Migraines are intense headaches of a chronic nature that can continue for many hours or days. Some migraines can produce warnings of their imminent arrival. These warnings, called auras, may include a sensation of tingling in the legs or arms and light flashes or blind spots in vision. There are medications to both treat the pain of such headaches and drugs to help prevent them from occurring.
Chest Pain
Many of the prescription medications designed to both treat migraine pain and prevent migraines from happening may cause as a side effect chest pain. The medications designed to treat migraine pain that may produce chest pain as a side effect include Maxalt (generic: rizatriptan), Amerge (generic: naratriptan). Zomig (generic: zolmitriptan), Axert (generic: almotriptan), Frova (generic: frovatriptan), Relpax (generic: eletriptan) and Treximet (generic: naproxen sodium and sumatriptan). Preventative medications that also may cause chest pain include the beta blockers Lopressor or Toprol XL (generic: metoprolol), the calcium channel blockers Calan or Isoptin (generic: verapamil), the hypertension medications Prinivil or Zestril (generic: lisinopril) and the antidepressants Elavil or Vanatrip (generic: amitriptyline) and Pamelor (generic: nortriptyline).
Dizziness
Dizziness is a possible side effect in both over-the-counter migraine medications such as Motrin and Advil (generic: ibuprofen) and Excedrin (generic: aspirin, caffeine and acetaminophen). It also may occur with some prescription migraine pain relievers such as rizatriptan, naratriptan, frovatriptan, eletriptan and sumatriptan. Preventative medications such as metoprolol and verapamil also may cause dizziness.
Nausea
A side effect of migraines themselves may be nausea. Some of the medications used to prevent and treat migraines also may cause queasiness in the stomach. Preventatives Depakote (generic: divalproex), an anti-seizure medication also used for migraines, may cause nausea, as well as calcium channel blocker verapamil and anti-hypertension drug lisinopril. The OTC drug ibuprofen also may cause it.
Irregular Heartbeat
An irregular or rapid heartbeat can be a side effect of migraine drugs. These include the pain medications Excedrin, Maxalt, Amerge, Zomig, Axert and Treximet. Irregular heartbeats also may be caused by preventative drugs such as Lopressor and Toprol XL. The side effect requires a physician's attention.
Weakness or Fatigue
Some migraine drugs may cause you to feel weak or fatigued. In some cases, these side effects may pass with continued use of the medications. If they do not disappear, consult your doctor. Drugs that can cause these side effects include Amerge, Zomig, Frova, Treximet, Prinivil, Zestril, Elavil and Vanatrip.
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