Ubrelvy for migraine relief: my personal experience

In this post, I share my personal experience with Ubrelvy for acute migraine relief. This is NOT a paid review. I am not an affiliate of any kind to the makers of Ubrelvy or any other drug. This is purely my experience and because I found Ubrelvy effective, I wanted to share it here.

What is Ubrelvy?

Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) is a prescription medicine that is used to treat acute migraine with or without aura in adults. Here is some important information about it directly from the Ubrelvy website:

• In clinical studies, most patients achieved pain relief, and 1 in 5 even experienced total pain freedom.
• Plus, 2 out of 5 had the absence of their most debilitating symptom within 2 hours after taking UBRELVY.

How is Ubrelvy different from other acute migraine medications?

Ubrelvy is the first pill of its kind. Unlike other migraine medications, it is designed to specifically block the CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) protein. This protein is believed to play a significant role in the development of migraine pain and inflammation during a migraine attack.

CGRP levels are higher during the migraine attack. These proteins are bombarding the sensory nerve endings causing migraine symptoms we are all too familiar with! Ubrelvy is designed to block these proteins from attaching to the nerve endings, thus relieving pain, light & sound sensitivity, and nausea.

My reasons for trying Ubrelvy.

Too many migraine pain days a month.

I have chronic migraines which means I have more than 15 days of migraine symptoms a month. In my case, I experience migraine symptoms between 20 and 25 days a month. It represents a unique challenge because most acute abortive medications have a limit as to how frequently they can be used. If they are used too frequently, they will stop helping or can cause medication overuse headache.

Only one effective abortive medication so far.

After trying many abortive meds that were ineffective or only partially effective, my doctor prescribed Relpax (eletriptan), a triptane group of medications, as an abortive medication. Relpax has been very effective in treating acute attacks for me. But it can only be used a few times a month (8-9 times). It also gave me side effects like muscle fatigue, tiredness, and aching joints. I could tolerate it well though for the most part and it became a reliable acute migraine medication for me.

Advil and other over-the-counter medications are completely ineffective in treating my acute symptoms. I tried using other abortive meds like ergo group, but they were ineffective or caused many intolerable side effects for me. So, I was on the lookout for any additional abortive medication that I could use and avoid Relpax overuse. Rebound headache is no fun! So, I knew that overusing any acute med was a no-go for me.  

When I heard that Ubrelvy was introduced, I did some research and talked to my doctor about it. We decided to give it a try.

Here is my experience with Ubrelvy:

The first time I took Ubrelvy, I was nervous and hopeful at the same time. I prayed for it to be effective and to help me. Nothing happened for the first hour or so, and I started to feel that sad feeling of disappointment building in my chest. But I pushed it away and kept waiting. Then it felt as if someone just waved a wand and my pain started to subside, all nausea and sound/light/smell sensitivity was gone. I looked to see how long it took – 1 hour 45 minutes.

Since then, my experience with Ubrelvy has been very consistent:

• I take a 50mg pill and it usually works within 2 hours to take care of the pain and all the migraine symptoms.
• Convenient packets that are easy to open. If you have ever tried to open some hard-to-open meds while in migraine agony, you will appreciate how easy this one is to open!
• Unlike other medications, it doesn’t make me feel tired or lethargic.
• The second dose can be taken within 2 hours if the first one didn’t help. I only had to do it a couple of times though. In 1.5 years of taking Ubrelvy, one dose reliably helps me most of the time.
• I take it no more than 8 days a month.
• With 8 days of Relpax and 8 days of Ubrelvy use, I can get significant relief from migraine pain.
• It does cause a bit of an upset stomach for me. My doctor checks my blood counts once in a while just to make sure everything is ok. Tell to your doctor, if you have known liver or kidney problems, pregnant or breastfeeding, because Ubrelvy may not be for you in that case.
• My insurance covered Ubrelvy and I have very little co-pay. If your insurance doesn’t cover it, there are various programs available to reduce cost.

Summary

Overall, my experience with Ubrelvy has been very positive. I now use Ubrelvy as my first line of defense and take Relpax on other days. My next endeavor is to try Nurtec ODT because it is the same medication group as Ubrelvy (CGRP antagonist). However, it was approved by the FDA as a migraine preventative medication that can be taken every other day. That would potentially help me have 15 migraine-free days a month. More on that when I try it and see how it goes!