Sumatriptan and Weakness: What Users Say

• Mak...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 21, 2019

For Migraine "I get monthly hormonal migraines (during my period), and sometimes one in the middle of the cycle. They are really, really bad. Before sumatriptan, I had to stay in bed all day, snacking on Tylenol like candy (without much effect). Sumatriptan does work. The key is to take it as early as possible. Just when you feel the first tingles of pain - take it. Usually, in 30-40 minutes, I am pain-free. It does come with pretty nasty side effects. For me, it's extreme weakness, very heavy feeling arms and legs, low blood pressure, and a general feel of being unwell. So even after taking it, I have to take it easy - just stay comfortable, watch a movie, read a book, and stay in bed. I usually feel so weak, I can barely walk. But it sure beats being in such severe pain that you consider calling an ambulance."

• Anonymous
• January 8, 2012

Sumatriptan for Migraine "At first, I thought it was great-no headache. Then, the more frequently I used the medication to treat my migraines, the more debilitating side effects I began to experience. I could first mitigate the burning pain and weakness in my head, neck, and jaw and the general feeling of malaise and fatigue by the administration of Naproxen or Ibuprofen prior to the Imitrex, but then, even that ceased to be effective. I finally quit after experiencing total body weakness, a more severe burning pain in my upper extremities than ever before (accompanied by fluctuating hot and cold sensations everywhere else), irregular heartbeat, and irregular breathing after administration. If you experience adverse side effects, it gets worse! Please, find something else."

• Jen...
• October 18, 2019

Sumatriptan for Migraine "I almost always get migraines around my period or times of extreme stress. I was getting a migraine that began as nausea, hot flashes, dizziness, and weakness the entire day. That night the pain started, so I took 25 mg Imitrex. In 90 minutes, the pain was gone. I felt some pressure where the pain had been and couldn’t lay on that side. A week later, I feel another migraine come on, and I wasn’t sure it was a migraine until the nausea came. I took Imitrex again, and the pain went away after 2 hours, but then I got super drowsy and fell asleep and woke up an hour later shaky and anxious. I had not had a good night's sleep the day before, so those symptoms may be attributed to lack of sleep, but they went away after a few hours. I did try Imitrex in the middle of a migraine with nausea, blurry vision, severe pain, and it didn’t help. I was discouraged and did not take a second dose that time. I suggest taking Imitrex as soon as you feel pain."

• Mig...
• August 19, 2010

Sumatriptan for Migraine "The doctor gave me a sample and a prescription of this to try. I have used Treximet with great results, but it took too long for the medicine to get into my system to counter the migraine. The Sumavel works GREAT, HOWEVER, it does hurt. The initial injection is painful. I was left with a welt and a tender spot for hours afterwards. The injection pain is well worth the relief. I do get the burning sensation at the bottom of my brain stem 30 seconds after the injection and feel very weak. This is all normal as I got the same feeling when I started Treximet. Luckily, my insurance company covers it."

• Qua...
• March 27, 2016

For Migraine "I've been using sumatriptan for my menstrual migraines for 5 years or so now. I'm 24 years old. Although I get several of the listed side effects (muscle weakness, tingling and burning sensation, drowsiness to name a few), it works so quickly at getting rid of the pain. I couldn't be without it now. The side effects only last an hour or so, so it's completely worth it."

• The...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 8, 2013

For Cluster Headaches "I've been dealing with episodes of cluster headaches for 30 years. Nothing has ever made a dent in the pain besides this and Zomig nasal spray. The slight pain of the injection is a very small price to pay to relieve the crushing pain of a cluster headache. For me, the trick for both medicines is to catch it as early as possible, before the headache is full-blown. I'm never more than a minute or two away from a dose. Besides feeling a little weak afterwards (which would have been worse with the headache anyway), so far I don't have any real side effects."

• smt...
• January 12, 2016

Sumatriptan for Migraine "I'm only 16, and I was prescribed it at 15 and told only to take it when my migraines were unbearable. Every time I have taken it, I usually get a really sick feeling, such as hot flashes, weakness, nausea, and dizziness. There's always a feeling that my brain is being frozen over from where the migraine mostly is. But I always take it and go straight to sleep, except for last night. I stayed up, and I was seeing and hearing things that weren't there. I couldn't do simple tasks, I forgot where my room was after my boyfriend told me to drink some water. I cried over everything, I was scared of everything. Staying awake for me was horrifying."

• Car...
• March 1, 2014

For Migraine "I have had migraines ever since I can recall my earliest headaches. I'm lucky that mine progress slowly, giving me time to take either ibuprofen or naproxen to take care of the majority of my migraines. That said, every once in a while, I get an acute enough or resistant enough attack that I take Imitrex (sumatriptan), and usually within 20 min my migraines are less severe and within an hour completely resolved. I do, however, have odd side effects. If I feel nauseous prior to taking Imitrex, it makes my nausea more severe. Every time I use sumatriptan, my body feels run down and weak, almost as if I have taken a muscle relaxer. Regardless, it is a Godsend when I need it. I have 100 mg pills that I cut into quarters. I usually only need 25 mg."

