Living With Migraine: How a Home Medicines Review Can Help You Find Safer, Smarter Treatment

benjaminjaenschbph
2 days ago
3 min read

If you live with migraine, you already know it’s more than “just a headache.” Migraine can disrupt work, family life, sleep, and mental health — and for many people, it’s a long-term condition that needs careful management.

In Australia, migraine affects around 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men, and the impact on quality of life is significant. Triggers can include poor sleep, stress, fatigue, hormonal changes, and physical exertion. Managing migraine often means juggling multiple medicines, avoiding triggers, and making lifestyle adjustments — and that’s where a Home Medicines Review (HMR) can make a real difference.

What Is a Home Medicines Review?

A Home Medicines Review is a free service (with a GP referral) where an accredited pharmacist meets with you — usually in your home — to review all your medicines. This includes:

Prescription medicines
Over-the-counter pain relief
Supplements and herbal products

The goal is to make sure your medicines are safe, effective, and appropriate for your individual situation.

For people with migraine, especially those on newer treatments or with changing life circumstances (like pregnancy or breastfeeding), this review can be invaluable.

Migraine Treatments Are Changing — and That’s a Good Thing

For many years, migraine treatment relied on medicines like triptans for acute attacks and drugs such as propranolol, amitriptyline, or anti-epileptics for prevention. These treatments still help many people, but they’re not suitable or effective for everyone.

More recently, a new group of medicines called CGRP monoclonal antibodies (sometimes called CGRP inhibitors or antagonists) has become available. These medicines are designed specifically to prevent migraine and work by blocking a substance in the body called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which plays a key role in migraine pain.

Many patients taking these medicines experience:

Fewer migraine days per month
Less severe attacks
Reduced reliance on painkillers

An HMR allows a pharmacist to:

Explain how these newer medicines work
Check how they fit with your other treatments
Make sure you’re using them correctly and safely

What If I’m Pregnant or Breastfeeding?

This is one of the most common — and most important — concerns raised during Home Medicines Reviews.

Medication information leaflets often sound alarming, especially when they say things like “not recommended in pregnancy or breastfeeding due to lack of data.” That can leave people feeling frightened or unsure what to do.

During an HMR, your pharmacist can:

Explain what is actually known about a medicine
Discuss how much (if any) of a medicine is likely to reach a baby
Weigh up the benefits to you versus any potential risks

For example, CGRP monoclonal antibodies are very large protein molecules. Because of their size:

Only tiny amounts are expected to pass into breast milk
Even smaller amounts are absorbed by a baby’s gut
Current safety data has not shown increased harm in reported cases

This doesn’t mean these medicines are right for everyone — but it does mean decisions can be made calmly, with evidence, rather than fear.

Reducing Medicine Overuse and Side Effects

Many people with frequent migraine end up relying heavily on pain relief medicines, sometimes without realizing that overuse can actually make headaches worse.

A Home Medicines Review can help:

Identify medication overuse headache
Reduce unnecessary or duplicate medicines
Suggest safer alternatives or non-drug strategies
Improve the effectiveness of preventive treatment

Some studies have shown that people on CGRP treatments are able to reduce or stop excessive painkiller use, which can be life-changing.

Your Medicines, Your Life, Your Choice

Living with migraine is complex — and no two people are the same. Add pregnancy, breastfeeding, work pressures, or multiple health conditions, and medication decisions can feel overwhelming.

A Home Medicines Review gives you: