ImitrexSumatriptan helps to relieve headaches, pain and other symptoms of migraines, including sensitivity to light/sound, nausea, and vomiting. Timely treatment allows you to regain to your normal routine and may decrease your need for other painkiller. Sumatriptan does not prevent future migraines or decrease how often you may get a headache. It can’t be used to treat all kind of headaches.

This drug should not be used by patient who have uncontrolled high blood pressure or severe liver problems. Imitrex does not treat certain types of migraines (e.g., hemiplegic, basilar). So it can’t be used in them.

Do not use Imitrex if you have a history of ischemic heart disease including moderate to severe heart problems, brain blood vessel disease (e.g. stroke, transient ischemic attack), Ischemic cardiac syndromes comprise angina pectoris of any type such as stable angina of effort and vasospastic forms of angina such as the Prinzmetal variant, coronary artery disease (CAD), all types of myocardial infarction, and silent myocardial ischemia.

This drug also should be avoided in patients who show hypersensitivity to sumatriptan or any of their components.

Contact your doctor or health care provider right away if any of these apply to you.

IMITREX Tablets should not be administered to patients who have history, symptoms, or signs of cerebrovascular or peripheral vascular syndromes. Besides, patients having other significant underlying cardiovascular diseases should not take this drug. Cerebrovascular syndromes consist of, but are not limited to, strokes of any type as well as transient ischemic attacks. In peripheral vascular disease we can include other blood vessel disease (e.g., Raynaud syndrome, ischemic bowel disease).

Imitrex should not be applied if you have used certain other migraine medicines within the past 24 hours (e.g., an ergot derivative [e.g., dihydroergotamine, methysergide], another serotonin 5-HT 1 receptor agonist [e.g., eletriptan, rizatriptan]). This type of combinations increases the chances of vasospasms.

IMITREX Tablets are capable of enhancing blood pressure. So they should not be administered to patients with uncontrolled hypertension.

There are a lot of drugs such as Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, including isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), tranylcypromine (Parnate), and procarbazine (Matulane), may reduce the breakdown of sumatriptan in the liver, leading to increased blood levels and side effects of sumatriptan. Simultaneous use of MAO-A inhibitors or use within 2 weeks of stopping of MAO-A inhibitor therapy should be avoided.

If sumatriptan is used with sibutramine (Meridia), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs, including fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram (Celexa), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft) or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, including venlafaxine (Effexor), duloxetine (Cymbalta), and desvenlafaxine (Pristiq), it may increase the concentration of serotonin in the brain, causing increased serotonin-related side effects.

Sumatriptan has not been recommended during pregnancy. But it should be used during pregnancy only when clearly needed. Patient should know the risks and benefits consulting with doctor. This medication is excreted into breast milk. The effects on nursing infants are not identified. Seek advice from your doctor before breast-feeding.