caret icon Back to all discussions

Emgality

Has anyone had odd side effects. I had eye pain, redness and swelling in one eye. Had to stop . Other than that, I had no migraines while on injections. Now migraines are back

  1. Oh dear, , I'm sorry to hear that you had such an odd and concerning side effect! Hopefully some of our community members who have experience with Emgality can chime in and share if they've had any similar experiences.

    I did do some searching but wasn't able to find anything specific on our site from others about Emgality and eye pain / swelling. We do have several people who have mentioned being on Emgality (this article she gives her one year review on the medication, https://migraine.com/living-migraine/one-year-emgality-review; and this story the author wrote about their experience with emgality, https://migraine.com/stories/emgality, and you might also be interested in some of the comments below the story as well).

    Were you able to speak with your doctor about the symptoms you experienced before stopping Emgality? I'd be curious to know if they've had other patients who have experienced something similar. And, do they have an idea for treatment possibilities moving forward?

    Wishing you a gentle day! -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)

    1. Hi Christine,
      Leave it to me to have an odd side effect. I did talk with my neurologist about it (my experience was the first odd reaction, she had heard about) and we opted for me to stop the injections and go back to my prior option of excedrin migraine, plus beta blockers, plus magnesium with ubrelvy in the really severe attacks. I just don't like taking so much excedrin. My migraines seem to correlate with change in barometric pressure, so when a severe storm develops, I literally feel it.

      I reported my symptoms to the manufacturer of Emgality, just in case as well. It's was a good start as I literally had no migraines, just the odd eye issue a few days after the injection.

      1. It's a shame that you found something that made a difference, only to deal with a random side effect. Have you considered trying any of the other drugs in the same "family" as Emgality -- Aimovig or Ajovy? There's also Vyepti, but that's given by IV infusion so perhaps not a first choice. They all work a bit differently, but if you had decent success with one of them, maybe another would bring you relief without side effects. Regardless of what you decide. we are here to support you and hope you find the right tools for you! -Melissa, team member

      2. oh no! What a bummer about the side effect, especially if it was helping you get some relief. Good for you for reaching out to your doctor about it and reporting to the manufacturer. That can be helpful feedback for them, especially if others end up experiencing it as well. I would be curious what your doctor's thoughts are trying another drug in the same "family" as Melissa mentioned, especially if you're not comfortable with how much excedrin you're taking with your current treatment. That being said, I know it's not always an easy thing to jump from medication to medication.

        Also, as you mention the barometric changes as a trigger for you, I thought you might appreciate this article one of our members wrote about moving and experience barometric migraine, https://migraine.com/living-migraine/weather-trigger. She mentions being able to tell her friends when the temperature is changing because of her migraine trigger, which reminded me of your comment, "when a severe storm develops, I literally feel it."

        I really hope you can find a treatment that you feel comfortable with and that doesn't give you odd side effects! Sending you gentle hugs. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)

    Please read our rules before posting.