Medication Center

Migraine medication guides

Understand acute versus preventive medication, triptans, gepants, when to dose, and medication-overuse risk.

Acute treatment is used during attacks; preventive treatment aims to reduce how often attacks happen or how disabling they are.

Triptans are migraine-specific acute medicines for some attacks, but they are not right for everyone and should be used with clinician guidance.

Gepants are CGRP-targeting migraine medicines used for acute treatment or prevention, depending on the specific drug and prescription.

Preventive migraine medication aims to reduce attack frequency, severity, duration, or disability when attacks are frequent or hard to control.

Acute migraine medication often works best early, but timing, repeat doses, nausea plans, and monthly limits should come from a clinician.

Frequent use of acute headache medicine can worsen headache patterns and should prompt a clinician-guided treatment review.

Rebound headache, also called medication-overuse headache, can make migraine patterns more frequent and harder to treat.

Acute versus preventive treatment, medication-overuse headache risk, and safer questions to ask a clinician.

Use the hub

What to do next

Record medication name, dose, timing, and response for every attack.

Use medication-day counts to support a safer conversation with your clinician.

Do not stop, start, or combine migraine medication based on a tracker alone.