Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


    
      
        Clusterheadaches.com Message Board
        (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
        
(Message started by: cjc68 on Oct 15^th, 2007, 3:42pm)

Title: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by cjc68 on Oct 15^th, 2007, 3:42pm

Hello fellow clusterheads, Chris here, I am trying to get a little feedback and need some help. I am a episodic sufferer and the beast has come back to visit as of last night.. I have been a clusterhead for about 20yrs now. For the most part the beast visits me every couple of years for at least 2-3 months. The last couple of visits I pretty much treated myself with all the alternatives (Kudzu, white grape juice, melatonin, red bull, ect.) with the exception of 1 emergency room visit in which they gave me a shot of imitrex. This time around I have decided to visit the Doc again. In the past I have had good luck with Imitrex injections and nasal spray, pred taper and a prevent. I have heard few things about Zomig 10 mg nasal spray and would like to get some feedback from those of you who have tried both, the imitrex injections and Zomig 10mg nasal spray. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Many pfdan to all!
Chris

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by jimp63 on Oct 15^th, 2007, 4:00pm

Chris,
I never tried Zomig. I was an avid supporter of Imitrex Inj., was using it daily about 5 weeks ago. I did speak to someone first hand who used Imitrex inj, felt a painful/weird sensation in her foot, started having chest pain. Went to the E.D. and was diagniosed with a pulmonary embolism. Scared the shit out of her and me. Scared me enough to think twice about plunging the spike next time. I actually started a p. cub farm shortly after speaking with her. Hopefully I'll be able to harvest soon and have a sometimes reliable, safe (don't panic, it's organic) treatment modality. Good luck.

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by cjc68 on Oct 15^th, 2007, 4:43pm

Thanks for that info jimp63, thats good to know. Well 20 more minutes and I am leaving for the Docs office. I know one thing for sure....I am going to request 02 to be part of my treatment this time around.

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by midwestbeth on Oct 15^th, 2007, 5:22pm

I've used both the imitrex and zomig spray.

Imitrex works for me everytime within 5-10 min.

If you try the zomig make sure you use it correctly. The spray must stay in your nose, do not sniff it to the back of your throat. Zomig worked for me in about 10-15 minutes.

I prefer trex over zomig, but both worked for me.

Beth

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by clusterwife on Oct 15^th, 2007, 7:27pm

My hubby tried both without any help from either. Good luck and painfree wishes, Leah.

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by Giovanni on Oct 16^th, 2007, 5:30am

I've done both. Imitrex injections acts much faster, but the next headache is shortly around the corner. Zomig nasal takes about 15-20 minutes to work, but keeps the additional headaches at bay for longer. These are my results. From what I understand, the zomig has a much longer half life.

I have been very fortunate in that I haven't taken either one since about last March or so. I have a lot of activity, but pain levels are very low and is taken care of with O2, red bull, and ghostwriter's brew.

John

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by Bob_Johnson on Oct 16^th, 2007, 10:40am

Neurology. 2007 Aug 28;69(9):821-6.
Zolmitriptan nasal spray in the acute treatment of cluster headache: a double-blind study.

Rapoport AM, Mathew NT, Silberstein SD, Dodick D, Tepper SJ, Sheftell FD, Bigal ME.

Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA. alanrapoport@gmail.com

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of zolmitriptan 5 mg and 10 mg nasal spray (ZNS) vs placebo in the acute treatment of cluster headache. Design/ METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, three-period crossover study using ZNS 5 mg, ZNS 10 mg, and placebo. Headache intensity was rated by a 5-point scale: none, mild, moderate, severe, or very severe. The primary efficacy measure was headache response (pain reduced from moderate, severe, or very severe at baseline, to mild or none) at 30 minutes. Logistic regression was used to account for treatment period effect as well as for cluster headache subtype effect. RESULTS: A total of 52 adult patients treated 151 attacks. For the primary endpoint, both doses reached significance at 30 minutes (placebo = 30%, ZNS 5 mg = 50%, ZNS 10 mg = 63.3%). For headache relief, ZNS 10 mg separated from placebo at 10 minutes (24.5% vs 10%). Zolmitriptan 5 mg separated from placebo at 20 minutes (38.5% vs 20%). For pain-free status, ZNS 10 mg was superior to placebo at 15 minutes (22.0% vs 6%). Both doses had higher pain-free rates than placebo at 30 minutes (placebo = 20%, ZNS 5 mg = 38.5%, ZNS 10 mg = 46.9%). Side effects were mild and seen in 16% of those attacks treated with placebo, 25% of attacks treated with ZNS 5 mg, and 32.7% treated with ZNS 10 mg. Conclusions/Relevance: Zolmitriptan nasal spray, at doses of 5 and 10 mg, is effective and tolerable for the acute treatment of cluster headache.

Publication Types:
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 17724283 [PubMed]

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by sandie99 on Oct 16^th, 2007, 11:04am

I've only tried zomig, twice, and it failed on both occasions. I've been too scared of injections to try imitrex.

That's my experience.

PF days,
Sanna

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by kc430 on Oct 16^th, 2007, 1:59pm

I've tried Imitrex and Zomig. Imitrex gave me an allergic reaction in which my throat swelled. Neither worked for me.

Title: Re: Imitrex injection vs Zomig 10mg nasal spray
Post by cjc68 on Oct 16^th, 2007, 4:15pm

Thank you everyone for your feedback! It has all been reviewed and taken into consideration. You guys are the best! How comforting it is to know I can come here and ask for feedback or just vent and have so many friends that I have never meet that are there to lend an ear and share a kind word or two with.
Love you all!
Chris