Warnings
Sumatriptan Succinate (Imitrex) Risks, Warnings, and Complications
Sumatriptan (Imitrex) tablets can cause serious problems in some people. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about other treatment options for your headaches if you are at increased risk of complications from sumatriptan use.
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Precautions Before Starting Sumatriptan Succinate (Imitrex)
Tell your doctor if you are allergic to sumatriptan, any of the active or inactive ingredients in sumatriptan formulations, any other triptans, or any other medications. Your pharmacy can give you a list of ingredients.
Give your doctor and pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbal products. This can help avoid possible drug interactions.
Give your doctor a complete medical history. Sumatriptan may not be right for people with certain medical conditions such as heart disease, heart attack, angina, irregular heartbeat, mini strokes (transient ischemic attacks or TIAs), stroke, blood clots, circulation problems, peripheral vascular disease, varicose veins in the legs, Raynaud’s phenomenon, ischemic bowel disease, severe hepatic impairment, uncontrolled hypertension, or hemiplegic or basilar migraine. Also, tell your doctor if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or overweight, diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, seizures, are postmenopausal, are a smoker, or if someone in your family has a history of heart disease or stroke.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, could be pregnant, plan to get pregnant, or are breastfeeding. If you are sexually active, discuss appropriate birth control with your provider before starting sumatriptan.
Precautions During Use of Sumatriptan Succinate (Imitrex)
Keep all your medical appointments while on sumatriptan. Your doctor may adjust your dose based on your response to the medicine. They will also monitor you for side effects and medication overuse headache.
Sumatriptan can cause drowsiness and dizziness. Do not drive or do anything that requires your full concentration until you know how this medicine affects you.
Tell your doctor if you become pregnant while on sumatriptan.
Sumatriptan Succinate (IMITREX) Drug Interactions
Certain other drugs can affect how sumatriptan works. Possible interactions between sumatriptan and other medicines can increase the risk of severe adverse effects.
Do not take sumatriptan if you have taken any of these medications within the last 24 hours:
- Other triptans (selective serotonin receptor agonists) such as eletriptan (Relpax), naratriptan (Amerge), frovatriptan (Frova), almotriptan (Axert), zolmitriptan (Zomig), or rizatriptan (Maxalt).
- Ergot-type medications such as ergotamine (Cafergot, Wigraine, Ergomar), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal), ergoloid mesylates (Hydergine), ergonovine (Ergotrate), methylergonovine (Methergine), pergolide (Permax), methysergide (Sansert), bromocriptine (Parlodel), and cabergoline.
- Do not take sumatriptan if you have taken monoamine oxidase inhibitors such as phenelzine (Nardil), isocarboxazid (Marplan), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) in the past 2 weeks.
The following medications can also have drug interactions with sumatriptan:
- Acetaminophen (Tylenol).
- Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin).
- Tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil), nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor), clomipramine (Anafranil), amoxapine (Asendin), doxepin (Adapin, Sinequan), desipramine (Norpramin), imipramine (Tofranil), trimipramine (Surmontil), and protriptyline (Vivactil).
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, in Symbyax), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), and fluvoxamine.
- Serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as venlafaxine (Effexor), desvenlafaxine (Pristiq), sibutramine (Meridia), and duloxetine (Cymbalta).
The above list may not describe all the other medicines that can have interactions with sumatriptan. Give your doctor or pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, OTC medications, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies. Also, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs because some of these substances can cause serious health complications when used with prescription medications.
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