Imigran Tablets

Imigran Tablets for Migraines

What are Imigran tablets used for?

Imigran tablets are used to treat migraines. It’s used for the acute relief of migraine rather than to prevent one, so you take it when an attack begins rather than to stop one from happening.

Imigran migraine tablets can ease the main symptoms of migraine that come with an attack:

• The headache itself
• Feeling or being sick
• Sensitivity to light and sound

Taken early, it can offer migraine relief once your symptoms have started. If tablets don’t suit you, Imigran is also available as a nasal spray.

How do Imigran tablets work?

Migraine symptoms may be caused by the temporary widening of blood vessels in the head. Sumatriptan, the active ingredient in Imigran, works as an agonist, acting on serotonin receptors in the brain and its blood vessels, and is believed to reduce the widening that triggers an attack.

By calming these blood vessels, Imigran tablets help relieve the headache and ease other symptoms of an attack, like nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.

Who can use Imigran tablets?

Imigran is for adults aged 18 to 65 who get migraines. It isn’t suitable for children under 18, and it isn’t recommended for people over 65.

As a UK-regulated online pharmacy, our pharmacists will check that it’s right for you before it’s supplied. It won’t be prescribed if you have:

• Certain heart conditions like angina, a previous heart attack or narrowing of the arteries
• Circulation problems
• A history of stroke or mini-stroke
• Uncontrolled high blood pressure or serious liver disease

How to Take Imigran Tablets

Always take Imigran exactly as your prescriber has told you. The recommended dose of Imigran is a single dose taken at the onset of a migraine. As a general guide:

1. Take one 100mg tablet as soon as you feel a migraine coming on.
2. Swallow the tablet whole with water.
3. Don’t use Imigran to prevent a migraine. Only take it once your symptoms have started.
4. If your migraine returns after the first dose, a second dose may be given, provided there are at least 2 hours between doses.
5. If your first tablet doesn’t help at all, don’t take a further dose for the same attack. You can still use Imigran for your next migraine.
6. Don’t take more than 300mg, which is three 100mg tablets, in any 24 hours.

Imigran Tablets Side Effects

Like all medicines, Imigran can cause side effects, though not everyone gets them. Some symptoms may be caused by the migraine itself rather than the medicine.

Common Side Effects

These may affect up to 1 in 10 people.

• Pain, heaviness, pressure or tightness in the chest, throat or other parts of the body, or unusual sensations such as numbness, tingling, warmth or cold. These may feel intense but usually pass quickly. If the chest pain persists or worsens, seek urgent medical help.
• Feeling sick or being sick, though this can be due to the migraine itself
• Tiredness or drowsiness
• Dizziness, feeling weak, or hot flushes
• A temporary rise in blood pressure
• Shortness of breath
• Aching muscles

Rare Side Effects

These may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people.

• Breast pain

Very Rare Side Effects

These may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people.

• Changes in liver function. If you have a blood test to check your liver, let the doctor or nurse know you’re taking Imigran.

Serious Side Effects

Some side effects are serious. Get medical help straight away if you notice any of these:

• Signs of a serious allergic reaction, such as a rash, hives, wheezing, a sudden collapse or swelling of your eyelids, face or lips
• Seizures or fits, tremors, short-lived muscle spasm that may affect jaw movement or neck stiffness
• Visual problems such as flickering, reduced vision, double vision or loss of vision, which in rare cases can be lasting
• Heart problems, where your heartbeat speeds up, slows down or changes rhythm, chest pains or a heart attack
• Pale, blue-tinged skin and pain in your fingers, toes, ears, nose or jaw in response to cold or stress
• Feeling faint if your blood pressure drops
• Pain in the lower left side of the stomach with bloody diarrhoea

A sudden collapse is also a sign of a severe reaction, so anyone with you should call 999 right away.

Other side effects

Other side effects that have been reported include:

• Diarrhoea
• Pain, or pain getting worse, at the site of a recent injury or inflammation
• Joint pain
• Feeling anxious
• Difficulty swallowing
• Excessive sweating

You can report any side effects to the MHRA via the Yellow Card Scheme. Reporting side effects helps provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

Imigran Tablets Ingredients

Imigran tablets contain a single dose of sumatriptan as the active ingredient.

Active ingredient: sumatriptan 100mg

Other ingredients: lactose monohydrate, microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, methylhydroxypropylcellulose (E464) and titanium dioxide (E171)

Warnings and Precautions

• Don’t take Imigran if you’re allergic to sumatriptan or any of the other ingredients.
• Don’t take it if you have heart problems such as narrowing of the arteries, angina or a previous heart attack, high blood pressure that isn’t mild and controlled, serious liver disease, circulation problems in your legs known as peripheral vascular disease or a history of stroke or mini-stroke.
• Don’t take it with other migraine medicines such as ergotamine or methysergide, another triptan such as zolmitriptan or MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) antidepressants, including within 2 weeks of stopping one.
• Imigran isn’t suitable for anyone under 18 or over 65.
• Speak to your prescriber first if you have extra heart risk factors, such as being a heavy smoker, using nicotine replacement, a man over 40 or a woman past the menopause.
• Speak to your prescriber first if you have a history of fits or anything that makes a fit more likely, liver or kidney disease, an intolerance to some sugars where Imigran contains lactose, or an allergy to sulphonamide antibiotics.
• Tell your prescriber if you take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), as combining these with Imigran can cause serotonin syndrome.
• Using Imigran too often can make your headaches worse, so let your prescriber know if you’re using it frequently.
• Get medical help straight away if you feel chest pain or tightness after taking Imigran that doesn’t pass quickly or becomes severe.
• If you’re pregnant, think you might be or are planning a baby, speak to your prescriber first, and don’t breastfeed for 12 hours after a dose, throwing away any milk you express in that time.
• Imigran or the migraine itself may make you drowsy, so don’t drive or use machinery if you’re affected.