Side effects of triptans

I have been taking triptans since they first came out. I started with Imitrex and moved on to Amerge when it came out. Most of my migraines are hormonal giving me about 10-15 days/month of migraine. When I first started I only had 3-7/month. I had typical mild side effects with Imitrex but was happy when I switched to Amerge and had none. Yesterday I took an Amerge and within a half hour had a strong painful spasm in chest and neck. It was hard to swallow.

My heart was beating fast and hard also. It was quite scary. I read up on Amerge and it seems this can happen and is not serious. I have a referrral for an ultrasound of heart and a Holter moniter because I have been having racing heart and such loud heartbeat that I cant sleep (given before this happened). My Dr. thinks it is because of Lyme. It has gotten better with doubling my Inderal for migraine.

Has anyone else had this happen after years of no problems with triptans? I am nervous about taking another one, but have migraine again today. It will be daily for at least 10 days and will be severe if I dont take it. I thought about breaking one in two, but you arent supposed to do that with Amerge. I have tried most othe Triptans, Amergeworks way better with fewer side effects for me.

Thanks for any advice.,
Cindy

I can see why you are feeling alarmed. I haven't had this after years of taking Triptans so I don't know what to tell you. I have cut my pills in half even though they say not to.

When you had the spasm, did you have pain in the arm like heart attack or sypmtoms of stroke like unable to talk?

I think if you do decide to take a triptan, to make sure you pave the way for a non stress situation and set yourself up to have someone nearby.

I didnt have any stroke or heart attack symptoms.Just the painful squeezing. I broke down and took one this afternoon while my daughter was home and it was much better. Still not like normal, but mostly rapid heartbeat and a little tightness. I did get an appointment in 2 weeks for the tests at least. Do you get any stomach pain when you break the pills? I seem to remember that when I used Imitrex and split them.Thanks for the feedback.
Hugs,
Cindy

I used to split the 100 Imigran cos 50mg was enough.
No extra effects.

If the S/E persist, try a different one.
I tried Almogran and got similar s/e, with Frova I get nothing like that.
Naratriptan/Amerge did nothing to me, good or bad, was as if I hadnt taken it.
How different we all are.


Good luck

I haven't had the same symptoms you describe but when I take Maxalt (like I did this afternoon), I do notice my lips go a slight shade of purple which would suggest something going on with the heart. I did mention it to my doctor once and he said he hadn't heard of that symptom before, but he didn't seem overly concerned, but I must admit, at 62 years old, it bothers me a little.

I have had very similar side effects with Amerge. I liken the feeling to severe heartburn, though of course its not exactly the same. Feels like very painful tightness in my chest/chest pains, and really hurts. I have never actually experienced heartburn, so I don't know what heartburn feels like, which is why I can only sort of relate the Amerge side effects to heartburn but don't know if its actually similar. It goes away after about 20 to 30 minutes, but its really painful.

Until recently I hadn't had it happen with other triptans. But I just started taking Treximet, and it happened after taking Treximet. The weird thing is, it isn't a recent side effect - it kicks in several hours later. With the Treximet, I took it in the afternoon. I woke up the next day at around 6am with those very painful chest pains. So much time had passed I didn't immediately associate them with the Treximet. In fact, I didn't remember until several hours later that I had experienced those chest pains with Amerge and thought that maybe the Treximet might be causing the same type side effect. Back when I experienced the pains with Amerge I mentioned it to my dr. and he didn't say it was anything to worry about. So I guess it's nothing to worry about.

I did notice that with the Amerge, the chest pains side effect goes away with use. In other words, after you've used the Amerge a few times, you shouldn't get those pains any more. The first time I got them, they were really painful and it took 20-30 minutes for them to go away. Subsequent instances were shorter and less severe and eventually I didn't get them at all. Hopefully that will be the case for you if you continue to use the Amerge.

Good luck!

