Rimegepant – addressing the unmet needs of migraine sufferers

March 22nd, 2024

Sometimes, life can be a real headache, especially for migraine sufferers. The prescribed migraine drug Triptans has significant limitations, such as incomplete and inconsistent pain relief, a high rate of headache recurrence and cardiovascular contradictions. Now, there is a better alternative drug, Rimegepant, it’s successfully addressing the unmet needs of migraine sufferers.

Rimegepant is a migraine drug approved by the NHS, and experts say it could help thousands of people

Rimegepant is a type of drug primarily developed for the acute treatment of migraine.

Back in September 2023, NICE released the final draft guidance documents recommending Rimegepant as a cost-effective option for treating migraines. Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation said “This is the first of a new class of medicine to be recommended by NICE that can help alleviate the misery of acute migraines, and may be considered a step-change treatment.”

Helen Knight said that the final draft addresses the unmet need for treatment options for acute migraine, once again demonstrating the abilities of NICE to ensure clinically and cost-effective medicines are available to those who need them as quickly as possible.

Why is Rimegepant more effective than Triptans?

A migraine develops when the protein called calcitonin is released in the brain. As a medication for the treatment of migraines, both Triptans and Rimegement bind receptors on the trigeminal nerve in the brain. Triptans only suppress the protein release whereas Rimegepant works more efficiently by stopping the protein release.

Safer for people with cardiovascular issues or disease

Rimegepant is safer for people with serious health problems, including heart issues or cardiovascular disease. Rimegepant, otherwise known as Vydura is produced by Pfizer, a leading American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation in New York. The life altering drug is available to purchase online.

About migraines…

A migraine is the most common neurological disorder, a severe long-term health condition described as migraine attacks. The three common types of migraine are migraine with an aura (sensory disturbances), Migraine without an aura or a silent migraine (migraine symptoms but no pain). Rare types of migraine are hemiplegic and brainstem aura migraines.

Professor Peter Goadsby is a Professor of Neurology at King’s College in London and a Trustee of The Migraine Trust. He explained, “Migraine is an inherited tendency to have headaches with sensory disturbance. It’s an instability in the way the brain deals with incoming sensory information, and that instability can become influenced by physiological changes like sleep, exercise and hunger.”

There’s currently no cure for migraines

Different people get different symptoms such as a painful, throbbing, bad headache, feeling sick or being sick. Migraine attacks can last from 4 hours to 3 days. The discomfort and severity can affect a person’s education, work, finances, mental health and social activities. There is currently no cure for migraines but there are things you can do to make life easier if you are a migraine sufferer.

Get control of your migraines with a headache diary

If you are a migraine sufferer, to get control of your migraines you should keep a headache diary. Make a note of when you have a migraine and the situation leading up to it. What were the triggers? How long did it last? Is there a pattern?

Other things you can do for migraine self-help are:

Know your medical history

Have you suffered from bad headaches in the past? Can you associate any existing health conditions with the migraines? Could the medication you are taking for an illness or condition be the trigger for migraine attacks? It’s important not to stop taking medication until you have spoken to your doctor

Create a pain management plan

Discuss medication options with your doctor. Painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen might help but are potentially not strong enough to relieve the symptoms of a migraine attack. If feeling sick or being sick is a problem, anti-sickness medication can be prescribed. If you experience multiple attacks in one day preventative treatment is an option

Review your lifestyle and make relevant changes where possible

Migraines can be triggered by stress, foods, smells, drugs, smoking, caffeine, dehydration, skipping meals, low blood sugar, alcohol, hormone changes, lack of sleep and light and temperature changes. Making changes to certain aspects of your life could reduce the risk of triggering a migraine. For example, reducing stress levels, cutting out drugs, smoking or alcohol or creating a regular sleep routine.

Certain foods can trigger a migraine. Here are some known types:

Tyramine – found in cheese, smoked fish and Chianti wine
Foods made with nitrates – pepperoni, hot dogs and luncheon meat
Baked goods with yeast in – sourdough bread, bagels, doughnuts or coffee cake
Fruit juices or smoothies – lemons, oranges, bananas, raspberries, red plums, papaya, passion fruit
Onions, peapods, some types of beans, olives, corn or sauerkraut
Figs dates and avocados
Nuts, nut butter and dried fruit
Red wines and caffeinated drinks
Pizza and crisps
Yoghurt and soy
Chocolate
Chicken livers

Eating a healthy nutritional diet with an eating schedule and staying hydrated will help to reduce the risk of having a migraine attack. For natural pain relief, we recommend our product Discomfort ReliefPro (PEA Palmitoylethanolamide)

If you are a migraine sufferer and find the combination of medications you are taking isn’t helping, ask your doctor about Rimegepant.

References

Headaches Pain Relief