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Excedrin Migraine

Generic name: acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeineah-SEET-a-MIN-oh-fen, ASP-i-rin, and-KAF-een ]
Drug class: Analgesic combinations

Medically reviewed by Philip Thornton, DipPharm. Last updated on Oct 12, 2023.

What is Excedrin Migraine?

Excedrin Migraine contains a combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine. Acetaminophen is a pain reliever and a fever reducer. Aspirin is in a group of drugs called salicylates (sa-LIS-il-ates). It works by reducing substances in the body that cause pain, fever, and inflammation. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. It relaxes muscle contractions in blood vessels to improve blood flow.

Excedrin Migraine is used to treat pain caused by tension and migraine headaches.

Do not use aspirin for heart or blood vessel conditions unless your doctor tells you to.

Warnings

Do not give Excedrin Migraine to a child or teenager with a fever, flu symptoms, or chicken pox. Aspirin can cause Reye's syndrome, a serious and sometimes fatal condition in children.

Do not take more of Excedrin Migraine than is recommended. An overdose of acetaminophen can damage your liver or cause death. Call your doctor at once if you have nausea, pain in your upper stomach, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of your skin or eyes).

Aspirin may cause stomach or intestinal bleeding, which can be fatal. Call your doctor at once if you have symptoms such as bloody or tarry stools, or coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds.

In rare cases, acetaminophen may cause a severe skin reaction. Stop taking Excedrin Migraine and call your doctor right away if you have skin redness or a rash that spreads and causes blistering and peeling.

Before taking this medicine

Do not give Excedrin Migraine to a child or teenager with a fever, flu symptoms, or chicken pox. Aspirin can cause Reye's syndrome, a serious and sometimes fatal condition in children.

You should not use Excedrin Migraine if you are allergic to acetaminophen (Tylenol), aspirin, caffeine, or any NSAIDs (Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Orudis, Indocin, Lodine, Voltaren, Toradol, Mobic, Relafen, Feldene, and others).

Aspirin may cause stomach or intestinal bleeding, which can be fatal. These conditions can occur without warning while you are taking Excedrin Migraine.

Ask a doctor or pharmacist if it is safe for you to take Excedrin Migraine if you have other medical conditions, especially:

If you take Excedrin Migraine to treat headache pain, seek medical attention if you have:

Aspirin may be harmful to an unborn baby's heart, and may also reduce birth weight or have other dangerous effects. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while you are taking Excedrin Migraine.

Aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using Excedrin Migraine.

How should I take Excedrin Migraine?

Take Excedrin Migraine exactly as directed on the label, or as it has been prescribed by your doctor. Do not take more of Excedrin Migraine than is recommended. An overdose of acetaminophen can damage your liver or cause death.

Take Excedrin Migraine with food or milk if it makes your stomach upset.

Adult dosage: take 2 caplets with a glass of water. If symptoms persist or worsen, ask your doctor. Do not take more than 2 caplets in 24 hours, unless directed by a doctor. For patients under 18 years of age, ask your doctor.

Call your doctor if your symptoms do not improve after 7 days of treatment, or if you have a fever lasting longer than 3 days, or any swelling or pain lasting longer than 10 days.

Excedrin Migraine can cause unusual results with certain lab tests for glucose (sugar) in the urine. Tell any doctor who treats you that you are using Excedrin Migraine.

If you need surgery, tell the surgeon ahead of time that you are using Excedrin Migraine. You may need to stop using the medicine for a short time.

Store Excedrin Migraine at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose?

Since Excedrin Migraine is used when needed, you may not be on a dosing schedule. If you are on a schedule, use the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not use extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. An overdose of acetaminophen can damage your liver or cause death.

The first signs of an acetaminophen overdose include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, sweating, and confusion or weakness. Later symptoms may include pain in your upper stomach, dark urine, and yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes.

Overdose symptoms may also include ringing in your ears, headache, diarrhea, hallucinations, fast or slow heart rate, or seizure (convulsions).

What to avoid

Avoid drinking alcohol while you are taking Excedrin Migraine. Alcohol may increase your risk of stomach bleeding while taking aspirin, or liver damage while taking acetaminophen.

Ask a doctor or pharmacist before using any other cough, cold, allergy, pain, menstrual symptom, or fever medication. Acetaminophen (sometimes abbreviated as APAP) is contained in many combination medicines. Taking certain products together can cause you to get too much acetaminophen which can lead to a fatal overdose. Aspirin and caffeine are also contained in many combination medicines. Check the label to see if a medicine contains acetaminophen, APAP, aspirin, or caffeine.

Avoid taking another NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), celecoxib, diclofenac, indomethacin, meloxicam, and others.

Avoid coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks or other sources of caffeine while taking Excedrin Migraine. They can add to the side effects of the caffeine in the medication.

Excedrin Migraine side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction to Excedrin Migraine: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

In rare cases, acetaminophen may cause a severe skin reaction that can be fatal. This could occur even if you have taken acetaminophen in the past and had no reaction. Stop taking Excedrin Migraine and call your doctor right away if you have skin redness or a rash that spreads and causes blistering and peeling. If you have this type of reaction, you should never again take any medicine that contains acetaminophen.

Stop using Excedrin Migraine and call your doctor at once if you have:

Common Excedrin Migraine side effects may include:

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What other drugs will affect Excedrin Migraine?

Other drugs may interact with acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Tell each of your health care providers about all medicines you use now and any medicine you start or stop using.

Date modified: January 03, 2018
Last reviewed: November 19, 2013

Popular FAQ

The usual adult dose for Excedrin Migraine is 2 caplets with a glass of water. Do not take more than 2 caplets in 24 hours, unless directed by your doctor. Taking more than 2 caplets in 24 hours may cause an overdose of acetaminophen, one of the ingredients in Excedrin Migraine. Taking too much acetaminophen may damage your liver or cause death. In case of an overdose, get medical help right away or contact a poison control center. Continue reading

It is not safe to take Excedrin Migraine during the third trimester of pregnancy because this medication contains aspirin, which may cause harm to your unborn baby or increase your risk of complications during delivery. Continue reading

Excedrin Migraine can work as quickly as 30 minutes to relieve your migraine pain. In clinical studies, patients with moderate to severe migraines experienced pain relief with one dose and it lasted up to 6 hours. Continue reading

Each tablet of Excedrin Migraine contains 65 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, 250 mg of acetaminophen, and 250 mg of aspirin. The dose for adults is 2 caplets or geltabs with a glass of water. Do not take more than two tablets in any 24-hour period, unless directed by a doctor. Continue reading

Caffeine has been shown to increase the effects of pain relievers like aspirin and acetaminophen for migraine headaches, increasing the effectiveness of these medicines by up to 40%. Continue reading

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Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use Excedrin Migraine only for the indication prescribed.

Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.