CGRP Medication Side Effects – “I hadn’t thought of that…”
One of the things patients like about CGRP related migraine medications is that the side effects are often less than with other drugs. But there can be side effects.
A recent study used a checklist to see if patients would notice other side effects that weren’t so obvious, or that they might not think of right away. The researchers were concerned that some of these were missed in some of the original trials.
This particular study was presented at the 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society, and came from the Chicago Medical School and Robbins Headache Clinic. 119 chronic migraine patients were first asked about side effects generally, and then they were handed a checklist.
The study itself is arguing for the use of checklists to identify side effects, but for us it is interesting to see which adverse effects were noticed using the checklist.
These patients had been on therapy for two months. What about you? If you’ve taken a CGRP related drug, have you noticed any of these? Here are the most commonly reported ones:
- Constipation
- Anxiety
- Injection site reaction/irritation
- Insomnia
- Hair Loss
- Muscle Pain/Cramps
- Joint Pain
- Irritability
- Increased Headache
- Depression
- Nausea
Again, remember that generally speaking side effects from these medications have been mild. Some also go away with time. For example, many patients experience increased headache for a few days or a couple of weeks, but then start to feel better. Weight gain lasted from 1-4 months. Of course injection site reactions were usually very brief.
However, some symptoms could be ongoing, so do check with your doctor. Hair loss, constipation, and sexual dysfunction, for example, seem to last longer (but again, many people have no problems whatsoever).
What’s been your experience?
(Study abstract here (scroll down): CGRP Monoclonal Adverse Effects: Evaluation Via Use of a Checklist