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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> varapmil?
        
(Message started by: pokemom on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 12:04am)

Title: varapmil?
Post by pokemom on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 12:04am

I take varapamil 100 mg time released at night and it does seem to be helping. Does any one know what it does to stop ch's. And one more silly question. What do you use for constipation? ( dont think i spelled right). Varapamil seems to cause that. If you have time please give me some information and advice. Other than going back to school and learn how to spell.LOL... ::) [smiley=laugh.gif] :-*
Love, Poke`[i][/i]

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by Racer1_NC on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 12:49am

Verapamil doesn't SEEM to stop you up.....it DOES!!! Myself, I take lots of fiber and a colon cleaning formula from the health food store.

Bill

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by JDH on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 1:15am

I don't know what it does to stop ch's because it didn't stop mine. It did constipate me pretty bad while I was on it and I used Metamucil to clean out with but any kind of fiber should help...btw, McDonalds always works pretty good for me ;;D

Jim

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by PittsburghJoe on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 2:33am

I'm on verapamil too, and I take daily fiber supplements and a stool softener... and I don't even wanna go into the problems I'm having back there! I think it's gonna be time for a Colon Blow soon!

http://www.steelgirl.com/colon.htm

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by wsnyder on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 3:23am

Take magnesium. It is available over the counter. It is inexpensive. It helps fight the attacks for many of us. It is a "natural" laxative.

I found that when I hit 1000mg a day things "loosened" up nicely.

Bill

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by pubgirl on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 3:37am

Poke

Verapimil is a calcium channel blocker, developed, I believe, as a treatment for high blood pressure and angina.

It's actions are cardiovascular, but it also affects other vascular areas, hence the use as a preventive for CH:

The official terms for its actions are:

Peripheral vasodilatation and also in some cases:

Negative chronotropy (decreased heart rate)
Negative inotropy (decreased cardiac contractility)
Negative dromotropy (decreased cardiac conduction)

It has to be very carefully prescribed as there are many conditions which prevent an individual being able to use it e.g. low blood pressure, heart disease.

If it isn't working for you, this is often because the dosage is too low. 100mg a day is below the recommended dosage, and certainly Goadsby doesn't recommend the slow release either.
There is a recommended process of increasing until results are achieved, but you need an ECG at each increase to check how your heart is reacting to it.

Hope that helps

Wendy

P.S. Did you all know you shouldn't eat/drink Grapefruit if you are taking Verapimil. Just found that out today!

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by 5-string on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 7:40am

on 04/23/04 at 03:23:40, wsnyder wrote:

Take magnesium. It is available over the counter.

That stuff works for me too.

Ask your doc. but 100mg is not enough to do anything for me. I was on 480mg to pull me out of my last cycle,than 240mg to keep me out.

It does mess with your blood pressure and mine is has always been low anyway (90/50) before verapamil. I suggest you buy a blood pressure monitor. I got mine at a local drug store. I think I paid $35.00. It's good to have sitting around.

Take it easy,
...Mark..

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by 5-string on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 7:48am

on 04/23/04 at 03:37:18, pubgirl wrote:

P.S. Did you all know you shouldn't eat/drink Grapefruit if you are taking Verapimil. Just found that out today!

I love grapefruit! That part SUCKS! It's my favorite fruit.
I had to replace eating grapefruit with pork rhinds,which also helps with the other thing. 8)
...Mark..

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by floridian on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 9:52am

Quote:

P.S. Did you all know you shouldn't eat/drink Grapefruit if you are taking Verapimil. Just found that out today!

Citrus soda can have the same effect, according to some recent studies. Citrus (especially grapefruit) slows the breakdown of many medicines, and increases blood levels.

In theory, some one could develop a grapefruit extract + prescription med combo that would contain only half to a third of the normal dose but be just as safe and effective. But there isn't much financial incentive to research that one. (and companies are in the business of making money, not helping their customers save money"). The risk with a grapefruit do-it-yourself is that if you slack up on the grapefruit, blood levels of Verapamil would drop and become ineffective; if you increase the grapefruit, V levels could rise too high and cause serious problems.

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by eyes_afire on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 6:15pm

Constipation? Magnesium and good ole Prune Juice.

My guess is that verapamil helps to dampen the nerve impulses contributing to CH (by blocking calcium channels). It's effect is probably on the sympathetic nervous system.

--- Steve

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by Redd715 on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 9:24pm

I'm slowly being taken off verapamil. Second day back to 200 MG daily pm slow release...from 300MG and I'm getting big time shadows this evening...if not even a mild attack... it's all there...the runny nostril, the watery eye and heavy pressure right in the socket...but nothing I can't deal with... guess I'll have to tell Pam I need to go back to the 300 MG... But I've never had a problem with constipation. Guess I need the combo of Verapamil AND topomax. Yuch..but as they say..whatever works....

