Table 4.
Dosage, side-effects and contraindications for prophylactic treatment
| Active component | Dosage (per day) | Side-effects | Contraindications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Propranolol |
40-240 mg |
Frequent: asthenia, poor tolerance to effort |
Asthma, heart failure, atrio-ventricular block, bradycardia |
| Metoprolol |
100-200 mg |
||
| Timolol (without MA) |
10-20 mg |
||
| Atenolol (without MA) |
100 mg |
Rare: insomnia, nightmares, impotence, depression |
NB: possibility of aggravation of migraines with aura |
| Nadolol (without MA) |
80-240 mg |
||
| Nebivolol (without MA) |
5 mg |
||
| Oxetorone |
60-180 mg (1–3 tablets) as one dose in the evening |
Frequent: somnolence |
|
| Rare: diarrhoea necessitating discontinuation of treatment | |||
| Amitriptyline |
10-50 mg in the evening |
Dry mouth, somnolence |
Glaucoma, prostatic adenoma |
| Weight gain | |||
| Pizotifen |
3 tablets per day at progressive doses |
Sedation |
Glaucoma, uredo-prostatic problems |
| Weight gain | |||
| Rare: digestive problems, dizziness, muscular pain, asthenia | |||
| Topiramate |
50-100 mg |
Paresthesia |
Hypersensitivity to topiramate |
| Weight loss |
Pregnancy |
||
| Cognitive effects (word-finding difficulties) |
|
||
| Rare: renal calculi, acute myopia associated with secondary angle closure glaucoma | |||
| Sodium valproate (without MA) |
500-1000 mg |
Nausea, weight gain, somnolence, trembling, alopecia, liver attack |
Liver diseases |
| Pregnancy | |||
| Methysergide |
2-6 mg (1–3 tablets) Necessary to stop treatment for 1 month every 6 months |
Frequent: nausea, dizziness, insomnia |
Hypertension, heart failure, arteriopathologies, gastric ulcer, liver and kidney failure, association with triptans |
| Rare: retroperitoneal fibrosis | |||
| Flunarizine |
10 mg (1 tablet in the evening). Not for more than 6 consecutive months |
Frequent: somnolence, weight gain |
Depressive syndrome, extra-pyramidal syndrome |
| Rare: depression, extrapyramidal syndrome | |||
| Gabapentin (without MA) |
1200-2400 mg |
Nausea, vomiting, convulsions, somnolence, ataxia, dizziness |
Hypersensitivity to gabapentin |
| Dihydroergotamine |
10 mg |
Nausea |
Association with triptans |
| Indoramin |
50 mg |
Somnolence, nasal congestion, dry mouth, ejaculation problems |
Hypersensitivity to one of the components of the drug product, Parkinson’s disease, severe heart, liver and kidney failure |
| Candesartan (without MA) |
8-16 mg |
Arterial hypotension, dizziness |
Hypersensitivity, severe liver and kidney failure |
| 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy | |||
| Venlafaxin (without MA) | 75-150 mg | Nausea, dizziness, hypersudation, somnolence, nervousness, dry mouth | Hypersensitivity to venlafaxine, association with non-selective MAOI, congenital galactosaemia, breast feeding |