UKC

Hi,
I am a chronic headache sufferer and have come across feverfew which seems to help with my headaches. It takes the edge off them, so I thought great, I'll carry on taking this. However I then read an article saying that long term use had irreversible effects:

http://www.henriettes-herb.com/archives/best/1995/feverfew-3.html

It seems to have an irreversible effect on the ability to contract and relax muscles. This is worrying as my headaches are largely caused by muscle tension. Also I have heard that it can cause problems after discontinuing use.

In reply to outtathaway:

I'm wondering whether I should carry on taking it or not. It's the only thing that has helped my headaches, but I'm worried about the dangers attached to long term use. What do you think?

In reply to outtathaway:

I think you'd be better off asking a doctor not a climbing forum.

In reply to outtathaway:

First I'm not medicaly trained and I would NOT take my advice as true without proper medical consultation with a GP.

Now, smooth muscle is a very specific kind of muscle that causes the lumen (fluid carrying bit down the middle of a tube) in organs like blood vessels to change size. It's not the same type of muscle that can causes head aches.

If it where me I'd discontinue use as smooth muscle is very important in the body. I'd also bear in mind that natural products can be drugs and should be treated as such.

Again check with a qualified medic before taking action.

In reply to outtathaway:

You'll be fine, crack on, it won't do any harm because it's natural.

In reply to outtathaway:

I'd start by perusing some abstracts of papers about this (depending on what they allow you to glean). Google scholar turned up a few randomised trials:

https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=feverfew+risk&btnG=&hl=en&am...

In reply to outtathaway:

Hi

I woud go and see someone who practices homeopathy to get the low down.

All I can say is this really helped my mum with a long term bowl issue.

good luck Davey

In reply to outtathaway:
Thanks everyone, the problem is that in my experience medical professionals tend not to be too knowledgeable about alternative medicine. I would see my GP, who is excellent, but I don't know how much advice they could give.

I thought I would ask UKC as people on here often have quite a broad knowledge base.

It's quite tempting to carry on taking it despite the dangers as I can't find anything else that helps as much. Perhaps I'll ask an alternative health practitioner or ask my GP, and bring the worrying articles I have found.

Thanks for the link to google scholar.

In reply to outtathaway:

Medical professionals tend to be knowledgeable about medicine, everything else is just woo.

They might not be perfect but I would trust my GP over a homeopath, for the same reason I don't ask a plumber to fly my Airbus to Geneva.......

In reply to outtathaway:
What Nevis the cat said.

Edit: I'm not at all a medic, but after reading something like that I'd probably stop taking it right away.

In reply to Mountain Llama:


Eeew How long before it stopped issuing?

In reply to Mountain Llama:


After you've done that give me a call. I have some magic beans I can sell you.

In reply to Mountain Llama:

Yup, she probably did help her on some level (especially as lots of long term bowel issues tend to be related to stress/anxiety and seeing someone to chat about that might well help), but thinking it had anything to do with what's in the sugar pills she probably gave her is mistaken.

In reply to Nevis-the-cat:

Good analogy, but unlike the homeopath, the plumber is of some tangible use though.

In reply to outtathaway:
"...irreversable loss of tone of precontracted aortic rings...inhibited ability of acetylcholine to enduce endothelium dependent relaxation of tissue.

If you think how important a healthy circulatory system is , stopping really would be a no brainer for me.

It strikes me that fever few could be like cannabis and some other plants, in having both harmful and helpful properties in them for which synthetic versions of the helpful chemicals being developed could be the way forward, rather than people taking the plant which grows.

In reply to outtathaway:
If you are a chronic headache sufferer, have you been to see a doctor and asked to be referred to a physician? I'm talking here about a physician in the British sense not the American - somebody who understands the body's chemistry and has a wide enough overall knowledge to be able to recognise a problem or refer you on to somebody more appropriate.

In reply to outtathaway:

If you read down the link, it says that it was a special extract of feverfew that can cause problems?
This is typical IMO of what happens, then a herb is made out to be "dangerous". AS far as i am aware, it isnt.
Headache sufferer myself, since a bad sinus infection many years ago. Schweppes bitter lemon is pretty good, contains lemon and quinnine. Also you can get meadowsweet herb or tincture, thats worth a go, not to mention aspirin, which sort of originates from meadowsweet.
Good luck.

In reply to squarepeg:

Somebody once remarked 'There's medicine and alternative medicine and if alternative medicine works it becomes medicine'. Homeopathy is quackery and any positive results are probably down to the placebo effect - now that is something worth researching.

In reply to outtathaway:

And somebody once thought Jimmy Saville was a saint!
But the point is the feverfew thing is herbal, nothing to do with homeopathy.

In reply to outtathaway:

I wonder how many people commentating on this topic read through the comments on the link in the op?

In reply to BigBrother:
I did, Alistair Hay and his homeopathical website didn't excactly set out his medical and scientific credentials for the experiments he claimed to have done.

I place him in the same catergories as reki, crystal healers, aura wotnots and people who claim aliens put things up their bum.

In reply to Rigid Raider:
Sorry for the late reply. I haven't been to a physician. I have however been to see a neurologist who diagnosed me with chronic migraine. I have a constant headache that has been present for many years. To me it feels more like a chronic tension headache but apparently chronic migraine can be like a constant low level migraine. Thanks for the advice, I might ask my gp about seeing a physician.

In reply to outtathaway:

Thanks everyone, I think on balance that I will use feverfew occasionally. There are also problems relating to coming off the herb after long term use apparently so I will use it when most needed. I'd like to feel I could use it everyday as it is one of the only things that helps but it is probably best to err on the side of caution.

In reply to Nevis-the-cat:


Aye, but the average GP will know bugger all about the medicinal effects of certain herbal concoctions (not homeopathic sugar pills) because they are trained in the use and effects of the manufactured drugs derived from those plants etc. Dried and compressed Meadowsweet doesn't make it into BNF, but lots of salicylates etc are.

Herbal medicines are different to homeopathy in that they do contain active ingredients that do have a noticeable effect on the body, good or ill. However the concentration and levels of that ingredient within different herbal products varies greatly and the packaging is often inaccurate.

Tim Minchin should probably revise his quote to say

"You know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work? - Medicine... and lots of other things with proven medicinal efects but are a bit unreliable and should be treated with caution"

To the OP: I would be extremely cautious about continuing with feverfew. If the headaches are muscle-tension related then maybe meditation and regular stretching could help?

In reply to outtathaway:

Why not stop taking the feverfew for now, apart from possibly the occasional time when you are having a really bad event, and at that point you may gain from the herb itself,but also from the psychological good feeling about taking it.
Then wait for further scientific evaluation of the situation-which will take a good while.
It may be that the good components of the herb will be extracted leaving behind the parts which cause the irreversible dysfunction of the smooth muscles.
To continue regularly would be rash just now.