Comments on: Needle-free injection of sumatriptan

By: Ella

Ella — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:42:25 +0000

THis is NOT psychological. When I used this needle free injection it felt the same way as if I was using the needle injection. To my suprise, I also had the same results. I was shocked, though, that it broke my skin. I’m not sure if this was how it was suppose to work, since it was a needle-free injection, but I was happy with the results anyway!
With my insurance I pay the same for both needle and needle-free injections.

By: Dr. Mauskop

Dr. Mauskop — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:00:34 +0000

The vial is cheaper, but I don’t know by how much. Do not prep the syringe ahead of time unless you expect a headache within a day, since once you draw up the medicine it loses sterility and the injection can cause an infection.

By: CrazyCatLady

CrazyCatLady — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:25:26 +0000

Dr. Mauskop,
I have seen the vial on the website for my mail order scripts. I have not gone to the doctor to get a seperate prescription for it yet. Eventually I will, but I am sure the insurance will be a nightmare as usual. I hope it’s cheaper. Do you have any idea of the price? As far as using the syringe do you think it would be practical to prep one ahead of time? I have done a TON of vial/syringe draws (fertility drugs) but never for migraine. If my husband is around during an attack, he could do it, but I can’t count on that.

By: Dr. Mauskop

Dr. Mauskop — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:56:19 +0000

Actually, sumatriptan is available in a vial and I offer it to my patients, particularly if they need less than the amount that is in the vial (4 or 6 mg) and also to reduce the pain of injections. Vials are also somewhat cheaper. The downside is that using a syringe to get the medicine out of the vial is a little more complicated for someones in the throes of a migraine and some of my patients prefer the autoinjector pen. The price of generic sumatriptan should continue to drop as there are more and more companies making it.

By: CrazyCatLady

CrazyCatLady — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:46:36 +0000

Well, X, nobody deserves a migrane. That being said, I cannot fathom someone’s fear of a tiny needle being greater than the desire for relief.
I happen to HATE the stat-dose pen. I would rather have the medication in a vial that I could draw up into an insulin needle then self inject.
So this will be branded and generic won’t be available for what, 7 years? The difference according to my insurance program between Imitrex and generic sumatriptan was $73 vs $65 for the 2 dose pack.

By: X

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:12:53 +0000

*stat-dose

By: X

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:12:23 +0000

So basically, millions of dollars went into R and D for an essentially unnecessary product. A classic example of one aspect of what’s wrong with our health care culture. Getting a patient over a needle phobia could be much more affordably and efficiently accomplished with a few sessions of cognitive-behavior therapy. Anyone unwilling to do this in order to enable themselves to self-inject with a stat-does pen deserves the headache.

By: Dr. Mauskop

Dr. Mauskop — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:18:39 +0000

Yes, the benefit is purely psychological and it is likely that the insurers will recognize that and consider sumatriptan injection to be the generic equivalent of this product.

By: X

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:45:06 +0000

This sounds like exactly what a needle injection does. So the benefit is purely psychological? By the way, this could be potentially good news for patients whose insurance provider only covers branded medication when a generic alternative is not available. Generic sumatriptan injections do not work for me, and assuming this is as effective as the needle injection, I may be able to switch over and save a lot of money.

By: Dr. Mauskop

Dr. Mauskop — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:51:50 +0000

A very thin jet of Imitrex solution comes out of the nozzle under strong pressure and penetrates the skin. It is going to a branded product, which means that it is going to be at least as expensive as the branded Imitrex injection.