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

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What is the price of this medication and similar alternatives?

Pricing information provided by drugstore.com.

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What are the possible side effects of sumatriptan?

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 sumatriptan and call your doctor if you have a serious side effect such as:

• 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;

• seizure (convulsions); or

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

Less serious side effects may include:

• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;

• muscle pain;

• warmth or redness under your skin;

• pressure or heavy feeling in any part of your body;

• sneezing, runny nose, congestion, cough;

• burning, numbness, pain or other irritation in your nose or throat after using the nasal spray;

• unusual taste in your mouth after using the nasal spray;

• dizziness, sleepiness; or

• drooling or sweating.

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 sumatriptan?
Use this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not use the medication in larger or smaller amounts, or use it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the instructions on your prescription label. Use sumatriptan 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 sumatriptan tablet whole with a full glass of water. Do not split the tablet.

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What is the most important information I should know about sumatriptan?
You should not use this medication if you are allergic to sumatriptan, or if you have ischemic bowel disease, severe liver disease, severe high blood pressure, or a history of heart disease, angina, circulation problems, heart attack, or stroke. Sumatriptan 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.

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What happens if I miss a dose?
Since sumatriptan is used as needed, it does not have a daily dosing schedule. Call your doctor promptly if your symptoms do not improve after using sumatriptan. After taking a sumatriptan tablet, you must wait two (2) hours before taking a second tablet. Do not take more than 200 mg of sumatriptan tablets in 24 hours. After using sumatriptan nasal spray, you must wait two (2) hours before using a second spray. Do not use more than 40 mg of sumatriptan nasal spray in 24 hours.

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What other drugs will affect sumatriptan?
Before using sumatriptan, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs: 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), rizatriptan (Maxalt), or zolmitriptan (Zomig). This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can affect sumatriptan. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

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

Sumatriptan has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Animal studies have revealed evidence of embryolethality and cervicothoracic vascular defects. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. Sumatriptan should only be given during pregnancy when benefit outweighs risk.

One review article has stated that "Available literature to date indicates that exposure to sumatriptan during pregnancy has no additional risk of birth defects compared with the incidence in the general population."

Sumatriptan is excreted into human breast milk. Caution is advised when considering the administration of sumatriptan to a nursing woman. The American Academy of Pediatrics has no position on the use of sumatriptan during breast-feeding.

Infant exposure to sumatriptan can be minimized by avoiding breastfeeding for twelve hours after treatment with sumatriptan.

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Who should NOT use this medication?

• Known or suspected ischemic heart disease (e.g., angina pectoris, MI, silent ischemia).
• Coronary artery vasospasm (e.g., Prinzmetal variant angina).
• Other serious underlying cardiovascular disease (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension).
• Cerebrovascular syndromes (e.g., stroke syndrome, TIAs).
• Peripheral vascular ischemia (e.g., ischemic bowel disease).
• Hemiplegic or basilar migraine.
• Treatment within previous 24 hours with another 5-HT₁ receptor agonist or an ergot alkaloid. (See Specific Drugs under Interactions.)
• Concurrent or recent (within 2 weeks) treatment with an MAO-A inhibitor (oral and nasal sumatriptan formulations).
• Severe hepatic impairment.
• Known hypersensitivity to sumatriptan 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, or if anyone else has accidentally swallowed it. Overdose symptoms may include tremors or shaking, skin redness, breathing problems, blue-colored lips or fingernails, vision problems, watery eyes or mouth, weakness, lack of coordination, or seizure (convulsions).

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What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before using sumatriptan?
You should not use this medication if you are allergic to sumatriptan, 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 severe liver disease. Do not use sumatriptan 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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