Substance Abuse Case Study

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PHULWANI DI #4 (SIMULATED):
Question : Patient from local jail with a substance abuse history is being treated with sumatriptan injections and ibuprofen tablets. Sumatriptan or any other 5HT-1 agonists are non formulary. What other medications could be used in this patient?
SUBJECT : Discussion of therapies other than triptans for treatment of migraine headache in a patient with a substance abuse history.
Introduction: Opiates, ergot alkaloids, corticosteroids, dopamine antagonists or NSAIDs and analgesics and their combinations available OTC are other alternatives that can be used for treatment of migraine headaches in a patient other than triptans.
NSAIDS and OTC analgesics and /or their combination can be tried as a first step approach …show more content…

The opiates that are used are mainly :Butalbital compunds (Fioricet, Fiorinal) and Acetaminophen and Codeine combinations such as Tylenol with codeine .These are relatively weaker members of the narcotic class , but their use can be reserved only in case another migraine pharmacotherapy did not work. Butorphanol( Stadol) nasal spray can be used as abortive therapy for migraines. It is a mixed agonist/antagonist opoid ,but its use has to be restricted in substance abuse patients due to its high potential for …show more content…

The serotonergic drugs act on the 5HT receptors. There are two types of sertonergics : the triptans which are 5HT -1 receptor agonists and the ergot alkaloids which affect 5HT -1A, 5HT-1B, 5HT-1D, AND 5HT-1E receptors.The triptans are more selective 5-HT receptor agonists than the ergot alkaloids. The ergot alkaloids act on serotonergic subtypes 5-HT1A, B,D,F and 5-HT2 which results in their effects on neuropeptide release and neurogenically induced inflammation, which is their proposed mechanism of action in migraine. They also act on the alpha adrenergic and dopaminergic pathways . The ergot alkaloids that are used as migraine abortives include ergotamine tartrate (ET) and dihydroergotamine mesylate (DHE) (Migranol, Valeant), which are available in injectable and nasal spray

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