Naratriptan

Migraine meds typically come in the form of either triptans, painkillers, or antiemetics (anti-sickness medications). There are also drugs that contain a combination of painkiller and antiemetic. You might find that different types of medicines work better for you depending on your health needs. You can also get treatments that come in the form of powder sachets or nasal sprays if you prefer not to take tablets.

Within the category of triptans, as well, there are differences between treatments. Some triptans work more quickly to ease your symptoms, whereas other treatments stay active in your system for a long time, which might suit you better if you get migraines that frequently recur. If you’re not sure which migraine treatment might be best for you, talk to us about your health. Our expert clinicians should be able to point you in the right direction based on your health needs.

There’s a branded version of Naratriptan called Amerge. Both of these treatments contain the same active ingredient in the same dose - they’re just produced in different labs and branded differently. As a result, they’ll work in largely the same way to treat your symptoms, they might just differ a bit in terms of cost and appearance. As Naratriptan is the generic equivalent, it’s usually a little cheaper.

Naratriptan has been proven to be an effective migraine treatment, even working to provide symptom relief to people who didn’t respond to sumatriptan, another ‘triptan’ treatment for migraines.^[1] It also showed considerably better headache relief than placebo, both two and four hours after dosing - 69% vs. 31% and 80% vs. 39%, respectively.^[2]

Yes, you need a prescription for Naratriptan. This is because it isn’t suitable for everyone, and shouldn’t be used for regular tension headaches. As a result, a doctor will need to make sure that it’s both safe and relevant for you before they can prescribe it.