Ubrelvy vs. Imitrex: Here's How To Make The Best Decision For You

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I don’t personally suffer from migraines. But I know plenty of people who do.

If you’re one of them … I feel for you. They are debilitating.

And of the things you want to have happen is for them to go away as soon as possible.

For that to happen you need medications.

One of the newer ones we have to treat acute migraines is Ubrelvy.

I’ve talked about Ubrelvy before in another video (https://youtu.be/_HI6xabcJuQ). But that begs the question … how does it compare to the older acute migraine medications (i.e, the triptans) like Imitrex.

Here’s my take on that question.

The Differences

The most important difference right off the bat is how they act in your body.

Ubrelvy Is what's called a CGRP. This is a fancy way of saying that it can block the inflammation that happens when you get a migraine.

Imitrex, on the other hand, acts by constricting blood vessels in your brain which can help with the migraine symptoms.

Now because Imitrex causes vasoconstriction it can be a concern to use in people who have a history of cardiovascular issues - especially strokes and heart attacks.

So that makes Ubrelvy a good option in that case.

On the other hand Imitrex is an older drug and it’s been around for a long time. That means it's generally cheaper and doctors are going to be a lot more comfortable using it right off the bat.

Dosing

Ironically dosing these medications is very similar.

Both medications should be taken right away when you feel a migraine coming on. Also in both medications you can repeat the dose in 2 hours if you're not getting relief. But after that you're essentially maxed out and can't take anymore.

An interesting side note - Ubrelvy and Imitrex can be taken together. Not at the same time but they can be taken in succession.

What I mean by that is if you took a dose of Imitrex and the migraine didn't go away instead of taking another dose of Imitrex in 2 hours - you could take Ubrelvy at the two hour mark instead.

I don't think this would ever be a common occurrence. But it is something you should know about.

Side Effects

I want to be really careful here. Because when I say this people are going to take it as a rule and that's not what I mean.

But generally speaking triptans like Imitrex tend to carry a few more side effects.

Again this is a generality but over the years I found this to be the case.

Bottom line is that in most cases your doctor is probably going to start you on Imitrex unless you have reasons that you can't take it (like a stroke). But if you're in the box where Imitrex isn't a good option Ubrelvy is probably going to be your next best option.

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