Is joint and muscle pain a common side affect of Imitrex?

Ask the Clinician Health Professional Subscribe: Ask the Clinician

Sunday, July 13, 2008
View All of Ask the Clinician's Posts

Full Question: Is joint and muscle pain a common side affect of Imitrex?For treatment of 4-5 migraines a week, I have been taking Imitrex for over a year. It works excellent and gets rid of the headache but I suffer with extreme stiffness, joint and muscle pain so have been in the habit of taking ...

Hide Comments | Add comment

MOH
Lori
Monday, July 14, 2008 at 11:35 AM

Thank you for your very helpful answer. I am new to this site and also new to online sharing and finding your site extremely helpful. I did not see joint pain, etc. in the perscription insert for Imitrex but have since found it on the internet listed as a rare or uncommon side affect. I do not seem to be getting that same soreness with the Maxalt so that's good. I'm grateful for the info on MOH and realize now this may be a big part of my problem. I have my first appt. with a neurologist on July 29 and will definitely bring this up. My endocrinolgist also perscribed Topamax with the Maxalt, and as directed, I started with a 1/2 tab of 25mg for 3 nights, but after reading about the possible side affects of Topamax, I am not comfortable taking it before discussing it with the neurologist. So I discontinued it. I guess I'm nowhere until my appointment. It seems alternating Imitrex and Maxalt would not accomplish anything since they are both triptans, right?? Thanks again!

re: MOH
Teri Robert
Monday, July 14, 2008 at 12:23 PM

Lori,

You're most welcome. Glad we could help. Thank you for giving enough info in your question for us to be able to really address it.

Yes, I was concerned that you might be into MOH. You are quite right that alternating Imitrex and Maxalt will not help. At one time, I was averaging five days a week with Migraines. The treatment regimen my Migraine specialist and I agreed on was using Imitrex two days a week and a pain medication two different days a week. To avoid MOH, once I'd medicated those four days, any other days could be treated only with antinausea meds and sleep. Yes, it was rough, but it was so worth it. By staying out of the MOH cycle, we were able to work on finding effective preventives, and now I have only about half a dozen Migraines a YEAR.

On the Topamax -- if you're not comfortable with it, be sure to discuss your concerns with your neurologist. There are MANY other choices, so you and he should be able to discuss what your options are and make a choice together.

If you're not already a member of our forum, consider joining us, Lori. Lots of great discussions there. Click HERE to get to the forum. You'll have to register again for the forum, but you can use the same email address and password that you used for this section of the site.

Let us know if we can help you with anything!

Teri

re: re: MOH
Lori
Monday, July 14, 2008 at 08:05 PM

Thank you, Teri. I will register to join the forum. I'm glad to hear you are so successful in treating your migraines now. What a relief that must be. I have one now but am trying to manage without taking a Maxalt but don't know what else to even take. I know I've been taking too much advil lately so don't want to do that. It probably wouldn't touch it anyway. Were the pain medications you alternated with the Imitrex over the counter or perscription? Any suggestions? Thanks again. Hopefully, I won't be pestering you anymore. Lori