NHF Survey – Migraine-Specific Medications vs. Nonspecific Medications for Acute Treatment

From the physician’s point of view:

Although barbiturates and opioids are considered effective for short-term Migraine relief, many doctors recommend against prescribing them for long-term use because of the potential for dependence and abuse and the very real danger of developing medication overuse headache.

Physicians responding to the survey said that more of their patients taking opioids or barbiturates experience drug-related side effects than their patients taking triptans:

Eighty percent of physicians surveyed said they are “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with the side effects profile of triptans, compared with 17 percent who said the same about opioids and 12 percent who said the same about barbiturates.

Migraine Patients Want Migraine-Specific, Non-Addictive Treatments

Though many patients are prescribed barbiturates and opioids for their Migraines, the majority indicated that they prefer their Migraine medication to be FDA approved for the disease, not addictive and have few side effects. Seven out of ten patients (72%) surveyed said it’s “extremely” or “very” important that their prescription medications not be addictive, and eight out of ten patients (79%) said it’s “extremely” or “very” important that their prescription medication have only minor side effects. Sixty-five percent said it’s important that their Migraine medication be approved by the FDA to treat the disease.

Some Migraine patients mistakenly think their medication is not addictive: 36 percent of patients taking barbiturates or opioids as their primary Migraine prescription medication said the phrase “not addictive” describes their medication “extremely” or “very” well, according to the survey.

Few physicians surveyed prescribe barbiturates or opioids (2% and 1% respectively) as a first-line acute treatment for Migraines, but general practitioners are more likely than neurologists to prescribe opioids as a second-line treatment, the survey found. Twenty-five percent of general practitioners say they would prescribe opioids as a second-line therapy for Migraines, compared with just 7 percent of neurologists.