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by chbob on Apr 23^rd, 2004, 10:24pm

Redd

I was not HA free at 360mg but I raised it to 540 along with magnesium it is working. Some people report going to 900-1000mg.

Bob

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by pubgirl on Apr 24^th, 2004, 1:48am

eyes_afire

Verapimil/CH prevention
As far as I'm aware, it is as I posted above. Verapimil causes vasoldilation and effects on the vascular system/heart not the nerves. That's why people with heart disease can't use it.

I'm sure Floridian can explain why it causes constipation as well . Nice simple words please Floridian ;;D

Wendy

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by eyes_afire on Apr 24^th, 2004, 11:56am

Wendy,

You may be correct, but I guess what I'm getting at is... how it causes what you just explained. I was too lazy to give details but here goes: I believe all blood vessels, etc are actually controlled through the sympathetic nervous system. For those taking verapamil for blood pressure, by blocking the calcium channels the nerve impulses controlling the blood vessels are dampened... therefore a relaxing of the blood vessels. I'm not convinced that vasodilation CAUSES the pain clusterheads experience (it could be just an effect). I think verapamil has a systemic effect on the sympathetic nervous system. That's why there is constipation as a common side effect. The human peristaltic process is also controlled by the nervous system. If those impulses are dampened, there is a decrease in peristalsis (bowel movements slow down). Electrical signals sent throughout the body effect many biological systems that one would not at first realize. To fire the nerve impulses, ions are required (i.e. calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other electrolytes). The event of a clusterheadache certainly involves nerves. By blocking the calcium channels, hopefully those nerve impulses (that also control blood vessels... although clusterheads usually don't care much about that) are dampened.

Too bad Ueli wasn't around... he could explain it way better than me.

--- Steve

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by pubgirl on Apr 24^th, 2004, 12:13pm

Steve

Thanks for the thoughts, I get very confused on this subject.
Here's another confusion:

I know we don't know if the vasodilation is cause or effect, but I can never quite grasp how
Triptans (vasoconstriction)
02 (vasodilation)
Verapimil (vasoconstriction again)
can all be effective for the same condition.
It seems very contradictory to me.

I'll go away and bang my head now ;;D

Wendy

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by forgetfulnot on Apr 24^th, 2004, 12:59pm

Everything most people should need to know about verapamil.........
http://lysine.pharm.utah.edu/netpharm/netpharm_00/druglist/verapamil.htm

O₂ is in fact a vasoconstrictor, the brain closely regulates the amount of O₂ it requires. As the concentration of O₂ in the blood rises the brain reduces the blood flow via vessel constriction, net result is the O₂ levels in the brain remain constant. This would explain the problem many have with the headache returning shortly after stopping O₂ therapy as the vessels dilate to accommodate the lower O₂ concentration.

Lee

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by pokemom on Apr 24^th, 2004, 1:03pm

Thanks for all the info. My husband took varapamil years ago for his migrains. He said the varapamil also strenghtens your vessels so they don't dilate so much. or so quickly and cause HA"S. So I guess the varapamil does benifit you to some extent. Hmmmm! I bet a pharmacist could tell us alot about this drug. They are really smart about how drugs affect us. [smiley=huh.gif]
Thanks so much! and happy head banging day!

Love,
Poke` :)

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by Superpain on Apr 26^th, 2004, 7:01pm

Eat a bowl of Total raisin bran every night before bed. ;)

Title: Re: verapamil?
Post by LadyLuv on May 6^th, 2004, 12:09pm

Just a short note to Wendy, I'm not clear rather or not you're taking Verapamil? But you state you just learned that you can't have grapefruit when taking the Verapamil. If you are on the medication, haven't your pharmacist been putting that label on the bottle? If not, I would be changing pharmacy.

Peace & Blessings
Lady Luv

Title: Re: varapmil?
Post by randyg2 on May 6^th, 2004, 3:11pm

This is so strange as I have been having CH episodes since I was 28 and taking timed release Varaprimil from about 30 - 45 years of age for unrelated heart arythmia.

Never made a dent when the beast came to visit.

Ah yes the constipation.

Take it from an old pro....get on a thing called FIBER CON and drink plenty of water. If you start with laxatives and stool softeners you are dead. Metamucil is expensive and yukkie. Fibercon is easy to take and the generics are cheap. If you .....pardon us folks but gotta be frank....just gotta go.....glycerine suppository only.............no laxative type ones.....15 minutes you are right as rain.

PF wishes