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What is rizatriptan?
Rizatriptan is a headache medicine. It is believed to work by narrowing the blood vessels around the brain. Rizatriptan also reduces substances in the body that can trigger headache pain, nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and other migraine symptoms. Rizatriptan is used to treat migraine headaches. Rizatriptan will only treat a headache that has already begun. It will not prevent headaches or reduce the number of attacks. Rizatriptan may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

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What are the possible side effects of rizatriptan?

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Stop using rizatriptan and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling;

• sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;

• sudden headache, confusion, problems with vision, speech, or balance;

• fast heart rate, agitation, muscle stiffness, hallucinations, lack of coordination, with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea;

• sudden and severe stomach pain and bloody diarrhea; or

• numbness or tingling and a pale or blue-colored appearance in your fingers or toes.

Less serious side effects may include:

• dry mouth, upset stomach;

• mild headache (not a migraine);

• feeling too warm or too cold;

• tremors, confusion;

• warmth, redness, or tingling under your skin;

• feeling of pain or pressure in your neck and throat; or

• weakness, dizziness, sleepiness.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

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How should I use rizatriptan?
Take this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the instructions on your prescription label. Take rizatriptan as soon as you notice headache symptoms, or after an attack has already begun. Your doctor may want to give your first dose of this medicine in a hospital or clinic setting to see if you have any serious side effects. Take one rizatriptan tablet whole with a full glass of water.

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What is the most important information I should know about rizatriptan?
Rizatriptan can cause serious side effects on the heart, including heart attack or stroke. Although these side effects are rare, do not use this medication if you have a history of heart disease, angina (chest pain), blood circulation problems, ischemic bowel disease, severe or uncontrolled high blood pressure, or history of a heart attack or stroke. Before using rizatriptan, tell your doctor if you have coronary artery disease, or risk factors for coronary artery disease (such as diabetes, menopause, smoking, being overweight, having high blood pressure or high cholesterol, having a family history of coronary artery disease, being older than 40 and a man, or being a woman who has had a hysterectomy).

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What happens if I miss a dose?
Since rizatriptan is used as needed, it does not have a daily dosing schedule. Call your doctor promptly if your symptoms do not improve after using rizatriptan. After taking a rizatriptan tablet, you must wait two (2) hours before taking a second tablet. Do not take more than 30 mg of rizatriptan in 24 hours.

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What other drugs will affect rizatriptan?
Before using rizatriptan, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs: propranolol (Inderal, InnoPran); an antidepressant such as citalopram (Celexa), duloxetine (Cymbalta), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), or venlafaxine (Effexor); or another migraine medicine such as almotriptan (Axert), eletriptan (Relpax), frovatriptan (Frova), sumatriptan (Imitrex), naratriptan (Amerge), or zolmitriptan (Zomig).

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Can I take this if I am pregnant or trying to get pregnant or if I am breastfeeding?

Rizatriptan has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Animal studies have revealed evidence of decreased birth, and pre and post weaning weights, increased mortality, altered estrus cyclicity and delays in time to mating, and placental transfer of the drug. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. Rizatriptan should only be given during pregnancy when benefits outweigh risks.

There are no data on the excretion of rizatriptan into human milk. Because many drugs are excreted into human milk, caution is advised when considering the use of rizatriptan in a nursing woman.

The manufacturer has reported that rizatriptan is extensively excreted in rat milk, at a level five or more times maternal plasma levels.

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Who should NOT use this medication?

• Known or suspected ischemic heart disease (e.g., angina pectoris, history of MI, documented silent ischemia).
• Coronary artery vasospasm (e.g., Prinzmetal variant angina).
• Other serious underlying cardiovascular disease (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension).
• Hemiplegic or basilar migraine.
• Treatment within previous 24 hours with another 5-HT₁ agonist or an ergot alkaloid. (See Specific Drugs under Interactions.)
• Concurrent or recent (within 2 weeks) treatment with an MAO inhibitor. (See Specific Drugs under Interactions.)
• Known hypersensitivity to rizatriptan or any ingredient in the formulation.

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What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. Overdose symptoms may include severe headache, blurred vision, trouble concentrating, chest pain, numbness, seizure (convulsions), neck stiffness, tiredness, lack of coordination, feeling light-headed, or fainting.

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What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before using rizatriptan?
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to rizatriptan, or if you have: a history of heart disease, angina (chest pain), blood circulation problems, or history of a heart attack or stroke; ischemic bowel disease; severe or uncontrolled high blood pressure; or a headache that is not like other headaches you have had. Do not use rizatriptan if you have taken a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or phenelzine (Nardil) in the past 14 days.

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Can I stop taking the medication if I feel better?
If you are taking an analgesic for pain and you are no longer experiencing the pain you may stop using the medication. In general, pain medications are to be used on an as needed basis.

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I am on so many medications; do I have to take them all?
This is called polypharmacy—many different medications being used at the same time by one person. Sometimes, being on multiple medications is acceptable and appropriate but at other times it may be problematic. If you are receiving your medications from multiple physicians you need to ensure that they all know what medications you are taking. The best way to do this is to make a list of all the medications you are currently using, including all nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and over-the-counter drugs (if possible, also include all the diseases you have been diagnosed with). Give a copy to every doctor who takes care of you so they have it on file, this way they can avoid duplicating medications and perhaps even try to consolidate some. After every doctor's visit remember to update the list accordingly. Also, as much as you possibly can, try to use the same pharmacy to fill all your prescriptions, this way any potential drug interactions can be caught and averted.

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Where can I get more information?
More Information

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