More than 6 million people suffer from migraine in the United Kingdom, according to a recent study. In England alone, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) reveals that roughly 190,000 patients experience migraine attacks. Migraine is not deadly. However, its symptoms can be very severe. You should never leave your episodic migraine untreated to avoid severe symptoms. To treat your symptoms at their early stages, one effective solution involves using migraine tablets, such as Sumatriptan.
For the best treatment results with sumatriptan 50mg, you need to fully understand how these tablets work. In the rest of this post, you’ll learn the following:
- What is sumatriptan and how exactly does it work?
- How effective is sumatriptan?
- Does this migraine medication UK have long-term side effects?
- Does sumatriptan interact with contraceptive pills?
- How effective is lifestyle modification for migraine?
What is sumatriptan & how exactly does it work?
Sumatriptan is a type of drug that belongs to a group of medicines, known as triptans. Triptans, also known as serotonin (5-HT1) agonists, were commercially introduced in the 1990s. These drugs work exactly like serotonin, a brain chemical. Their primary function is to quiet down the overactive neuralgia in the nerves.
For now, the exact causes of cluster headaches and migraines are unclear. However, health experts believe migraine symptoms may be a result of the temporary widening of cranial’s blood vessels.
As earlier mentioned sumatriptan 50mg works the same way as the serotonin receptors, which are located in the cranial blood vessels. Sumatriptan works by binding to serotonin 5‑HT1B/1D receptors, causing them to become narrow. This narrowing result is the main reason why sumatriptan can provide relief to migraine headaches and other symptoms.
How effective is sumatriptan?
- Sumatriptan migraine tablets are very effective for treating your symptoms. After taking your pills, you should expect the drugs to start working almost immediately (about 30 minutes to 45 minutes).
- Sumatriptan is also available in the form of injection. If you’re going for injections, you should expect them to start working within 10 to 15 minutes.
- The third form of sumatriptan is a nasal spray. Sumatriptan nasal spray is only recommended for adults to use for the treatment of acute migraine (with or without aura). Ensure to go for a diagnosis and be sure you have acute symptoms before using. The effectiveness of nasal spray is between 10 to 15 minutes.
What are the long-term side effects of sumatriptan 50mg?
Because of the long-term side effects of sumatriptan 50mg tablets, migraine sufferers are often advised to avoid using this medication too often. A visit to your doctor is important, especially if your symptoms persist after taking sumatriptan tablets for migraines. Long-term use of these tablets can end up worsening your headaches.
Sumatriptan is effective for treating migraine headaches immediately when you start noticing the pain. You can always speak to your doctor to recommend other drugs that can help reduce the frequency of your migraine attacks.
What effects does sumatriptan have on contraceptive pills?
While sumatriptan 50mg tablets will never restrict your contraception from working, you need to understand that taking combined pills is not good for migraines, especially if you experience aura symptoms.
If you’re currently on any hormonal contraceptive pills, keep your doctor informed about it before you go ahead to buy sumatriptan UK.
Does lifestyle modification have any effect on migraines?
Apart from migraine tablets, another effective solution to your symptoms is lifestyle modification. This treatment option requires you to adjust your way of life to better manage your symptoms.
Below are a few key steps you can follow to avoid migraine symptoms:
- First, you need to identify the things that trigger your attacks. Once you understand them, all you need is to avoid these triggers. To identify your triggers, you most certainly need to keep a migraine diary.
- Avoid smoking, as it does no good thing to migraine symptoms. Instead, it can increase your risk of experiencing cluster headaches.
- In addition, eating the right diet is important. When doing this, you need to research and stay away from drinks and foods that can trigger your symptoms.