Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


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

        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> imitrex and your heart
        
(Message started by: itsmeyou on Dec 25^th, 2003, 8:59pm)

Title: imitrex and your heart
Post by itsmeyou on Dec 25^th, 2003, 8:59pm

i used imitrex for several years to battle my clusters.
they seemed to shorten the duration but in sept of 2003 i iused imitrex and within several minutes had a major heart attack.
it was not pretty so be warned and if you have a heart problem don't use it.
good luck
me

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by thomas on Dec 26^th, 2003, 10:37am

Thanks for the warning. Welcome. I haven't used imitrex for over two years and will not use it again if it can be helped. There are other abortives out there that do work. :)

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Unsolved on Dec 26^th, 2003, 8:16pm

Sorry bout you and your heart troubles ... but I'm using Imitrex til my heart BLOWS !! ;;D [smiley=laugh.gif]
It's still been the ONLY relief I get. And I firmly believe I've used it more than anyone ::) Until they come up with something better ... i'll use it when I need it.

< But thanks for the warning >

Unsolved

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by forgetfulnot on Dec 26^th, 2003, 9:50pm

Hey it's,

Take my Imitrex away? You would have to kill me and I have a heart condition called MVP. Having MVP introduced me to Verapamil and a big time decline in headaches by accident. All the literature warns about heart conditions and avoiding Imitrex but in my case it has not been any problem at all.
Everyone is different; you may have had a heart attack anyway without the Iimitrex. Maybe a coincidence, who knows. [smiley=huh.gif]

Lee

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Nimbus on Dec 26^th, 2003, 10:00pm

Interresting post...

Is there an official study on the subject?
I've been wondering about heart vs. Imitrex since a long time. To take Imitrex is like to provoque a pre heart attack condition, am I right?

But I must agree with Unsolved and forgetfulnot : I cannot just put my Imitrex away. If one day my heart fail... so be it.
It's not funny I know but there is a ton of reasons for a heart failure. Imitrex is just too far away in my list of potential heart problem inducing; the bacon I eat every week or the cigarettes I smoke come first.
By the way, sorry for the heart attack.

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Prense on Dec 27^th, 2003, 9:16am

on 12/26/03 at 22:00:35, Nimbus wrote:

It comes with a leaflet full of how you can die using the stuff... I am fairly certain that studys were performed prior to gaining FDA approval for meegraine usage. Trex is a lifesaver for me.

Chris

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Ouch on Dec 27^th, 2003, 11:32am

As far as the trex. not sure about....... but why is it that some suffers (me included) can have an erratic heart beat durring an attack? [smiley=huh.gif]

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Nimbus on Dec 27^th, 2003, 12:35pm

I have too what you call an erratic hearth beat during an attack. My neuro explained me that it was due to the nature of the CH itself. He told me that it was called autonomous something. It's like what control the sweating among other thing. It's like you have a control panel in the head and someone drop a glass of water in it.

The different neuro I've seen always asked me if I ever had epileptyc attack in my life. The answer is no but do you know if it is somehow related?

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by HannahFroukje on Dec 27^th, 2003, 12:43pm

There are more stories about heart-attacks related to imitrex use. Reading the info on imitrex, no matter how understandeble, I think no one should shut their eyes for the possible risk of using it, especially when using it too much. This drug is about receptors, and these receptors are also in the heart, therefore it CAN be dangerous, if you are sensitive to it in that place. Ofcourse if you get a heart attack, it can be a coincidence, but if it happens more often and if you read the patient info ... where is the coincidence? I know that people with heart condiition are a contra indication for using imitrex.

It's not for nothing that in the info it says that you should go to a doc immediately if you get complaints like shortage of breath and a tight feeling on the chest. It's not for nothing that you shouldn't use more then two in 24 hours. But not all people are equally sensitive to it. Jos never had any heartrate increase while using it, or shortage of breath. I think it would be safe to say (please anyone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not a doctor) that if you notice that your heart reacts strongly on the use of imitrex, that you should watch out. Perhaps in that case, it's not the safest drug you can use.

