At last, an over the counter treatment that works! (Imigran Recovery)

Member Name: tartlette

Product:	Imigran Recovery
Date:	18/02/08 (238 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very effective, can get easily

Disadvantages: Some side effects, pricey but worth it

I've suffered with migraines since I was about 10 years old (so for 14 years). I don't get the more severe aura migraines but I do get a lot of them (it used to be 2 per week). I'm on various types of preventative medicines from my doctor and I also have a prescription medicine for curing my migraines. I'm quite forgetful and so often don't have my tablets when I get a headache, usually because I've forgotten to order the prescription!
I've always been skeptical about over the counter migraine medicine because the other ones I've tried haven't even touched them. I was very skeptical when I heard about these but the doctor recommended them to me so I thought I'd give them a go.

WHAT IS A MIGRAINE?
Well no one really knows for sure. Scientists have no definite answers but they believe that the blood vessels in the head contract or expand and this causes the pain. There is no cure, but some people grow out of them. There are also some known trigger causes such as cheese, red wine, and chocolate. I don't have any food triggers but I do get them if I have stress/ strong smells/ too much sun/ too much sleep / too little sleep (yes, honestly, I do have a life as well!!).

AVAILABILITY AND PRICE:
These tablets are only available from the pharmacist. Before you can buy them you have to fill in a form which asks about how often you get migraines and other medication etc. Once you have filled this in once they have it checked by the pharmacist and then they give you a little certificate so you don't have to fill it in every time. I got mine from Boots and the form only took a couple of minutes. They cost £7.99 for two tablets so they are very pricey, but if you need these for migraine you should really be on prescription which would make it cheaper (or free if you live in Wales like me!).

THE CLAIMS:
Taken from the Imigran website:

'Imigran Recovery acts on the root cause of the migraine itself to relieve the four most common symptoms; headache, nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.'
The tablets contain sumatriptan as its active ingredient. The triptans are a major treatment of migraine. My normal prescription medicine is another form of triptan.

THE PACKAGING:
The tablets come in a cardboard box. Inside are the instructions and a blister pack with two tablets inside. There is also a plastic case to carry the tablets in.

HOW TO TAKE IT:
You should only take these tablets once the headache has actually started, its not preventative. You also need to be between 18 and 65 for them to give you this medicine. There are various illnesses and conditions that don't go with Imigran so make sure you read the info sheet (ok , lecture over, I know you're all sensible enough to do this!).

I only needed one of the tablets to get rid of my migraine but sometimes I get a more severe migraine which might need more treatment. You can take another one after two hours but that's it for 24 hours so it really needs to work! You also can't take it with other triptan medication and this was my big worry, although that's not an issue now I know it works!
THE EXPERIENCE:

I had been very worried about taking one of these because once you have taken one you can't take other migraine medicine for the same headache. I was scared that if I took one because I'd forgotten my main tablets in work, it wouldn't work and then as I wouldn't be able to take my other tablets I'd be stuck with the headache for three days. However, yesterday I had a really bad migraine in work and after searching through my bag, couldn't find anything other than these. As I had a parent's evening to do last night I knew I wouldn't last so needed to take something. I decided that it was worth the risk, and I'm really glad I took it!
The tablet was easy to swallow. Once I had taken it, it took around half an hour for the effects to kick in. I felt the headache leaving me - ah the relief!! The tablets worked very much like my prescription ones - which I was sort of expecting as they are from the same family of drugs, but was surprised just how similar they were.

There were some side effects with the tablet, but they were the same ones that I get with my normal tablets. My throat went dry and felt a bit tight. I also felt a bit dizzy at one point. I'm used to the side effects now and I'd take them over the migraine any day - but they might come as a shock to someone who's never taken this type of drug before.
The headache went and didn't come back so I was really impressed. I can't really comment on whether the tablets treat the other symptoms like nausea and light sensitivity as I don't get these.

RECOMMENDED:
Most definitely. I really can't believe that I've found a drug that I can buy over the counter that actually treats my migraines. I don't know how they would do with aura migraines but they certainly did the trick with mine. They are expensive but for me they're a godsend. The stress of thinking that I'd have to wait two days for a prescription has left me now so I'm a happy bunny!

Summary: Excellent