Has anyone ever suffered any of the side effects listed on the following website?

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I haven't suffered any side effects after hundreds of doses, but I've seen a couple people here with underlying heart type conditions report side effects strong enough to discourage them from using it.

Never had side effects from this and i have used alot of Imatrex shots.Dont be afraid of the side affects or life will be complete hell.

Only worry about it if you have heart conditions my friend

Chad

We should allways be fully aware of side effects with any drug used, especially the seemingly harmless triptans like imitrex.

Worry about it?.........
Absolutely every time you start a new drug. If you dont no one else will.
Proceed with caution on any drug untill your comfort level is found. Still the way many of us use these drugs with relief at any cost leaves a lot of room to overlook whats creating issues in other ways.

Too many come here relaying symptoms thought to be related to CH but quite often they are related to the medications taken instead.

Side effects from sumatriptan can be severe, even deadly for a percentage of people. We dont hear back from them.

To find much adverse situation information on immitrex one has to search back to the early 90s and 80s before a lot of doctors were inundated with drug company sales info following approval of the drug and its multi-billion dollar market..

I'm not saying dont use it, Just be aware at all times of the possibilities with this and all medications.

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Headache. 2004 May;44(5):414-25.Related Articles, Links
Consensus statement: cardiovascular safety profile of triptans (5-HT agonists) in the acute treatment of migraine.

Dodick D, Lipton RB, Martin V, Papademetriou V, Rosamond W, MaassenVanDenBrink A, Loutfi H, Welch KM, Goadsby PJ, Hahn S, Hutchinson S, Matchar D, Silberstein S, Smith TR, Purdy RA, Saiers J; Triptan Cardiovascular Safety Expert Panel.

Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA.

BACKGROUND: Health care providers frequently cite concerns about cardiovascular safety of the triptans as a barrier to their use. In 2002, the American Headache Society convened the Triptan Cardiovascular Safety Expert Panel to evaluate the evidence on triptan-associated cardiovascular risk and to formulate consensus recommendations for making informed decisions for their use in patients with migraine. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the evidence reviewed by the Triptan Cardiovascular Safety Expert Panel and their recommendations for the use of triptans in clinical practice. PARTICIPANTS: The Triptan Cardiovascular Safety Expert Panel was composed of a multidisciplinary group of experts in neurology, primary care, cardiology, pharmacology, women's health, and epidemiology. EVIDENCE AND CONSENSUS PROCESS: An exhaustive search of the relevant published literature was reviewed by each panel member in preparation for an open roundtable meeting. Pertinent issues (eg, cardiovascular pharmacology of triptans, epidemiology of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular risk assessment, migraine) were presented as a prelude to group discussion and formulation of consensus conclusions and recommendations. Follow-up meetings were held by telephone. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Most of the data on triptans are derived from patients without known coronary artery disease. (2) Chest symptoms occurring during use of triptans are generally nonserious and are not explained by ischemia. (3) The incidence of serious cardiovascular events with triptans in both clinical trials and clinical practice appears to be extremely low. (4) The cardiovascular risk-benefit profile of triptans favors their use in the absence of contraindications.

Publication Types:
Consensus Development Conference
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

PMID: 15147249 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
====================


Title: Triptan safety--latest statement
Post by Bob_Johnson on Jun 1st, 2004, 9:47am
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Since this is a report on medications and not on the condition being treated, I believe it would be O.K. to apply these findings to folks with Cluster. NOTE: there are no comments about using triptans at the high/multiple dosing which is often done by cluster patients. (Treat everything below the line as a quotation. These are selected para. from the total report.)
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Consensus Statement: Cardiovascular Safety Profile of Triptans (5-HT1B/1D Agonists) in the Acute Treatment of Migraine

Headache 44(5):414-425, 2004.

Posted 05/25/2004
Abstract
Background: Health care providers frequently cite concerns about cardiovascular safety of the triptans as a barrier to their use. In 2002, the American Headache Society convened the Triptan Cardiovascular Safety Expert Panel to evaluate the evidence on triptan-associated cardiovascular risk and to formulate consensus recommendations for making informed decisions for their use in patients with migraine.
Objective: To summarize the evidence reviewed by the Triptan Cardiovascular Safety Expert Panel and their recommendations for the use of triptans in clinical practice.
Participants: The Triptan Cardiovascular Safety Expert Panel was composed of a multidisciplinary group of experts in neurology, primary care, cardiology, pharmacology, women's health, and epidemiology.
Evidence and Consensus Process: An exhaustive search of the relevant published literature was reviewed by each panel member in preparation for an open roundtable meeting. Pertinent issues (eg, cardiovascular pharmacology of triptans, epidemiology of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular risk assessment, migraine) were presented as a prelude to group discussion and formulation of consensus conclusions and recommendations. Follow-up meetings were held by telephone.
Conclusions: (1) Most of the data on triptans are derived from patients without known coronary artery disease. (2) Chest symptoms occurring during use of triptans are generally nonserious and are not explained by ischemia. (3) The incidence of serious cardiovascular events with triptans in both clinical trials and clinical practice appears to be extremely low. (4) The cardiovascular risk-benefit profile of triptans favors their use in the absence of contraindications.

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These data should be interpreted in view of characteristics of the patient population in migraine clinical trials. Generally, controlled clinical trials with triptans excluded patients with cardiovascular risk factors including known ischemic heart disease, symptoms or signs consistent with ischemic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias requiring medication, and supine diastolic blood pressure >95 mm Hg and/or systolic blood pressure >160 mm Hg. Thus, the clinical trials data cannot be generalized to migraine sufferers with cardiovascular risk factors.

Triptans are associated with a modestly elevated incidence of chest symptoms (ie, triptan sensations) relative to placebo in well-controlled clinical trials that excluded patients with significant cardiac risk factors or known ischemic heart disease. The chest symptoms in clinical trials were generally transient, mild, and nonserious.

Given the widespread use of triptans, the risk of serious cardiovascular adverse events during postmarketing surveillance appears to be very low. While the risk of a serious cardiovascular event during triptan use appears to be very small, it cannot be dismissed. Serious cardiovascular events, some of which resulted in death, have been reported in association with triptans during postmarketing surveillance. The causal association of triptan use with serious cardiovascular adverse events is difficult to determine based on the postmarketing surveillance data alone.

This forum often discusses side effects of the near countless medications that many of us are taking in order to individually manage our condition and I believe that, although many of us are referencing first hand experience, we should give, particularly newcomers, the most objective advice possible on the nature of side effects and their relationship to the condition they are referring to. We could otherwise unnecessarily put them off medications that may provide them with relief.

It goes without saying that, since we are all dealing with a very serious condition, we are not dealing with "Vitamin C supplement type" medication and that we therefore should never simply "try" new meds without explicit knowledge and advice from a medical professional who knows of our treatment and medical history and that knows of any of our underlying conditions that may prohibit the use of any new drug.

Importantly though, side effects must not be seen as a statement of fact or even probability but merely as something that may, in the event where they are serious, occur as an extremely rare event. I would also argue that it is even rarer for side effects to become irreversible or terminal at such a rate that they cannot be stopped in time.

There will naturally always be risks and the judgement which risk to take and which side effects to tolerate will remain our personal call.