But even if you know that and don't shut your eyes, sometimes it's still the only thing you can do. I know all too well, Jos (hubby) knew it, and he comes from a family high on heart conditions, and still he used up to 6 shots a day (until we went on shrooms). You reach the point where you think you can drop dead but no matter what, this pain will have to go ... at least that was what he thought. He was scared of using it too much, and still he did. But there are sometimes other options you can investigate.

Read the psilocibin thread on this forum and the medical info. Perhaps that will help you.

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Flash on Dec 27^th, 2003, 1:17pm

Brachycardia is the technical term for what happens to the heartbeat during CH. It becomes unnaturally slow and irregular.

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Ouch on Dec 27^th, 2003, 4:01pm

Flash, Would'nt this be dangerous as well? When your head hurts so bad that it effects your heart you would think this could serious effect you. True or not?

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Unsolved on Dec 27^th, 2003, 11:18pm

I have an 'irregular' heartbeat. Been told it several times lately. They always have to 'double check' their EKG printouts. I was even told that I had a heart attack, only to be told the next day, "oops, it wasn't a heart attack. The medications may have thrown off the machine"... ???? [Imitrex]

Unsolved
< Imitrexaholic >

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by dancingflowers on Jan 6^th, 2004, 10:08pm

I have tried Imitrex and experienced a rebound of extremely high blood pressure (which caused a headache - NOT as bad though) and I am normally 120/60 !!

At any rate I was switched to Zomig and started taking it in the late 90's. The side effects are not supposed to be as severe and I have not experienced any trouble with my blood pressure going as dangerously high as it did with Imitrex. I HAVE however had my body temperature drop to 96.1 - strange huh?

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by brad267 on Jan 6^th, 2004, 10:12pm

Supposedly, you can only take 2 doses of Imitrex per day -- safely. My Neuro told me to completely ignore that, and take whatever I NEED.

(Ask your Neuro first, everyone is different.)

Brad

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by FrankF on Jan 6^th, 2004, 11:45pm

I probably have the wrong attitude... but I figure if I am getting hit by Kip 8, 9, 10's every day and Imitrex is the ONLY thing that works... and if I have a heart attack from using it, I don't care.

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by bamjd on Jan 7^th, 2004, 5:04pm

:-/sorry about your heart attack. I don't pay any attention to using only two aday, I use as many as i need ( sometimes 4 aday ) and so far no problems. Imitrex is the only med that works for me. I got rid of the demon for about 2 years and thought it was because i started taking vitamin b stress, 3 aday. It might have been a coencidence because they have come back. so am back on the trex. I wonder if maybe I got a bad batch of the B. Jay :o

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Mark C on Jan 7^th, 2004, 5:59pm

Imitrex and heart problem are somewhat common knowledge. I thank God I can take Imitrex, it is the first thing to really work. I thank God even more for shrooms, the next thing to really work, and it works better than anything else I have had in 27 years of CH!

Imitrex has a few pretty nasty side effects one should be aware of. However I am of the school of all is fair in CH and war meaning I will take what works. Not many side effects are worse than CH.

"Corneal Opacities: Dogs receiving oral sumatriptan developed corneal opacities and defects
in the corneal epithelium. Corneal opacities were seen at the lowest dosage tested, 2 mg/kg/day,
and were present after 1 month of treatment. Defects in the corneal epithelium were noted in a
60-week study. Earlier examinations for these toxicities were not conducted and no-effect doses
were not established; however, the relative exposure at the lowest dose tested was approximately
5 times the human exposure after a 100-mg oral dose or 3 times the human exposure after a 6-mg
subcutaneous dose.
Melanin Binding: In rats with a single subcutaneous dose (0.5 mg/kg) of radiolabeled
sumatriptan, the elimination half-life of radioactivity from the eye was 15 days, suggesting that
sumatriptan and its metabolites bind to the melanin of the eye. The clinical significance of this
binding is unknown.

