Axert^® (almotriptan malate)

Almotriptan is an antimigraine medication, and should not be used to relieve any kind of pain other than Migraine.  Many people find that their Migraines go away completely after they take almotriptan. Other people find that their Migraines are much less painful, and that they are able to go back to their normal activities even though their Migraines are not completely gone. Almotriptan often relieves symptoms that occur together with a migraine headache, such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and sensitivity to sound.

How Supplied: 6.25 mg and 12.5 mg tablets

Precautions:
Almotriptan is generally not prescribed under these conditions:

• presence or risk factors for coronary artery disease
• uncontrolled hypertension
• basilar or hemiplegic Migraines
• Do NOT take Axert within 24 hours of taking any other triptan.
• Do NOT take Axert within 24 hours of taking any ergotamine medication such as DHE or Migranal.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding:

• FDA pregnancy category C. This means that it is not known whether this drug will harm an unborn baby. Do not take this medication without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant or could become pregnant during treatment.
• It is not known whether this medication passes into breast milk. Do not take without talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Other medical conditions:
Be sure to tell your doctor if you have:

• high blood pressure, chest pain, shortness of breath, or heart disease
• family members with heart disease
• liver or kidney problems
• diabetes
• high cholesterol
• plans to become pregnant, or if you are pregnant, might be pregnant, or do not use effective birth control
• plans to breast-feed, or if you are already breast-feeding a baby

Other medications:
Be sure to tell your doctor if you are taking any other prescription or over-the-counter medications, especially other prescription medicine for Migraine or depression.

• Do not take almotriptan if you have taken a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), or phenelzine (Nardil) within the last 14 days. The combination could cause seizures, nausea, vomiting, sweating, flushing, and dizziness.
• Do not take almotriptan if you have taken any of the following medicines within the previous 24 hours:
  • ergot-based medications such as methysergide (Sansert), ergotamine (Ergostat), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E., Migranal Nasal Spray), and ergotamine combination products (Cafergot, Ercaf, Wigraine, Cafatine, Cafatine-PB, Cafetrate).
  • another triptan such as zolmitriptan (Zomig, Zomig ZMT), rizatriptan (Maxalt, Maxalt-MLT), almotriptan (Amerge), sumatriptan (Imitrex), frovatriptan (Frova), or eletriptan (Relpax)
• Do not take almotriptan if you have taken ketoconazole (Nizoral), itraconazole (Sporanox), ritonavir (Norvir), or erythromycin (E-Mycin, others) in the last 7 days

Potential side effects:

• Check with your doctor immediately if you experience:
  • Less common: chest pain; fast heartbeat; palpitations; shortness of breath; tightness in throat
  • Rare: severe chest pain; cool, pale skin; increased sweating; tightness in chest
• Check with your doctor as soon as possible if you experience:
  • Less common: discharge from eye; eye irritation; itching, redness, or swelling of skin; neck pain or rigid neck; redness of inner lining of eyelid; skin rash
  • Rare: abdominal cramping or pain; black, tarry stools; blood in stools; bringing back up of food; diarrhea; difficulty in swallowing; earache; eye pain; fainting; fever; heartburn, repeated; loss of appetite; loss of vision; rapid breathing; weight loss
• Other side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. Some of these effects, such as nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, dizziness, and general feeling of illness or tiredness, often occur during or after a migraine, even when almotriptan has not been used. Most of the side effects caused by almotriptan go away within a short time (less than 2 hours). However, check with your doctor if these side effects continue or are bothersome:
  • More common: burning, numbness, prickly, or tingling feeling; dizziness; dry mouth; headache; nausea ; sleepiness
  • Less common: aching, fullness, or tension in sinuses; anxious feeling; back pain; belching; change in sense of taste; chills; cough producing mucus; decreased sensitivity to touch; fatigue ; feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings ; feeling of spinning; feeling of warmth or heat; flushing or redness of skin; heartburn; increased sense of hearing; indigestion; lack or loss of strength; muscle aches; muscle weakness; nosebleed; painful menstrual period; quivering or trembling; restlessness; runny or stuffy nose; sore throat; trouble in sleeping; vomiting
  • Rare: abnormal increase in reflexes; abnormally increased feeling of mental and physical well-being; buzzing or ringing in the ears; change in dreams or nightmares; change in sense of smell; change in sense of touch; clumsiness or unsteadiness; continuous, uncontrolled, back-and-forth and/or rolling eye movements; cough; difficulty in concentrating; difficulty in swallowing; double vision; drooling; dry eyes; dry throat; feeling of pins and needles; hoarseness; increased sensitivity to sunlight; increased thirst; loss of voice; muscle stiffness; mental depression; nervousness; pain, redness, swelling, or warmth in joints; sneezing; stabbing pain

Brand Names:

• U.S.: Axert
• Canada: Not available
• U.K.: Not available
• Australia: Not available

Additional Information:

• FDA Information Sheet
• FDA-approved prescribing info (requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)