Stops a migraine attack rather than preventing one. Timing matters more than dose.
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Sumatriptan is a triptan — a serotonin receptor agonist that acts specifically on migraine. It narrows the dilated blood vessels around the brain and dampens the release of the inflammatory peptides that drive an attack.
It treats an attack. It does not prevent attacks, and it does not treat ordinary tension headache.
It was the first triptan and remains the most widely used, with several alternatives available for people it does not suit.
It is not for ordinary headache, and taking it for every headache is how people end up with medication overuse headache.
Take it as soon as the headache phase begins — not during the aura, and not after waiting to see how bad it gets. Sumatriptan taken early works substantially better than the same dose taken two hours in.
Waiting to "see if it settles" is the commonest reason a triptan appears not to work.
Use it on no more than 10 days a month. Beyond that, medication overuse headache becomes likely — and if you are regularly near that limit, you need a preventer rather than a bigger supply.
Nasal spray and injection forms work faster and suit people who vomit early in an attack.
Chest tightness on a triptan alarms people, understandably. It is usually a recognised muscular sensation rather than a cardiac one — but chest pain that is crushing, spreads to the arm or jaw, or comes with breathlessness or sweating should be treated as cardiac. Call 999 rather than assuming it is the tablet.
Migraine with aura carries a small increase in stroke risk, which is compounded by the combined pill and by smoking. That combination matters, and is worth reviewing.
Cardiovascular risk factors should be assessed before starting, and blood pressure checked. No routine blood monitoring is needed.
Yes, where migraine is already an established diagnosis and there are no features suggesting another cause of headache.
What we will not do is treat a new or changed headache remotely as though it were migraine. Headache that is new in someone over 50, that came on abruptly and peaked within a minute, that is worse on lying down or straining, or that comes with fever, neurological symptoms, or a change in personality, needs assessment rather than a triptan.
We would also want to know how often you are using acute treatment — because using it too often causes headache in its own right, and a preventer is the answer to that rather than more sumatriptan.
Sumatriptan 50mg is available from pharmacies without a prescription for people with an established migraine diagnosis, after a pharmacist consultation. That is often the quickest and cheapest route.
On prescription it is a cheap generic. Nasal spray and injectable forms cost considerably more, and are reserved for people who vomit early or need faster onset.
Quantities are deliberately limited, which reflects the 10-day monthly limit rather than an attempt to restrict supply.
Sumatriptan is taken as needed, so there is nothing to taper.
Migraine on four or more days a month, or acute treatment needed on more than 10 days a month, means prevention should be discussed. Options include propranolol, amitriptyline, topiramate and candesartan, and newer CGRP treatments on NHS specialist criteria.
No — take it when the headache starts. Taken during the aura it is less effective, which is counterintuitive but consistent in trials.
Not for the same attack. If the first dose achieved nothing, a second will not either. A second dose is only for a headache that responded and then came back.
It is a recognised triptan effect and usually harmless, but it should be mentioned so that cardiac risk can be assessed. Crushing pain, or pain with breathlessness or sweating, means 999.
Usually yes, with awareness. The serotonin syndrome risk is small and the combination is prescribed routinely — but know the warning symptoms.
Up to 10 days a month. Regularly at that level means you need a preventer, not a larger prescription.
Sumatriptan has the most reassuring data of the triptans, and is generally considered the preferred one if a triptan is needed. Take advice, since migraine often improves in pregnancy anyway.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 30, 2026
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Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
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