Productivity losses due to absenteeism are obvious, but perhaps greater losses arise from the impaired performance of people who continue to work during migraine attacks. In a study led by Dr. Elliot Schulman of the Center for Headache Management, workers who developed a migraine during the first half of an eight-hour work shift were assigned to take either sumatriptan injections or placebo injections. On average, workers taking sumatriptan regained full productivity nearly four times faster than those taking a placebo. Only 30 percent of the placebo group, compared with 70 percent of the sumatriptan group, were able to return to normal work performance within two hours of injection. Schulman's study was sponsored by a grant from Imitrex's manufacturer, Glaxo Wellcome.
Narcotics act on the central nervous system to block pain, including migraine pain.
Although concern over their addictive potential keeps them from being the treatment of choice for treating migraine, they remain an important option for rapidly relieving migraine pain when other treatments fail or are contraindicated. If headache pain drives you to take medication nearly every day, you may actually be making your problem worse. If this happens, see your physician to re-evaluate your management strategy.