Chronic Migraine Awareness

Written by Brandy Garcia

I have lived with the ups and downs of chronic migraine for over fifteen years. As you can imagine I have tried numerous preventative and abortive medications. But today I am going to talk about a new medication my father told me about.

            My father is also a migraine sufferer and he told me about a new prescription he received, called Ubrevley. After hearing about it I instantly called my neurologist to ask about this new medication. The first phone call was fairly easy, I asked if Ubrevely would be suitable for me and they said yes. Because it has barely any side effects and works quickly, they thought I would have some luck with it. I hung up extremely excited because at that point I was in a bad cycle that lasted for weeks. Sadly, it took almost three weeks before I was able to get approval from insurance.

            I was told that Ubrevley is for people with episodic migraines and I needed to show that I used other medications that did not work first. Luckily, my doctor was able to show all the medications I tried. Even with her support, I went back and forth with insurance for almost three weeks before my 50 mg Ubrelvy prescription was approved. I was shocked it got approved, because never had a medication take so long to get approved before. I was beginning to get worried that I was going to have to pay out of pocket. I do not mind paying out of pocket but Ubrevely came with a price tag of two hundred and fifty dollars a month. The package states to take at first sign of migraine, wait two hours and take another pill if necessary. But it can be used like this twice a week. I expected a lot from this medication because I heard great things from my doctor and my family about it.

 The very first time I took Ubrelvy, I was extremely nervous. Most other abortive medications leave me drowsy and still in pain. I had aura before I took it and knew a major migraine was coming. So, I prepared myself for the worst and sent my kids with my father, grabbed an ice pack and laid in a dark room. Just like I suspected the pain came on strong and quickly. The medication gave me absolutely no side effects. But it did take a full two hours before I had any pain relief. Once it hit the two-hour mark, I was pain-free and full of energy. Honestly, it felt weird to have so much energy and be symptom-free. The rest of that day went great, I did not have side effects or migraine symptoms. Even the next morning there was no hangover or postdrome symptoms lurking around.

            The next month or so, I analyzed every migraine symptom and questioned if I should waste a Ubrevley or not. Since I was only allowed to take it twice a week, it became a burden thinking about if this migraine attack is bad enough to use it or wait. In turn, I suffered many days in pain when I could have taken the medication. Because I questioned the severity of my attacks, I was not taking the Ubrevley until I was in a full swing of migraine pain. Some days it lessened the pain and some days it did nothing. I have also had days where the migraine came back, and I needed to utilize the second dose for relief. The second dose is extremely helpful when the first dose only lessens the pain. I played around with the 50 mg pills for about two months and reevaluated with my doctor.

Now I am prescribed 100 mg of Ubrelvy and can take two a day as needed. Also, the 100 mg works a little faster than the 50 mg pill. I will continue to take Ubrelvy because I don’t experience any side effect and it gives me relief most of the time. A few things I learned in the past few months are that it truly does need to be taken at the first sign of migraine to work best and it does take a full two hours to work. Despite these limitations I have enjoyed the pain free days and extra energy.  No, Ubrelvy is not perfect, but I have had a lot of success managing three kids while in quarantine because of it.

*DISCLAIMER* Chronic Migraine Awareness, Inc. does not endorse the use of any product, medication, or treatment. The statements in this article are from a person who has tried this medication and her personal results. Your physician should be contacted for medical advice.