CONTRAINDICATIONS
IMITREX Injection should not be given intravenously because of its potential to cause
coronary vasospasm.
IMITREX Injection should not be given to patients with history, symptoms, or signs of
ischemic cardiac, cerebrovascular, or peripheral vascular syndromes. In addition, patients
with other significant underlying cardiovascular diseases should not receive IMITREX
Injection. Ischemic cardiac syndromes include, but are not limited to, angina pectoris of
any type (e.g., stable angina of effort and vasospastic forms of angina such as the
Prinzmetal variant), all forms of myocardial infarction, and silent myocardial ischemia.
Cerebrovascular syndromes include, but are not limited to, strokes of any type as well as
transient ischemic attacks. Peripheral vascular disease includes, but is not limited to,
ischemic bowel disease (see WARNINGS).

Risk of Myocardial Ischemia and/or Infarction and Other Adverse Cardiac Events:
Sumatriptan should not be given to patients with documented ischemic or vasospastic CAD
(see CONTRAINDICATIONS). It is strongly recommended that sumatriptan not be given
to patients in whom unrecognized CAD is predicted by the presence of risk factors (e.g.,
hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoker, obesity, diabetes, strong family history of
CAD, female with surgical or physiological menopause, or male over 40 years of age) unless
a cardiovascular evaluation provides satisfactory clinical evidence that the patient is
reasonably free of coronary artery and ischemic myocardial disease or other significant
underlying cardiovascular disease.

Imitrex Info (http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_imitrex_injection.pdf)

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Unsolved on Jan 7^th, 2004, 8:26pm

on 01/06/04 at 22:12:05, brad267 wrote:

Supposedly, you can only take 2 doses of Imitrex per day -- safely. My Neuro told me to completely ignore that, and take whatever I NEED.

(Ask your Neuro first, everyone is different.)

Brad

One of my neuro's said the same thing !
But MHNI says thats a "NO NO"
regardless, I use what I need too !

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by sandi on Jan 9^th, 2004, 8:18am

Hi You!
I just came on here for a totally different reason(my boyfriend's clusters)when I saw your post. I take imitrex for migraines and have been for several years. I probably(but I could be wrong)don't take it as often as a cluster sufferer but I take it enough. Last April I went to a Neuro who had me take a week off from work to withdraw from it(terrible migraines in that week)and put me on depakote at the same time. The reason for this whole withdrawal thing was the "heart", blood pressure and stroke issues involved with imitrex...and I was taking it preventatively as well as abortively. Well, to make along story short(TOO LATE)I got off the imitrex for months and all was well. I gained weight from depakote so my doc switched me to Topomax which made me lose 18 lbs and didn't really keep me from getting headaches. Sooo he tried elavil which totally spaced me out at which point he basically threw up his hands and "dismissed" me. So here I am, back on the old imitrex again in perfect rebound position waiting to go to a new Neuro on Jan 20th, and hoping HE'S not a jerk. That last guy had to know I'd go back to the imitrex when the headaches started(which they of course would with no preventative medicine).

MY QUESTION TO YOU...how much imitrex were you taking(daily)? and do you smoke?

I'm glad you made it to tell this story :)...imitrex scares the hell out of me in spite of making the headaches go away! What do you take now?

Sandi~

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by Prense on Jan 9^th, 2004, 5:27pm

on 01/09/04 at 08:18:30, sandi wrote:

I probably(but I could be wrong)don't take it as often as a cluster sufferer but I take it enough.

...28 full injections in december.

Why take trex as a preventative?

Chris

Title: Re: imitrex and your heart
Post by jmorgan52 on Jan 13^th, 2004, 3:38am

In the past 8 or 9 years of using Imigran (Imitrex) injections I usually experienced a "flutter" in my heart/chest area whenever I took it. At first I was scared by this, but as it aborted the bastards I came to accept it and luckily I am still here.

I discovered this board in 2001 and read about the imitrex tip but never tried it at the time.

When my latest episode ramped up on December 24th (nice Christmas present hey?) I was mentally ready to try the "tip". I managed the cycle using about 1/4 to a 1/2 of a shot each time. I never had the chest fluttering this time and it usually aborted in about 15-20 mins as opposed to 10 mins with a full shot. Sometimes the 1/4 did not work and I had to do another 1/4 30 mins later. Later I started to do 1/3 and this generally worked fine for me.

Maybe the full shot is just too much for many people and a 1/2 dose is much safer?

John