Key Points

• In adults: if your migraine headache returns after your first Maxalt (rizatriptan benzoate) or Maxalt-MLT dose, you can take a second dose at least 2 hours after the first dose.
• The maximum dose of Maxalt or Maxalt-MLT an adult should take in any 24-hour period is 30 milligrams (mg). For example, do not take more than three 10-mg Maxalt tablets in any 24-hour period.
• In children 6 to 17 years of age: it is not known if taking more than one dose of Maxalt in 24 hours is safe and effective.
• Talk to your doctor about what to do if your headache does not go away after taking Maxalt or if it comes back.

For adults who also take propranolol, only the 5 mg dose of Maxalt (rizatriptan) is recommended, up to a maximum of 3 doses in any 24 hour period (15 mg total per 24 hour period).

For children weighing 40 kg (88 lb) or more, and also taking propranolol, only a single 5 mg dose of Maxalt (rizatriptan) is recommended; do not exceed a 5 mg dose in any 24-hour period. Maxalt should NOT be prescribed to children who weigh less than 40 kg (88 lb) who are receiving propranolol.

How does rizatriptan (Maxalt) work?

Rizatriptan works by narrowing the blood vessels around your brain to help treat a migraine headache. Rizatriptan also reduces substances in the body that can trigger a migraine attack, nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and other migraine symptoms. It will not prevent a migraine or reduce the number of headaches that occur, and it is not used to treat cluster headaches.

Maxalt (rizatriptan) is a prescription medicine in a class of antimigraine drugs known as “triptans”. Maxalt comes as a traditional oral tablet that you swallow and as an oral disintegrating tablet that dissolves on your tongue and is then swallowed with your saliva. No liquid is needed to take the orally disintegrating tablet.

What is the normal Maxalt dose?

In adults, the recommended Maxalt (rizatriptan) dose is a 5 mg or 10 mg single dose.

In children 6 to 17 years of age weighing less than 40 kg (88 lb), the normal recommended dose is a 5 mg single dose. In children 6 to 17 years of age weighing 40 kg (88 lb) or more, the normal dose is a 10 mg single dose. Your healthcare provider will tell you the exact dose of Maxalt to take and how often to take it. Take Maxalt exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider.

Do not take Maxalt if you have taken ergot-containing medicines or another triptan medicine in the last 24 hours.

Maxalt oral tablet and Maxalt-MLT orally disintegrating tablet are both available in a 10 mg strength. The 5 mg oral Maxalt tablet and the 5 mg orally disintegrating Maxalt tablet have been discontinued from the U.S. market. Generic options for rizatriptan benzoate 5 mg tablets and orally disintegrating tablets are available. Maxalt is manufactured by Merck.

This is not all the information you need to know about Maxalt (rizatriptan) for safe and effective use and does not take the place of talking to your doctor about your treatment. Review the full Maxalt information here, and discuss this information and any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider.