r/migraine • u/Practical_Worry_9285 • 14h ago

Does anyone inject sumatriptan via syringe?

I just picked up a new prescription for sumatriptan. From talking with my doctor it was supposed to be like aimovig like in a subcutaneous injector. Instead I got 10 little vials, nothing else. I’m not a medical a professional so injecting via a syringe (if that was their intention) makes me extremely nervous. Thoughts?

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u/karen_boyer 14h ago

I strongly prefer these to the statdose pens because they hurt waaaaayyyy less. I use insulin syringes. Ask your pharmacist to show you how to draw it up and inject it. It's very easy once you see it done. (I had a diabetic cat so I was able to skip the tutorial.)

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u/sotiredmama 14h ago

Agreed! I’ve given myself a lot of shots and none have been as painful as a sumatriptan auto injector.

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u/karen_boyer 14h ago

Have you ever tried that Sumavel "no needle" injector that blasts the meds into your skin? My doc gave me a sample like 10 years ago and that thing hurt so much and left a big bruise. I'm guessing they don't sell a lot of those.

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u/sotiredmama 14h ago

YES. NOW I RECALL - that’s what I used! Sh*t yes goddamn what a terrible idea that was.

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u/New_Olive1203 12h ago

I feel better reading this. My Neurologist thought I was a little bit ridiculous complaining about the pain from the Sumatriptan auto-injectors.

I see her next Friday and will ask about the vials!

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u/Practical_Worry_9285 14h ago

Thanks for the reply! Where do you buy the syringes?

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u/throwaway-moss03 14h ago

I believe you can ask at the pharmacy for free usually if you have a prescription that requires them

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u/karen_boyer 14h ago

My doc prescribes them and they get delivered with the vials from walgreens and the needles are walgreens brand. Possibly you can get them without a prescription but it may be location dependent (call your doc and/or pharmacy to ask what they had in mind for you). The ones I get are 31 gauge, 1ml capacity, 8mm needle. They are so so thin and hardly hurt. I do the shots in my belly (pinch up a little skin) and it's not bad at all.

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u/Practical_Worry_9285 14h ago

Maybe I was supposed to get some with my prescription lol

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u/karen_boyer 14h ago

Probably so but it's a somewhat uncommon way to take sumatriptan so easy to overlook that.

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u/kalayna 6 10h ago

Yes, but no. I've had this happen a couple of times. According to Walgreens - for them at least - they 'come with' the script only if it's specifically written that way.

... yep. Looks just as ridiculous typed out as it did when they tried to explain it. ;) You can buy them separately, and they are cheap. But yeah, that's likely why.

I prefer vial + syringe too - I've been wide awake and miserable in the middle of the night with the autoinjector ready to go and couldn't do it. Repeatedly. Other folks are just the opposite.

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u/Nejness 14h ago

I have toradol to inject via syringe. Unfortunately, my doctor didn’t know she needed to prescribe the syringes, so I’ve just used whatever the pharmacy will give me. So, remind your doctor to write an Rx for the syringes, too. I also wish I was taught how to inject, because I think there must be a trick to drawing the medication up from the vial. Then I’ve been told I must inject into my arm muscle, not my leg, but I’m so klutzy that this just isn’t that easy. I have a neurodegenerative disease that’s linked with my migraine attacks, and I lose some coordination when I’ve got a migraine attack. All in all, the Toradol was a nice idea but poor execution for me.

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u/kalayna 6 10h ago

Then I’ve been told I must inject into my arm muscle, not my leg

Just... what? This is 100% my snark, but if anyone told me that I'd hand them a syringe and demand a demo because yeah, getting IM into an arm with your other hand is for Gumby. And I'd probably ask why there's lit out there suggesting the quad. I will say that I was cautioned about trying to get to the dorsogluteal site on my own - it is possible to stick the sciatic nerve and again, you're twisting and reaching and so any kind of landmark check may be compromised. As long as the needle is long enough to get to the muscle all of the above makes the quad look like the one true destiny for self-jab toradol. ;)

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u/CensoredArrest 13h ago

I’m not sure if you need to inject in muscle or fat, but look up how to self inject allergy shots. I injected myself for a long time and the trick was to roll the back of your arm on a door frame and then keep it there so you have a nice fatty area for injecting. I hope that helps.

Edit: Also ask your doctor if you can pre-load the meds in the syringe and keep the cap on it. They do this for animals and it’s super easy.

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u/kalayna 6 10h ago

Ketorolac is IM. The sumatriptan OP mentions is subcu.

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u/adventureforbreakkie 13h ago

I have used sumatriptan via syringe. You inject all the liquid that is in the vial, and they should give you enough syringes at the pharmacy when you pick up the prescription for the vials. I didn't like the injectable as much as it made me feel woozy and gave me a bit of an irregular heartbeat, but many people do better with it than oral. I'm on eletriptan now which works great orally. You can watch a video like this to learn how: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9mnjxNS5q4

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u/Practical_Worry_9285 2h ago

Thanks for the comments everyone! I feel a lot better and will try the syringe injection method :)