Zolmitriptan Tablet: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Precautions and Alternates

Quick overview

Zolmitriptan Tablet (generic name: zolmitriptan) is a prescription triptan medicine used to treat migraine headaches in adults. It comes as regular tablets, tablets that dissolve on the tongue, or a nasal spray. It treats a migraine attack that has already started rather than preventing future attacks.

What is Zolmitriptan Tablet

Zolmitriptan is a prescription medicine used to treat migraine headaches in adults. It is part of the triptan family of drugs and comes as regular tablets, tablets that dissolve on the tongue, or a nasal spray.

Zolmitriptan Tablet uses

• Treats migraine headaches with or without aura in adults
• Only treats a headache that has already started; it does not prevent headaches or reduce how many attacks you have
• Should not be used for a common tension headache or a headache that causes loss of movement on one side of the body, or any headache that seems different from your usual migraines

Benefits of Zolmitriptan Tablet

• Relieves migraine headache pain
• Reduces headache severity
• May ease sensitivity to light
• May ease sensitivity to sound
• Helps daily functioning during a migraine attack

How Zolmitriptan Tablet works

Zolmitriptan narrows widened blood vessels in the brain, which helps relieve migraine pain. It also blocks nerve signals and body chemicals that cause nausea, light sensitivity, and sound sensitivity during a migraine.

Zolmitriptan Tablet dosage

Use zolmitriptan as soon as you notice migraine symptoms starting. Take the regular tablet whole with a full glass of water. It can be taken with or without food.

For the tablet that dissolves on the tongue, keep it in its blister pack until you are ready to take it, use dry hands to remove it, place it on your tongue, and let it dissolve without chewing or swallowing it whole. You may drink liquid afterward if you wish. Do not break the orally disintegrating tablet, and do not push it through the foil packaging.

If your headache does not fully go away or comes back, a second dose can be taken after waiting at least two hours from the first dose. Do not take more doses than your doctor recommends in a 24-hour period, since overuse can make headaches worse. Do not use within 24 hours before or after taking another migraine medicine.

This medicine is not approved for use in people younger than 18. People aged 65 and older may have a greater risk of certain side effects and should discuss this with their doctor.

Available forms and strengths

• Oral tablet (2.5 mg, 5 mg)
• Nasal spray (2.5 mg, 5 mg)

Side effects of Zolmitriptan Tablet

Common

• Pain, pressure, or tightness in the throat, neck, jaw, or chest
• Dry mouth
• Upset stomach or nausea
• Heavy or tight feeling elsewhere in the body
• Drowsiness or feeling tired
• Dizziness
• Feeling warm or cold (flushing)
• Sweating
• Heartburn

Serious

• Signs of a serious allergic reaction: hives, difficulty breathing, swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat
• Tightness, heaviness, or pain in the chest, neck, or jaw
• Fast or pounding heartbeat, or irregular heartbeat
• Signs of a heart attack: chest pain or pressure, pain spreading to jaw or shoulder, nausea, sweating
• Sudden and severe stomach pain with bloody diarrhea
• Signs of a stroke: sudden weakness on one side of the body, slurred speech or trouble speaking, numbness
• Bluish discoloration or paleness of the fingers and toes
• Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
• Difficulty swallowing
• Signs of serotonin syndrome: agitation, hallucinations, fever, fast heart rate, overactive reflexes, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of coordination, fainting
• Signs of dangerously high blood pressure: sudden severe headache, chest pain, confusion, vision changes

Warnings and precautions

• Do not use zolmitriptan if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart problems, certain heart rhythm disorders, a history of heart attack or stroke, or poor blood circulation.
• Do not use this medicine if you have taken an MAO inhibitor in the past two weeks, since a dangerous drug interaction could occur.
• Do not take this medicine within 24 hours before or after using another migraine medicine, including other triptans or ergot-type medicines.
• This medicine should not be used for hemiplegic migraine or basilar migraine because of a higher risk of stroke.
• Using migraine medicine too often, more than about 10 days a month, can actually make headaches worse over time.
• Combining this medicine with certain other drugs that affect serotonin, such as antidepressants, can cause a dangerous buildup of serotonin in the body.
• Some orally disintegrating tablets contain phenylalanine, which can be harmful for people with phenylketonuria (PKU).
• It is not known if zolmitriptan can harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant so they can weigh the benefits and risks.
• It is not known whether zolmitriptan passes into breast milk or could harm a nursing baby. Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding.
• Tell your doctor if you have kidney disease before using this medicine.
• Tell your doctor if you have liver disease before using this medicine.
• It isn't known for certain how alcohol affects this medicine, but drinking alcohol may increase drowsiness and dizziness, and alcohol can also trigger migraines in some people.
• This medicine can affect your alertness, coordination, or reaction time. Be careful driving or operating machinery until you know how it affects you.

Storage

• Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light
• Keep the orally disintegrating tablet in its blister pack until you are ready to take it
• Keep out of the reach of children and pets
• For disposal, check official guidance for safely disposing of unused medicine, or take it to a pharmacy for safe disposal

When to see a doctor

• Get emergency help right away if you have signs of a serious allergic reaction, such as hives, trouble breathing, or swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat.
• Stop using this medicine and call your doctor right away if you feel tightness in your jaw, neck, throat, or chest, or have a fast or pounding heartbeat with dizziness.
• Get emergency help for signs of a heart attack, such as chest pain or pressure, pain spreading to the jaw or shoulder, nausea, and sweating.
• Get emergency help right away for sudden and severe stomach pain with bloody diarrhea.
• Seek emergency care for signs of high serotonin levels in the body, including agitation, hallucinations, fever, fast heart rate, overactive reflexes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of coordination, or fainting.
• If you think you or someone else has taken too much of this medicine, get emergency medical help right away.
• Call your doctor if your headache does not go away at all after the first dose, or if you have more than four headaches in one month.

Alternatives

• Naratriptan
• Rizatriptan
• Sumatriptan