I’ll second this statement. Migraines for me (and my mom as well) used to be crushing, and would take me out for potentially days at a time. Sumatriptan was a miracle drug for me, and now if I take it in time, I don’t suffer. If I catch it late, it will reduce the duration of the migraine to just a few hours (which feels like a miracle in the moment).

I had tried previous to sumatriptan many other remedies, and nothing compared. I’ve heard from my doctor many respond well to magnesium supplements as a way to head off the migraines altogether but I can’t say it worked for me (but I gave it a shot none the less).

All that being said, I’m generally averse now to opiates after seeing their long term effects on my father who was also an alcoholic. They did allow him to push through pain, which resulted in ever increasing damage to his joints (and ultimately internal organs as well). By the end, he couldn’t walk, was self medicating heavily with alcohol, and couldn’t keep himself in a physical rehab facility because his urge for alcohol and opiates couldn’t get satiated in that environment.

He died at 61.

So, I applaud the author and those who seek to responsibly limit access to medications which are highly addictive and potentially unnecessary for treatment. Pain management is very important, but it does need to be weighed against the potentially catastrophic dependency issues it can cause.