Tryptan Plus NSAID – Not as Great as One Would Like For Migraine Relief

Sumatriptan (Imetrix) 85 mg plus Sodium Naproxen (like Aleve or Anaprox) 500 mg gave 29% – 2 hour painfree response and 24% sustained 24 hour painfree response yet 62% were satisfied/very satisfied.

Cephalalgia. 2013 Oct 9. [Epub ahead of print]
Sumatriptan/naproxen sodium for the acute treatment of probable migraine without  aura: A randomized study.
Silberstein S, McDonald SA, Goldstein J, Aurora S, Lener SE, White J, Runken MC, Saiers J, Derosier F, Lipton RB.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24108307

  • 222 in active group; 221 in placebo (is that ethical?)
  • Sumatritran equivalent to 85 mg plus sodium Naproxen 500 mg – could repeat at two hours
  • Anaprox comes in 275 and DS as the 550 mg (? two of regular or 1 of DS); Aleve comes in 220 mg (? 2.5 tabs of it)
  • 29% 2 hour pain relief versus 11% of placebo;
  • 24%  2-24 hour interval pain relief versus 9% of placebo
  • 62% were satisfied versus 43% of placebo (wow –  not much difference here…)

Side effects:

  • dizziness (4% sumatriptan/ naproxen sodium,<1% placebo)
  • dry mouth (2% sumatriptan/naproxen sodium, <1% placebo)
  • nausea (2% sumatriptan/naproxen sodium, <1% placebo)

Comment – the sumatriptan herre is 100 mg but it still looks like 1/3 of patients will need further treatments for headaches…. have written about alternatives before… Sleep apnea is becoming a bigger contributor for my group now ..

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