LASIK Facts

In addressing the problem of migraines, the medical establishment is working hard these days at learning and promoting preventive measures, but sometimes migraine medications are the only answer, when the measures don’t help and the advent of the headache just can’t be stopped. There are various levels of treatment and strengths and combinations of drugs, and depending on the severity of the head pain, doctors usually have patients start with the simplest and work their way up in an effort to gain relief.

The first types of medications generally given for migraines are the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS. These are more familiar to people as acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. They are generally over-the-counter drugs, so people whose migraines tend to be mild can self-prescribe, and sometimes nip the headaches in the bud. Occasionally, when combined with caffeine, these can bring not just migraine relief but also relief from the nausea that tends to accompany this condition.

But when those milder drugs don’t work, that’s when the heavy duty prescription migraine medications are brought in. A type known as triptans, with Sumatriptan being the most common, helps work on the severity of mid-line headaches, and also eases the nausea and light sensitivity that may accompany them. This drug is marketed under names like Imitrex or Imigran. Opiates can be used as migraine drugs too, in very severe or unusual cases, but they are saved for almost a last resort, since they can become addictive. Even certain clinical depression medications can have an effect, though no one yet knows why.

Other treatments involve combining different drugs as medication for migraines, so a drug like Fioricet would have butalbital (a barbiturate) with aspirin, paracetamol (acetaminophen) and caffeine. Severe headaches that don’t respond to drug treatments, called refractory migraines, are sometimes treated intravenously with drugs like Decadron, Phergan, Keppra, and so on. Intravenous treatment aims at rebalancing the internal fluids and electrolytes as well as easing the pain.

Migraine medications have now become good enough that for the most part they can tackle even the most extreme instances of the illness. The research into the causes, triggers and mechanisms of migraine disease still has a considerable distance to go, but it’s likely that most of the basics have been covered. This means that those who suffer from this illness have a great many treatment options open to them, and for this fact, millions are very grateful.

Jeremy Larson is a foremost expert in acid reflux remedy field. His work has been extensively published in various online publications in this area. For more information on the treatment, visit RemedyForAcidReflux.com.