Thanks for the replies. I am guessing this is not serious, just scary and painful! I have been using Amerge for many years and it hasnt happened before. But then, my body never does what it is expected to do. I will feel a lot less worried once I see the Cardiologist. Until then I'll use them as little as I can.
Cindy

Someone, I think it was Dr Larry Robbins posted somewhere on this, about 5 days ago.
He said the side effects are not effecting your heart.
I am trying to find the link, but my head is so bad right now.

P

I've read somewhere that every triptan affects slightly different serotonin receptor in the brain,
otherwise they all work the same way.
but these slight differences are enough to cause quite a difference for us in how the triptans affect US.
(not US of A, just us mig-ers )

I too experience unpleasant chest tightness and heart palpitations from Imitrex.
My choice of triptans is Zomig, Maxalt or Relpax.

I am taking mostly Maxalt, because it is covered under our Pharmacare program,
also oral tablets - caplets to be exact, as they are easy to cut up into smaller pieces thus one pill last longer.

I found something like "triptan comparison chart" or other online, and it include the 'side effects' description.

I think Maxalt causes muscle and joint pain, unfortunately, and indeed I have severe problem with it.

(I am even posting related to it separate thread, re: meds for the like pains)

Risa

Thanks, Risa. I will look at the chart. I have tried all the different triptans. The best of them for me is Amerge. Frova is OK, but has more side effects. Maxalt actually makes mine worse. I did take 2 more doses with just rapid heartbeat as a result. Hopefully, this wont happen again. I may have not taken enough food and water with it? I love this site. It is so calming to come here and know someone will answer with good info!
Hugs,
Cindy

Cindy, have you tried treximet? That's the newest triptan (at least as far as I am aware). Although it's not "new," new. I believe its a blend of sumatriptan and naproxen. It works well for me, especially as i usually take some type of OTC like ibuprofen with my triptans, but with treximet I don't have to.
Downside is, being new, it's probably expensive. I got samples from the dr. first, so it didn't cost me anything. Then I qualified for the assistance program from Glaxo Smith Kline; otherwise I couldn't afford it. But its a thought, and if cost is a factor, GSK does have that assistance program that could help.
Good luck!

I havent tried Treximet because I cant take anti-inflammatory meds. Once in a while I can take an Aleve if I take it with Pepto on a full stomach. I pray that my hormones change for the good with menopause.
Hugs,
Cindy

Here's I hope (as I didn't read it, just skimmed thru) a pretty good site describing adverse site effects between and of various triptans,

( it's a complete comparative article to be exact)

http://www.clinicalcornerstone.com/issues/v4n3/v4n3_53ade.pdf

A Treximet is indeed just Imitrex with naproxen made into one tablet.

So it's like an migraine abortive combined with a painkiller (and an anti-inflammatory,) so I figured I can as well combine my own triptans with a painkiller, thus I always take mine with Percocet or two.

Before that, with Emtec 30 which is Canadian version of US T#3 which is just an acetaminophen with codeine but without caffeine. (0ur T3 has caffeine in it).
However some drs think it may be not a good idea to combine codeine with triptans.
I don't know why - I have never had any problem with it, for many many years.
might be an individual reaction sort of thing, too.

Either way, it may be best to check with your dr if you can take your analgesics with a triptan at the same time.

Triptan or a painkiller alone, on its own, won't work for me. Or rarely.
Together, yes, or much better.

and now, a little chuckle I found surfing for links on the 'net



Risa

Thanks, Risa. I almost always take either Midrin, Phrenilin, or percocet with my Amerge. It makes it much more effective. I like the triptans that have a longer half life since most of mine are hormonal and last 7-14 days! Love the cartoon.

With my first pregnancy, I had no migraines from the second trimester until I stopped breastfeeding when my daughter was almost a year old. It was wonderful. With my second daughter I had migraines all the way through and while breastfeeding, a real nightmare. Of course that was when I contracted Lyme disease so that is probably why.
Cindy