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Annabelle20	Jun-25-03, 07:02 PM (CMT)
"Papaverine"
Is this preventative new to you? It was to me. I want to share from Dr. Moore's notes about Papaverine. "This medication is used to increase blood flow in certain parts of the body. Poser (1974) treated 20 migrainous patients, all of whom regularly experienced focal neurologic symptoms preceding the development of headache, with Papaverine, 300 mg daily, and reported that 18 of them became completely headache-free. The rationale for this therapeutic program was that the intracerebral vasoconstrictive phase of a migrainous attack may be an obligatory part of the mechanism, and its prevention with a vasodilator drug, therefore, may block the appearance of attacks. Although disputed in the past, it is clear that oral Papaverine can result in a modest increase (10%) in CBF (cerebral blood flow) which is probably due to a reduction in cerebrovascular resistance since systemic blood pressure is uninfluenced by the drug. Poser's (1974) hypothesis is further supported by the observation that the higher the cerebrovascular resistance before administration of Papaverine, the greater is the increase in CBF produced by the drug (Wang and Obrist, 1976). Subsequently, a controlled, double-blind study of Papaverine was carried out among 37 children with migraine (Sillanpaa and Kopone, 1978), and a substantial therapeutic effect of the drug was documented in children with, as well as without, focal neurologic symptoms accompanying their attacks. Vijayan (1977) treated seven patients with complicated migraine with Papaverine, and observed that four became headache-free and the remaining three were markedly improved. A daily dose of Papaverine (5-10 mg per kg body weight) was administered on a double-blind basis for two months to 42 successive child patients suffering from migraine or other vascular headache attacks not less than twice a month. Thirty-seven patients received the drug for the whole period of two months and 31 of these could be followed for a period of one to 10 months (mean 4.5 months) after the cessation of the treament. Nineteen received Papaverine and 18 placebo. Six of the 19 Papaverine patients and none of the 18 placebo patients were completely free from attacks duing the treatment. Altogether 11 patients in the Papaverine group and 5 in the placebo group experienced a 75-100% reduction in attack frequency which was accompanied by lower intensity and shorter duration of attacks. The results were best in cases with classical migraine. An "excellent" or "good" drug effect was experienced by 58% of Papaverine patients and 17% of placebo patients." I just want to point out that Anna is 20 years old. Our pharmacist looked it up in her med book. Her comment to me was, "Because triptans do not work for Anna, Dr. Moore seems to be going the other direction with this." I just thought Papaverine sounds like a good preventative, and I wanted to share it with you. Cheryl
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RE: Papaverine, thetsarisa, Jun-25-03, (1) RE: Papaverine, antonella, Jun-26-03, (2) RE: Papaverine, Annabelle20, Jun-26-03, (3) RE: Papaverine, thetsarisa, Jun-26-03, (4) RE: Papaverine, ejvill, Jun-26-03, (5) RE: Papaverine, Annabelle20, Jun-26-03, (6) RE: Papaverine, antonella, Jun-27-03, (7) RE: Papaverine, Annabelle20, Jun-29-03, (8)

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thetsarisa	Jun-25-03, 10:02 PM (CMT)
1. "RE: Papaverine"
LAST EDITED ON Jun-25-03 AT 10:06 PM (CMT) What exactly is this papaverine- is it form of morphine? Cos papaverine is other name for opium poppy. Risa ps- oops- correction- papaver is the correct name. R.
