An Introduction to Some Migraine Medication
A migraine headache is something your doctor will treat with migraine medication. It may seem like an obvious point but people should know that migraine medication is not something they should prescribe to themselves using over the counter medication.
A migraine headache is serious business and in order to treat it correctly you need the correct migraine medication. More often than not the migraine medication you get over the counter will not be doing the correct job in treating your migraine condition. Here are some migraine medications you may hear about when you talk to your doctor.
NSAIDs
NSAIDs are Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and they are used to treat the more moderate forms of migraine headaches. These migraine medications are prescribed to relieve patients that do not have recurring symptoms but definitely do experience the symptoms caused by a migraine headache.
These types of medications can cause a serious upset stomach as part of their side effects and for that reason many people like to avoid using them as much as possible. In some cases doctors will also prescribe ergotamines to counteract the nausea effect of the NSAIDs.
Combining to Treat Moderate Migraines
Because a lot of migraine medications are pain killers and anti-inflammatory medications they tend to have a lot of negative side effects for patients. For that reason many doctors will prescribe combinations of medications to try and help reduce the effects of the migraine while also avoiding the sour after effects of the medication.
In some cases doctors will prescribe aspirin with codeine and caffeine to help sooth the effects of the migraine. Combinations like this are not uncommon but some of the elements used can be habit forming so doctors take great care in making sure they only prescribe the necessary dosages of migraine medication.
For More Serious Cases
If a patient experiences more severe and chronic migraine symptoms then a doctor may prescribe a medication called Sumatriptan or one called Dihydroergotamine. Both medications are considered to be the first resort of doctors faced with treating serious migraine conditions and are preferred over any other severe migraine treatment because of their lowered instance of side effect.
In very extreme cases the doctor may have to resort to Thorazine or Demerol which are both very powerful pain medications and also very habit forming. Great care needs to be taken before prescribing potentially habit forming drugs when you also consider that these drugs may wind being taken for a very long time by a chronic patient.
