was
launched as a tablet three years ago. In March it became available
as an orange flavored melt tablet called Zomig ZMT, which dissolves
on the tongue in thirty seconds. Zomig ZMT can begin to work in
thirty minutes and brings sixty-four percent of patients' migraines
under control in two hours with minimal side effects.
Other similar
medications now available are naratriptan (as a tablet) rizatriptan
(as a tablet and melt tablet) and almotriptan (which was recently
approved as a tablet).
Although all
triptans are safe and effective, they can narrow blood vessels,
so they cannot be given to patients with heart disease, blood
vessel problems, or high blood pressure, and they must be used
very cautiously in any patient with cardiac risk factors, or hidden
signs of heart disease.
Preventive
medication
Some migraine
sufferers may require preventive medication. Those with two or
more migraines per week, those who cannot tolerate triptans for
some reason, and sufferers who experience severe disability, can
be placed on daily, preventive medications. Preventive medications
include beta-blockers and calcium blockers- usually used for blood
pressure and cardiac problems - or they can try antidepressants
or anti-epilepsy drugs. Sometimes, large doses of magnesium and
vitamin B2 can be helpful when taken on a daily basis for at least
three months. Relaxation and biofeedback training, and other behavioral
medicine techniques can also be helpful in reducing the frequency
and intensity of the headaches.
Effective
medication still to come
Two other
triptans are expected to be released in 2001, and researchers
are investigating new forms of acute and preventive medications
for migraine. Last, but certainly not least, in order for people
to be treated properly, it's important that they go to the doctor
and receive a proper diagnosis.
Reference
Source 104
For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
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