• Anonymous
• August 4, 2010

Sumatriptan for Migraine "It keeps my migraines from blowing out into severe migraines, but it takes close to an hour to kick in, and when it does, I feel extremely sick, very fatigued for two hours after. Then I have just a mild headache, but I feel like I have a hangover and become forgetful and weak. It is definitely a trade-off, but as severe as my migraine can get, I'll take this until I find another type of medication."

• teg...
• October 18, 2011

Sumatriptan for Migraine "I was nervous about the pain, and even though it's needle-free, I have a bit of a needle phobia, and the idea of any injection (even without a needle) was pretty rough for me to get over. After talking myself up for about 30 minutes, I was finally able to give myself the dose. It hurt a lot more than I was expecting and bled more than my neurologist and pharmacist said it would, so immediately after administering it, I was pretty apprehensive. I felt the side effects most people have reported (weakness, dizziness, heaviness, etc.), but I also had some nausea, and I was really tired. I felt near-immediate relief of about 50% of my migraine, and then took a power nap for about 45 minutes. When I woke up, I felt like a completely new person."

• Anonymous
• August 24, 2010

Sumatriptan for Migraine "I have had migraines for over 10 years and have tried many different drugs. My doctor gave me Sumavel to try about a week ago (just in time for another migraine attack). The initial injection did hurt, but the relief that I was able to get only 10 minutes later was well worth it. I did have the 'burning sensation' in my face for a few minutes and felt weak for about 30 minutes, but for me, that is much better than the pain of a migraine. The only problem that I had was it seemed to only work for a few hours for me the first time I tried it. I'm willing to give this medicine time to work because it has by far done so much more for me than any other medicine that I have tried."

• Cat...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 8, 2014

For Migraine "I get migraines with aura. Right when I begin to lose my vision, I know the migraine is 30 minutes away. I take an Imitrex as soon as I start to lose my vision. It works within an hour or two about 80% of the time. I feel very weak and 'out of it' when I do take one. It still doesn't help with nausea, however. I have not thrown up from a migraine (yet), just very nauseous. I have also used the injectable version. That works so much better. However, I have psyched myself out and can no longer give myself a shot for some reason. Physical therapy has really helped with my migraines. I also quit going to the chiropractor. I used to get migraines weekly, now it's been 6 months and I finally got one today."

• Ang...
• February 8, 2013

For Cluster Headaches "This is the first time I have used Sumatriptan, it was Arrow-Sumatriptan injection. I immediately felt a slight pressure in my chest and a pushing in my temples and the base of my skull, and I felt tired and weak. There was a tingling sensation in my nose, and my throat was ultra-sensitive. It is an hour since I injected, and my cluster headache has eased but not gone away yet. My eye has stopped streaming, and my nose is not running so fast, and I look slightly more human. I had hoped for better than this, but it is an improvement."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 15, 2019

For Migraine "I am 25 years old and have been getting migraines since my early teens. I get 2 or 3 per month, lasting up to 3 days at a time. This is the first prescription drug I’ve tried for them, and I think the good might barely outweigh the bad. My headache is typically gone within an hour, but I experience some pretty awful side effects. My shoulders, arms, and legs get very weak (similar to flu cramps/weakness), my tongue gets very heavy and it’s hard to speak, the nausea is sometimes worse than it is when I have a migraine without medication, and I get very drowsy for a few hours after taking it. Unfortunately, when untreated, my migraines have lasted multiple days. The fact that the headache is gone so quickly is the only reason I haven’t given up on this."

• Jus...
• February 20, 2021

For Migraine "I took sumatriptan once last month, and it was the worst experience I’ve ever had. It did not get rid of my migraine at all, and on top of a raging migraine, I felt shaky, anxious, had chest pain, had a hard time breathing right, had tingling sensations in my fingers, felt incredibly weak, hot, nauseous, and had diarrhea. I tried to eat something to see if that would help, but I had such a hard time swallowing. It was just awful."

• Gbl...
• September 19, 2011

Sumatriptan for Migraine "Pill form did not work for me, but the stat-dose stops the pain within twenty mins most times. Side effects are tightness in chest, weakness in arms, but this goes away within an hour or so. Better than that little devil with the big hammer beating the inside of my head. I take it as soon as I feel that I am getting a migraine and not just a common headache. I try not to overuse it, as I have a fear it will stop working, and it is the only thing that works short of an E.R. visit for Demerol."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 6, 2015

Sumatriptan for Migraine "After 20+ years of taking this medicine, it has led to hair thinning out severely, full body muscle pain, and weakness as a side effect and a possible stroke. It works to get rid of the migraine, but this is what happens when you take it long-term."

• Ash...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 9, 2016

For Migraine "Given this drug to my mother, 44. After an hour taking 50 mg, she admitted 70 to 80% relief in her migraine, but weakness the whole day long. But after two days, symptoms reappeared, so now giving her tricyclic antidepressant, 10 mg at bedtime only. For a month now, she feels better."

• hea...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 2, 2015

Sumatriptan for Migraine "Three days on medicine caused extreme muscle pain, tiredness, and weakness. Also, facial flushing, tingling, hot and cold flashes, blurred vision, malaise, increased urination, lack of concentration."