When, How Much, and How Often

Medications have an important role in migraine management. It is important to understand the distinct role and limitations in migraine prevention, acute treatment, and rescue. Prevention should be started when migraine has an intolerable effect on functioning. Acute medication use should be focused on restoring function, but their use also needs to be limited because of the propensity to induce migraine progression. The frequent use of both acute and rescue medications indicate that prevention should have an increasingly prominent role. Successful migraine management will always include an acute treatment plan and a rescue plan, and frequently a preventive plan.