Onzetra Xsail

[bitter_betsy, BSN]

I am currently a pre-nursing student and I have severe migraines and a love hate relationship with my Neurologist. He LOVES to try to put me on medicines that I will HATE to take. He is always trying to put me on some sort of preventative off-label depression med from the 1950s. Anyway - he sent me home with some samples of Onzetra Xsail today. We are actually talking about the "Special Senses" in A&P right now and we learned that there is only 1 nerve that goes into the nose. Now you blow this powder up your nose (when I explained this to my boss - he immediately related it to doing cocaine - especially after reading the side effects). How does inhaling this powder work? Is it caught in the mucous of your nose and absorbed through the mucous membranes? When I asked my neuro - his answer was "it just sort of gets caught up in there" - and he knows I'm working on nursing school and that was his final answer.

The side effects seem so extreme I really don't want to take it, but I am interested in how it works. Can anyone explain this? I figure since I'm discussing it in A&P right now, it may actually make sense to me. I'm really curious how you can inhale a powder in your nose that makes your migraine go away.

[red2003xlt, LPN]

Onzetra is the powder form of Sumatriptan. Inhaling through the nasal is faster and more efficient than going the GI system.

The migraine specialist I work for has embraced the drug and the feedback from the patients is very encouraging. The only real negative is the cost (not covered but there are copays cards and patient assistance programs).

FYI a lot more medications are being reformulated for inhalation delivery Toradol comes immediately to mind.

FYI part too, inhaled medicines don't suffer from the first pass effect.