Emgality: 18 Months Later

By Tom Picerno

2 min read

I’ve been suffering from migraine disease since my twenties and, over time they have progressively gotten worse. I have tried more medications than I can remember, and have failed so many therapy regimens that it is depressing to think about!

The cost of wellness

I persevered and worked with my neurologist, who is also a headache specialist, and found a good therapy regimen. I started the CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) drugs with a good degree of hope.

My experience with Ajovy

The first medication I tried was Ajovy. I found that by the third month it was working on the pain aspect of my attacks. For me, that was a huge help as I was suffering from painful migraines almost daily for about a year. The problem with Ajovy was that my insurance wouldn’t cover the drug after the third month. I was extremely frustrated, to say the least! I had finally found something that worked and now it was taken from me because I couldn’t afford the $800.00 price tag of the monthly injection.

The search for another option

The search was on again for another drug that I could take that would give me similar results. I again went to my neurologist for help finding a new therapy regimen and we found that Emgality, which is another CGRP drug, would be covered by my insurance.

The beginning of Emgality

I started that in October of 2019. I was very pleased to find that it worked very much like Ajovy in that it really helped the pain of my migraine attacks. I currently am suffering from intractable, chronic migraines. I am in a constant cycle of prodrome, aura, attack, and postdrome, but with Emgality, I get some respite during the attack part of the cycle. I guess you could say that I am now suffering from silent migraines. I still have all the symptoms and baggage associated with a typical migraine cycle which is still impacting my daily life.

Finding relief

Emgality has been a huge win for me. I will definitely take a pain-free migraine attack any day. The side effects I experience from Emgality are mild constipation. I am fortunate that I have tolerated the drug very well. I do still get breakthrough attacks where I do experience the pain of an attack. I have also begun using Nurtec ODT to help with breakthrough attacks. I have noticed that these attacks come during the ending of my Emgality cycle. I take Emgality once every 28 days so about day 20 or so it feels like the benefits wear off. Even though I do have breakthrough attacks they are milder as compared to before I was using the CGRP drugs.

A win-win with CGRPs

Overall I am happy with Emgality. My insurance continues to cover it so that is a plus! I don’t know what I will do if that changes. I know there are payment assistance programs to help pay for the medications. I still experience mild constipation, but that is taken care of easily with a fiber supplement. I plan on continuing to use Emgality until it is no longer effective. I would encourage anyone who is suffering from migraine disease to talk to their doctor about trying the CGRP drugs. Do your homework and make an informed decision using your doctor as an asset. I do feel the risk is worth the reward!

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sismo Member
I used Aimovig for 3 years. ($5 copay for most of that time. ) It helped, but was not life changing...except for the fact that it allowed me to get off of topamax without an increase in migraine days. This year, my headache specialist suggested we try a different CGRP inhibitor. While my average migraine attacks were down to about five, several times a year I would experience intractable migraine, requiring much more aggressive meds to break. Sometimes infusions. Last time I had steroids I i had some lingering side effects. She wanted to try something in the hopes we could reduce those occasions. Eeny meeny miny mo (really just a random choice) we decided to go with Emgality. It was an immediate game changer. Over three weeks with no migraine attacks! Yes! This is what life should be like. But the copay is about $450 with my insurance and a discount card. Uh. No. Not a realistic option. Tomorrow I start Ajovy. $5 copay with my insurance and the discount card. Yes. Let's hope this works like Emgality did. Weeks free from migraine attack. And let's hope chronic and intractable migraine are a thing of the past. I believe!
1. Nancy Harris Bonk Moderator
 <inline-mention username="sismo" user-id="3824492"/> Thanks for sharing! That cost is unrealistic for the majority of us - myself included! My fingers and toes are firmly crossed Ajovy does that job! Nancy Harris Bonk, Patient Leader/Moderator <a href='https://migraine.com' target='_blank'>Migraine.com</a> Team 
2. Tom Picerno Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="sismo" user-id="3824492"/> I understand just what you are experiencing. My situation was reversed in that I started with Ajovy and it was a game-changer. Then my insurance would not allow it to be filled and I was switched to Emgality which was very similar to Ajovy and I was able to get that covered using their copay assistance card with my insurance carrier 'overseeing' the filling of the script. I hope you have good results with Ajovy just as you had with Emgality. The use of these drugs really helped to reduce the pain aspect of my migraine attacks. Wishing you migraine-free days, Tom <a href='https://migraine.com' target='_blank'>migraine.com</a> team