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antonella	Jun-26-03, 01:28 AM (CMT)
2. "RE: Papaverine"
Helle Cheryl, papaverine belongs to the same family of morphine and methadone. It works on the brain and stimulates the production of endorphines, natural anti-pain hormones. Plus, as you said, it seems that papaverine helps the vein dilatation in some parts of the body. Recently, it has been used for men's sexual problems as it seems that "local" shots of this substance help difficult "performance". Like all opiates (sp?), the main danger with papaverine is dependancy, but I think that if a good doctor handles schedules and dosage, no major problems should arise. Side-effects are quite annoying, especially for a young girl. Opiates cannot help to give "druggie-like" symptoms. Anyway, a correct dose will reduce these effects to a very tollerable threshold. I wish that the new cure will help Anna to have a painfree youth! She deserves it so much! Ciao
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	Annabelle20	Jun-26-03, 09:32 AM (CMT)
	3. "RE: Papaverine"
	Dear Risa and Antonella: I'm going to be honest--I was a little shaky after reading your posts. I didn't know much about this med because I can't find it in my med book. And it's given to children. So...observation and caution are going to be increased on my part. Anna took her first dose last night. She is headache-free right now. She hasn't been headache-free in three weeks without the use of a narcotic. Well, I'm glad she feels good at this moment. It may not last the next ten minutes. We all know that. But I will admit to one tiny ray of hope, just for now. It's a new preventative, and with any new preventative you just have to be optimistic. Just some relief, just some relief. Cheryl
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	thetsarisa	Jun-26-03, 10:08 AM (CMT)
	4. "RE: Papaverine"
	OH SORRY SORRY CHERYL!!! I didn't mean to come that way --- it's not something horrible, that Papaverine-- it's just I've never heard of that but being a novice gardener I know opium poppy botanical name is papaver somniferum, plant that I think is used for medicinal purposes and it's not at all recent discovery, oh no in fact codeine is derived from opium I think. It's not that bad as I made it sound. So sorry. I just posted impulsively, I should have sit on it a bit.. The most important thing is that you found great doctor and he seem to be going in the right direction - he did stop Anna's M, didn't he?? I am sure he knows what he's doing and I am SURE all the other painkillers Anna took are either the same or even stronger than papaverine.. Morhpine is from opium, and I think Verapamil is papaverine derivative. (from quick look on Googles) So, please relax, nothing to worry about. Sorry again, Risa A
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	ejvill	Jun-26-03, 10:27 AM (CMT)
	5. "RE: Papaverine"
	Hi Cheryl, I did see one of these dr's you have mentioned here in the mid 90's at a headache clinic at UCD. I was on many preventatives incl dailey triptans and would just about take anything to get some relief. It seems like they had good success in the 70's why they stopped using it would be the mystery. I do know that I had pretty good success with a drug that was made in 1962 (sansert) only when combined with Topamax (3-5 severe a week). Now they dont make it and I am in dire straights. I will start an MAOI 7-2 and re-ajust my diet to prepare. I wish Anna nothing but good things on this medication and thanks for allowing me to be able to research this and add one more to my arsenal, in case the MAOI's fail(I have been on Ms-Contin and Methadone before but what I am reading this targets the vessels). EJ
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	Annabelle20	Jun-26-03, 04:28 PM (CMT)
	6. "RE: Papaverine"
	Oh Risa, don't worry. I did get startled thinking of opium plus Demerol plus Nubain--this is getting serious! But then later I thought that the Papaverine is not a controlled substance so it can't be that strong! What has today been like? She experiencing lots of sweating. It is a side effect. I'm sure that will ease in time. She was headache-free until noon. But those good hours were a treat. Driving is out for a while. That's what I meant about extra caution. And she should be careful about getting up and down and walking around. She looks shaky. But she is smiling. We'll continue on and hope for better days. Cheryl
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	antonella	Jun-27-03, 09:30 AM (CMT)
	7. "RE: Papaverine"
	Hello Cheryl, sorry if I may somehow scared you, it was not at all my intention... As I said in my previous post, anyway, I think that any substance, if well dosed, is not dangerous. It can give side effects and it might require more attentions, but not cause damages. It seems that Dr. Moore is very careful with dosage, this is reassuring. Ciao!
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	Annabelle20	Jun-29-03, 04:15 PM (CMT)
	8. "RE: Papaverine"
	Dear EJ: Yesterday I was asking my husband about what you wrote in your post. If the trials of Papaverine were good decades ago, why isn't it in common use today? He said when drug patents run out, the drug companies don't make as much money on them. So they are in the business of promoting the drugs that still have patents running. If Papaverine isn't being heavily promoted, the prescribing of it gets less and less. Does that make sense? There is probably some truth in this from someone who understands how drug companies make their profit. My impression of Papaverine is that it is helping. Anna is working through some difficult side effects: flushing, hot flashes, "flu-like" symptoms. But her head pain is somewhat better. Tomorrow the wisdom teeth come out, and everything will get murky. Sorry you are going through such a rough time. I think it is a preventative worth considering. It is becoming more tolerable day by day. She keeps saying her head pain is less than before she started it. But there's a long way to go. Cheryl
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