Sumatriptan injections still underutilized. New lower dose, easy-to-use device could help

Sumatriptan (Imitrex) injection was introduced 25 years ago, but it remains extremely underutilized. Of course, why would you inject yourself if a pill does the job. Unfortunately, for many migraine sufferers sumatriptan and other triptan tablets do not provide complete or fast enough relief. In many patients tablets do not work well because some wake up with a severe migraine, in some it starts very suddenly, and in others it is accompanied by nausea and vomiting. All these conditions require a quickly acting drug that bypasses the stomach. Zolmitriptan (Zomig) and sumatriptan nasal sprays or sumatriptan nasal powder (Onzetra) sometimes work well and quickly enough, but the gold standard in the abortive treatment of migraines (and cluster headaches) is sumatriptan injection.

Sumatriptan injection works within 10-15 minutes and often provides complete relief of the headache and associated symptoms – nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, and other. Because of a sudden surge in the sumatriptan level in the blood, side effects are more common than with tablets. These can include pins-and-needles like sensations, tightness in the neck or chest, or temporary worsening of the headache. These side effects last only 15-20 minutes and do not prevent most patients from using injections.

Sumatriptan injections were originally released only in a 6 mg dose. A few years later, 4 mg dose became available. Last year, a simple-to-use autoinjector with 3 mg of sumatriptan (Zembrace) was approved by the FDA. Studies presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Boston compared the efficacy of 3 mg and 6 mg injections. Surprisingly, they were equally effective and well tolerated. The manufacturer of the 3 mg auto-injector also compared their injection device with two older devices. Findings of this study were not a surprise – Zembrace was easier to use with fewer mistakes and faster preparation and administration. Zembrace requires only two steps – pulling off a cap and pressing the pen-like device against the thigh (and holding it pressed for 10 seconds). Also, of all auto-injectors Zembrace has the thinnest needle.

One potential difficulty is the insurance coverage. Since Zembrace is more expensive, the insurers may offer to pay only for the old type devices with 4 or 6 mg of sumatriptan. The manufacturer does offer discounts and coupons, which you can find online.

The bottom line, if you are not getting good relief of your migraine headaches, ask your doctor about sumatriptan injections. If you have tried injections in the past and did not like the side effects – check if the dose you tried was 6 mg and if yes, you may want to try 3 or 4 mg injections.

Sumatriptan injection is the only FDA-approved treatment for cluster headaches. Cluster headaches are very sudden and brief attacks of excruciating headaches that pills rarely have a chance to control.

Conflict of interest disclosure: last year Zembrace manufacturer paid me to participate in an advisory board meeting.