Taking medications for migraines is usually a last resort for many people. These medications can often have many different side effects which can vary from person to person. Also, these medications are not meant for everyone and are usually only prescribed to people suffering from severe cases of migraines. There are two different types of medications which deal with migraine headaches. The abortive migraine treatment is meant to be taken at the onset of a migraine to help stop it or short the length. The preventative medication is used in severe cases and is meant to help limit or prevent migraines altogether.
The preventative medications prescribed for migraines are typically medications which are prescribed for other ailments. These medicines have been proven to help reduce the number of migraines in certain individuals. One of the most popular medications to help prevent migraines is high blood pressure medicines which include beta blockers and calcium channel blockers. Also, many anti-histamines and anti-allergy medicines have been shown to greatly reduce the number of migraines in a number of people. Finally, anti-seizure medications such as Topamax, Neurentin, and Depakote have been shown to be effective in the treatment of migraines. Most of these medications are not prescribed unless the sufferer reports migraines occurring at least once a week.
The abortive medications to deal with migraines during their onset are many. A number of drugs, which deal specifically with serotonin in the brain, are prescribed for migraine pain. Some of the most common drugs dealing with serotonin are Nanamig, Imitrex, and Relpax. In addition to drugs which deal strictly with serotonin levels in the brain there are other drugs which deal with different brain chemicals in addition to serotonin. These drugs include Cafergot and Midrin. Also, Compazine and Phenergan are often prescribed to deal with nausea associated with migraines. Finally, migraines are often treated with weaker narcotics such as Fioricet and Tylenol with Codeine.
Many of these drugs will have side effects which may be worse than the migraines themselves. Because of the vast number of drugs available to treat migraines it may be a very long time before the right drug is found for your situation. Until this occurs it is wise to pay attention to migraine headaches triggers and avoid this possible trigger. Always keep a journal of the events leading up to the migraine in order to realize a pattern which may be causing your migraines.