There are many things you can do to manage migraine. Effective migraine treatment may involve a combination of medications, lifestyle changes and complementary therapies.1
However, it can take a process of trial and error to find an approach that works for you.2
Talking about your treatment experiences with your healthcare professional can help. If you’re not getting relief from your current migraine medication, there may be other more effective options available. When recommending treatments, your doctor will also consider any other health conditions or medications you may be taking, as well as the severity of your migraine attacks.2-4
Talk with your pharmacist or doctor about which options might be appropriate for your migraine.1,2Acute medicines are used to treat a migraine attack once symptoms have already started.3 They may target an underlying cause of migraine (e.g. nerve inflammation) or help with migraine symptoms, and are often a doctor’s first treatment recommendation.5
Mild-to-moderate migraine attacks can be treated with pain relievers, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, e.g. aspirin and ibuprofen), or paracetamol. These medications are readily available and inexpensive.5
Triptans are migraine-specific drugs that are recommended for moderate-to-severe migraine attacks, or for milder attacks that don’t respond to pain relievers.5 Triptans help treat inflammation and swelling of blood vessels and help block pain signals to the brain.5,7 This can reduce – or in some cases, eliminate – migraine pain.8
There are several different triptans available, including Relpax® Migraine. If one does not work as well as is needed, a different triptan may have a better effect.5,7 If appropriate, combining a triptan with an NSAID pain reliever may be more effective than either medication alone.5,8
Take care not to over-use triptans or pain relievers.5Taking these medications too often can worsen migraine and headache pain, and cause a condition called medication overuse headache.5,9 Limit the use of triptans to fewer than 10 days a month and pain relievers to fewer than 15 days a month. If you have more than 4 days with migraine per month, speak with your doctor about preventive medications and lifestyle changes.5
If nausea is one of your main migraine symptoms, anti-nausea medications are available with a prescription from your doctor or from your pharmacist without a prescription. If nausea gets worse when trying to swallow a tablet with water, your doctor may also recommend medicines that can be taken as a dissolvable wafer, spray, suppository or injection.3,5
Opioids are not recommended for migraine and should only be used under special circumstances as prescribed by a doctor.5,7
These devices can be useful as an acute migraine treatment to reduce pain.5,10 They can also be used as a preventive treatment.1 The device is held against the skin and produces electrical pulses to stimulate nerves affected by migraine.5
Medicine to prevent migraine is taken regularly to reduce the severity or frequency of migraine attacks. It is taken on an ongoing basis whether you have migraine symptoms or not.1
Most medications to prevent migraine are available on prescription from your doctor.1
Your doctor may recommend trialling a migraine prevention medicine if you need acute migraine relief for 3–4 days or more per month.1
Some people can treat their migraine symptoms with medications readily available from the pharmacist. For others, these are not effective enough and medication prescribed by a doctor may be needed.1
If you are unsure about the cause and nature of your headache, or if your symptoms change, it is important to consult your doctor to determine which treatment option is right for you.1
Remember that it may take some trial and error to work out the best treatment for you.2