Frovatriptan Tablets

What it is for

Frovatriptan treats migraine headache. You take it once the headache has started. It helps take away the head pain. It can also ease the other symptoms of an attack, like feeling or being sick, and being sensitive to light and sound.

It works for migraine with or without aura. An aura is a warning sign you may get before the pain starts. It can be flashing lights or zigzag lines. Frovatriptan belongs to a group of migraine medicines called triptans.

Next step: answer our health questions about your migraine, your heart and blood pressure, and any other medicines you take. A prescriber checks them before your tablets are sent.

Not sure your headaches are migraine? Have them checked by your GP first. Our migraine page explains the types of migraine and other treatments.

Chest pain or tightness can happen after a triptan. It may be strong and spread to your throat. If it does not pass quickly, stop taking frovatriptan and tell your doctor straight away. Get emergency help if the pain spreads to your arms, neck or jaw, or you feel clammy or short of breath. These may be signs of a heart attack.

Is it right for you?

Do not take frovatriptan if you:

• are allergic to frovatriptan or any other ingredient in the tablets
• have or have had heart disease, a heart attack or angina (chest pain caused by too little oxygen reaching the heart)
• have signs of heart disease, such as breathlessness, extreme tiredness or swollen ankles
• have had chest pain from a spasm of the heart's blood vessels (Prinzmetal's angina)
• have poor circulation in your legs or arms (peripheral vascular disease)
• have high blood pressure that is moderate or severe, or mild high blood pressure that is not being treated
• have had a stroke or a mini-stroke (transient ischaemic attack, or TIA)
• have severe liver disease
• take ergotamine or a medicine like it for migraine, such as methysergide
• take another triptan, such as sumatriptan, almotriptan, eletriptan, naratriptan, rizatriptan or zolmitriptan

It is also not for hemiplegic migraine, which causes weakness down one side of the body. Nor is it for basilar migraine, which starts in the brainstem, or ophthalmoplegic migraine, which affects the muscles that move the eye.

Tell our prescriber before you order if you:

• smoke heavily, or use nicotine replacement such as patches or gum
• are a woman past the menopause, or a man over 40, with any risk of heart disease
• take an antidepressant, especially an MAOI or an SSRI (more on this below)
• take buprenorphine, a strong painkiller also used to treat opioid addiction
• take St John's wort, a herbal remedy for low mood
• take the contraceptive pill
• are pregnant, could get pregnant and do not use contraception, or are breastfeeding
• have been told you cannot digest some sugars - each tablet contains lactose

If you have a higher chance of heart disease, you may need a heart check before you can have it. A check cannot rule out every heart problem, so the chest pain warning above still applies.

Not sure about any of these? Ask our pharmacist before you order.

How to take it

When: as soon as you can after the migraine headache starts. It can still work if you take it later in the attack. Do not take it during an aura, before the headache begins.

How much: one 2.5 mg tablet. Swallow it whole with water. You can take it with or without food.

If the headache comes back:

• If the first tablet helped but the migraine comes back within 24 hours, you can take a second tablet.
• Leave at least 2 hours between the two tablets.
• Never take more than 2 tablets (5 mg) in 24 hours.

If the first tablet did not help, do not take a second one for the same attack. It will not help. You can still use it for your next attack. Tell our prescriber if it does not work for you.

Use it only for attacks. It does not stop migraines from happening, so never take it to prevent one. Taking it several days in a row is misuse. The medicine can build up in your body and side effects may get worse.

Stopping: you do not need to take any special steps when you stop taking it.

Taken too much? Contact your doctor or go to your nearest A&E straight away. Take the pack and any tablets left with you.

Headaches that get more frequent

Using painkillers for headaches for too long can make headaches worse. This is called medication overuse headache. If you start getting headaches often, or every day, while you use it, stop taking it and contact your doctor.

Other medicines

Tell our prescriber about every medicine you take, including ones you buy and herbal remedies.

Do not take frovatriptan at the same time as:

• another triptan. After a dose, leave 24 hours before you take a different triptan.
• ergotamine or a similar migraine medicine, such as methysergide or methylergometrine. Leave at least 24 hours between one of these and frovatriptan, whichever you take first.
• buprenorphine. Together they can cause serotonin syndrome.
• an MAOI antidepressant, such as moclobemide, phenelzine, isocarboxazid or tranylcypromine, unless your doctor tells you to.

Ask first if you take:

• an SSRI antidepressant, such as citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine or sertraline
• St John's wort. It is best not to take the two together, as side effects may be more frequent
• the contraceptive pill, which can raise the amount of the medicine in your blood

What serotonin syndrome is. It is a rare reaction that can be life-threatening. Signs include feeling agitated or confused, seeing things that are not there, sweating, shivering, trembling, muscles that twitch or jerk, and a temperature above 38°C. Contact a doctor straight away if you get these.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding and driving

Avoid it in pregnancy unless your doctor says it is clearly needed. The same goes if you could get pregnant and do not use contraception. Nobody knows yet whether it is safe for an unborn baby.

Breastfeeding is not recommended unless it is needed. If you do take it, do not breastfeed for 24 hours afterwards. Throw away any milk you express in that time.

Both frovatriptan and the migraine itself can make you drowsy. Do not drive or use machines if you feel drowsy, are having a migraine attack, or have just taken a tablet.

What it is and how it works

Frovatriptan belongs to a group of medicines called triptans. The medical name is a selective 5-HT1 receptor agonist: it acts on serotonin (5-HT) receptors on blood vessels and nerves.

During a migraine, blood vessels in the head may widen. This is thought to cause the headache and other symptoms. The medicine is thought to reduce that widening. It is not an ordinary painkiller, and it treats migraine only.

Each tablet contains 2.5 mg of frovatriptan, as frovatriptan succinate monohydrate. It was first sold under the brand name Migard. This page is for generic frovatriptan. Generic means it is sold under the medicine's own name, not a brand name.

For the technical reader:

• Its full effect is reached about 4 hours after a dose.
• Food does not change how much is absorbed, but it delays the peak by about an hour.
• The liver breaks it down, mainly with the enzyme CYP1A2. The antidepressant fluvoxamine blocks this enzyme. It has raised frovatriptan blood levels by 27 to 49%.
• Levels were 30% higher in women taking the contraceptive pill. Side effects were no more frequent.
• No dose change is needed for kidney problems, or for mild to moderate liver problems.

What it will not do

• It does not prevent migraine attacks. It treats an attack once the headache has started.
• It is not for tension headaches or other everyday headaches.
• It is not for hemiplegic, basilar or ophthalmoplegic migraine.