Pain Relieving Medications

Migraine headache are painful enlargements of the blood vessels in the brain. When the blood vessels in the brain begin to enlarge and expand the individual suffering from a migraine begins to experience intense head pain and miserable symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and even bouts of constipation. Medical professionals know more today about migraines than they have in decades yet they are still unable to dispense a cure for them, making the need for treatment unavoidable.

Migraines can be treated in a variety of different ways such as the use of pain reliving medications. Pain reliving medications come in two forms.

1. Pain Relieving Medications
2. Preventative Medications

Pain Reliving Medications

Pain reliving medications are taken in the midst of a migraine attack to help lessen the migraine pain and effect.  Pain relieving medications are taken at the first sign of migraine pain such as a dull ache of pain above the eye that is persistent. One might even find it helpful to go lie down after taking their medication. At times migraines are due to a lack of sleep so resting in a dark room could be beneficial. Pain relievers would include:

• Aspirin
• NSAID’s (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
  • Advil
  • Motrin
  • Ibuprofen

You may notice medications marked specifically for migraines such as Excedrin Migraine. Medications such as these can be effective for mild migraine attacks; however severe attacks will not be affected by its usage. One must be careful when using pain relievers such as these, if taken for an extended period of time migraine sufferers may begin to experience side effects such as:.

• Gastrointestinal Bleeding
• Medication-overuse Headaches
• Ulcers

If you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding speak with your doctor about the safety of these pain relieving medications. Pain reliving medications and their effectiveness depend on how intense a migraine attack can be. If the migraine is severe and continues to come back a more strategic approach may be needed such as the implementation of a migraine preventative.

Preventative Medications

Preventative migraine medications are taken on a regular basis to help prevent migraine from occurring. It is important to keep in mind that not every migraine can and will be prevented by a medication but there should be a noticeable decrease in migraine occurrences. Triptans and Ergots are two preventative migraine medications. Triptans and Ergots may be an effective treatment option for some migraine sufferers they are not without their side effects and health complications.

Triptans

Triptans are a collection of tryptamine-based drugs. Tryptamine is a monoamine alkaloid that can be found in certain vegetation such as plants, fungi and animals. Because of triptans unique ability to attach to the serotonin receptors on the blood vessels and the surrounding nerves, they can help reduce and in some cases completely stop migraine headaches from occurring. The most commonly used triptan and the one with the longest use history would be Sumatriptan. Sumatriptan can be taken orally, by injection or through inhalation.

Triptans are typically only prescribed to migraine sufferers that experience moderate to severe migraine pain and even then other forms of migraine treatment will be discussed and ruled out before a doctor will recommend or suggest a triptan. Why? Triptans are known for their severe side effects. The most common side effects associated with triptans are but not limited to:

• Drowsiness
• Facial Reddening
• Fatigue
• Tightening In The Chest
• Tightening In The Throat
• Dizziness

The role Triptans play in releasing migraine pain is due to the affect triptans have on the restriction of blood vessels or the narrowing of them to prevent them from enlarging and creating migraine pain. Though narrowing is part of their job, it can also have a reverse effect by not only narrowing the arteries in the head but also create a narrowing of the arteries in the heart. This becomes increasingly dangerous for those individuals that have already experienced some form of coronary narrowing. The narrowing caused by the triptans could lead to further narrowing resulting in a heart attack or stroke.

Ergots

Ergots are  similar to triptans in that they too constrict blood vessels, the difference is that triptans tend to constrict blood vessels in the brain whereas ergots are known to restrict blood vessels more in the heart and other parts of the body making them not nearly as safe of a treatment as triptans. Ergots have been known to induce nausea, vomiting and contractions in the uterus that makes them very unsafe for pregnant women.

Tags: herbal supplements, Migraine Medications, Migraine Support Formula, Prescription medication, side effects, Triptans