Imgran - the only over the counter Triptan

This link may help you with the above medication.

http://www.imigranrecovery.co.uk/

Whilst it is an over the counter medication, you will have to fill in a form and answer a set of questions before they will give it to you and they may refuse.

Personally I would use this as a back up - and go see your doctor - I would not recommend taking a medication like this without first talking to your doctor.

I have used it in the past, as a back up, ie when I have run out of other Tripans and just need one!

OH MY GOODNESS! You guys can get sumatriptan over the counter?? That is freaking fabulous! My poor mom was laid off 2 years ago, has not found a new job, has no health insurance, and is having to pay full price for her triptans. America's healthcare system is... crap. But, that is another story altogether.

I am sorry to read that - for all its faults the NHS here does try to do a good job

Although we can get these, it is not easy, you have to complete a list of questions and its then up to the pharmacists to agree to give it to you. But its nice to know you have a back up if all fails - I have used it a few times when I run out of triptans and needed one fast.

The down side here is that A&E (your ER) do not seem to respond the same as your does, not many UK migrainers go to A&E for treatment

The emergency rooms do not always respond well to migraineurs. I remember as a teen having to drive my mom home from the hospital after getting a shot of something. Most of the time, they would just give her valium and nubain from what I remember. The staff was always very bad about treating her as a drug seeker or a hypochondriac.
I have had a few really bad experiences at the emergency room. One in particular- I waited in the waiting room for about 6 hours, with 2 small kids and my hubby, throwing up, rag over my face, looking like death from what my hubby says. I finally got called back to an exam room, had a brief exam by a student, and the nurse came back with a pill. I told her that I had been throwing up for hours at that point and couldn't keep anything down, but I took the pill and went home. I threw up the medication as we pulled in to the driveway. My husband really lost his cool at that point. He turned around, drove back to the hospital, and proceeded to really tear into the staff. I then got an injection (I don't really remember what medication it was) and went back home.
I try not to go to the ER. My GP works in a large (for our small town, anyway) clinic that has urgent care and walk in appointments. I will usually go there if they are open. The ER usually takes most of the day and half the time some new doctor will want to run all the same CT scans and MRIs that have been run a million times before. It is also expensive to go to the ER- about $1500.

wow that is expensive - and for what sounds like a rough time

I have been 'sent' to hospital only twice with migraine and they were very bad HM ones, where a stroke was suspected, in both cases the staff where brilliant ans I was kept in for tests and scans - I was actually in hospital for my third one and that was diagnosed as a minor stroke followed by a HM!

So I guess the moral is if you they are worse then they have been before you should go....

I rarely go now..one because there is nothing they can give me that I haven't already got in my medicine cabinet (my 'stash' cupboard under lock and key)...rubs hands together and laughs in an evil villain manner...

Also I can't be arsed (technical term) to explain yes I know I have horners syndrome then wait whilst the fetch every medical student to excitedly shine their painful little lights in my eyes.. I know they have to learn but 5 years of this and it wears a little thin..so students sorry this freak has had enough

There's nothing they can do and although I have a major and rather startling array of injections and controlled substances at my disposal..my GP knows I will only take them very sparingly, within sensible limits and only in order to keep me from being an inpatient.

My GP has looked aghast at me from time to time and said 'Jane you need to go in' but I laugh and say 'but this is a good day'..we have an understanding now and I have perfected a wonderful Woody Allen-esque shrug. Migraine - shmiraine...

I got refused Imigran over the counter once at a chemist when I got caught short on the way somewhere do to handbag swap. I requested to see the pharmacist and we had a long discussion, she said I needed to see a neurologist, I said I had one blah blah blah..in the end after much to in and fro ing she gave me the pills (which then annoyingly didn't bleeding work)..and as I left the shop she stopped me and said the immortal words........

'excuse me but did you know you have Horners syndrome?'

I swear when I die..if heaven exists, and if I by some fluke make it up there dragging my ravaged body behind me..St Peter will fling open the gates and say those exact same words..

Yes, I have to say, for all that we moan about our NHS, in some ways we don't know how lucky we are.

Yup to that Sarah ..if you are critically ill..you will get seen, you don't have to worry about insurance and they will give you the medicine...I hope no one ever takes our healthcare away from us.

Does anyone know if you can get over the counter Imigran indefinitely without a review? The reason I ask is because I had a pharmacist assessment years ago now, and got given a piece of paper to show I was entitled to buy it OTC. I tried it once and it didn't do anything for me, but this was before I realised my stomach goes into stasis and I need to take triptans with a Motilium (gut motility drug).

I'm finding Frovatriptan less and less effective, so I'm wondering about trying Imigran again OTC, before I go to the dreaded docs. Obviously it does depend on whether I still have that scrappy bit of paper, but I mainly wondered if anyone knew if it was time-limited at all.

Thanks.

In NZ, Imigran is a pharmacy-only medicine and can be purchased if the pharmacist is satisfied you have a genuine need for it. The problem is that they are only allowed to be sold in packs containing no more than two 50 mg tablets. Only one pack can be purchased at a time.

Imigran is not a subsidised medicine here, so even if obtained on prescription you have to pay full price.

Yes, the situation with over the counter is the same here - you only get two tablets. It's useful to be able to try them out that way before getting a prescription from the doc though.

Yes Sarah - I have done that in an emergency twice - I did not have the bit of paper with me and in both cases they asked me to fill out a form - which I did honestly and the pharmacists came and talked to me - to tell me I need to see a doctor as I was chronic lol - I explained my situation and that I was under a doctor and a hospital but it was an emergency and in both cases they sold me some...

Oh they said if I had that bi of paper it would not have been a problem....

Thanks for that. I'll have to see if I can dig it out!

Yeah, the one and only time that I had my pharmacist assessment, I was on my lunch break and could barely string a sentence together. I'm really not sure what I told them about frequency etc, as it was so many years ago! I remember the questionnaire being pretty simple though. I probably just said that if I got on well with it, I'd go to the doctors, which was totally true. As it happened, I ended up trying out Frovatriptan instead, which is finally getting less effective for me.

Hi
I am new to this forum infact I'm new to forums all together . I have bees suffering Migraines for a few years now around 4-5 a month from reading through this forum and looking on sites i have discovered that i get aura migraines so i suffer sparkling lights and dizzyness before an attack, i have been putting up with them for so long taking ibuprofen and paracetamol to no effect, i vomit continuasly and become very dissorientated my face becomes swollen and i can barely string a setence together, my wife has been terribly worried but im very persuasive and tell her its fine just a headache as i hate Dr's and such. but i have recently decided that enough is enough and went to see my Dr who reffered me to a neurologist through BUPA, as a result he has given me 6 Sumatriptan injections. i have never taking any medication like this before for my migraines and was looking for some advise on this.

many thanks

scott

Hi Scott. Welcome to the forums. I think myself fortunate as I seldom get nauseous with migraines. When I was in my teens and twenty's, vomiting was a frequent event during migraines, but I can't remember when the last occasion was - it was so long ago.

It's worthwhile pursuing treatment options - even if all it does is reduce the severity and/or frequency of migraines. Mind you I'm still searching for an effective treatment after nearly fifty years. I'm sure it'll be just around the next corner....