Report Highlights Kiwis With Migraine Lack Acute Treatment Options

New research from Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand has again laid bare the severe impact limited access to appropriate medications is having on those with migraine in New Zealand.

The research is based on a survey the Migraine Foundation conducted during June and July. The foundation wanted to capture people’s lived experiences of using acute migraine medications such as triptans, and where the unmet need of its community is. The survey garnered 611 Kiwis’ responses.

“We know there are a lot of Kiwis with migraine who have run out of options to treat their migraine attacks effectively because of our lack of acute medications," says Dr Fiona Imlach, senior research fellow at the University of Otago Wellington’s Department of Public Health and co-founder of Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand.

“If simple pain relievers like aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatories don't work well enough or you can't take those, the next drugs to use are triptans, which specifically treat migraine attacks. In New Zealand we only have two triptans, sumatriptan and rizatriptan, although seven are available worldwide,” Dr Imlach says.

“From our survey, over a third of people reported they’d tried at least one triptan but it hadn’t worked or caused side effects. If people then try the other triptan and it doesn’t work, they don’t have any other migraine-specific options. People are using medications such as opioids, but there are significant risks associated with these and they’re not recommended for treating migraine,” she says.

Triptan medications have been available in New Zealand since the 1990s and they’re regarded as first line treatment options for treating a migraine attack. International guidelines for migraine management recommend trying at least three triptans and formulations, if the first one or two don’t work, because all the triptans have slightly different properties, as well as different routes of administration, and how they act for any individual is unpredictable.

People with menstrual migraine are also impacted by New Zealand’s lack of migraine-specific acute medications. Menstrual migraine, which is when migraine attacks occur regularly around the time of a period, can be difficult to treat, prolonged and debilitating. Rebound headache with menstrual migraine is common, where the headache returns even after initially responding to treatment.

Two triptans – frovatriptan and naratriptan – have been shown to be more effective than rizatriptan and sumatriptan at treating menstrual migraine. Neither are available in New Zealand.

“There are also new migraine medications for migraine attacks, which can be used when people can't take triptans,” Dr Imlach says.

“They have other advantages too but we can't get them in New Zealand.”

Access to medicines is due to be discussed at Parliament next week, with the second Valuing Life Summit hosted by Hon David Seymour.

“Kiwis are missing out on all kinds of treatments that are accessible in other countries we like to compare ourselves with,” Dr Imlach says.

“This is an issue that all politicians should be looking at addressing, as investment in medicines has the potential to save the Government money in the long term, as well as improve quality of life for many individuals.

The research report is available on the Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand website.

https://migrainefoundation.org.nz/migraine-in-nz/triptan-use-in-new-zealand/

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