"Quarelin" painkiller in the USA?

May 16, 2007 7:21 AM

Is there something like the Hungarian "Quarelin" painkiller available in the USA?

Quarelin is this incredibly effective headache-killer that my Hungarian girlfriend introduced me to. It wipes out headaches really quickly and very reliably. Usually, my girlfriend has Hungarian visitors bring her a bunch of boxes of the stuff but no one has visited in almost a year. We use them very sparingly for bad headaches and we're almost out.

Does anyone know if something like Quarelin is available (for cheap) in the USA? Maybe through a prescription?

I can't really find any names or any info on my own. According to a Romanian and a Hungarian source, the tablets are composed of:

[Romanian]
400 mg metamizol sodic, 60 mg cafeina, 40 mg drotaverina hidroclorica

[Hungarian]
400 mg metamizol-nátrium, 60,0 mg koffein, 40,0 mg drotaverin-hidroklorid

posted by redteam to health (5 comments total)

According to wikipedia Metamizole was banned in the US in 1977, so I guess you're out of luck on that one.
posted by sebas at 7:28 AM on May 16, 2007

Wow, how did I miss that piece of info? I guess I focused on the drotaverin/drotaverine.

So if it's still available in Mexico I guess I can just go over the border and get some "Neo-Melubrina" ... unless I can find some in a Mexican pharmacy in LA somewhere.

Thanks for the quick answer, sebas.

Well ... in order to not waste this opportunity to talk about Quarelin in a little mini-forum ... has anyone else tried any painkillers with metamizole as the active ingredient? Care to share your experience?

Also my girlfriend likes to chew the tablets because they numb her mouth and she likes how bitter they are. I tell her that they're going to destroy her teeth. Anyone know the definitive answer on that?
posted by redteam at 7:44 AM on May 16, 2007

General disclaimer: IANAPharmacist, although I worked in a hospital pharmacy at one point.

Drotaverine isn't available in the states either - only, as far as I can tell, India, Nigeria, and parts of Eastern Europe. She can still get caffiene here!

The caffiene may account for the bitter taste she gets when chewing on it (I suck at organic chemistry, so I can't tell if the others would be bitter, too.) The numbing effect is probably from the Metamizole (it and tramadol appear to be used as a post-op combo in Eastern Europe.)

In general, chewing your meds is sometimes a very poor idea, unless it's allowed to be halved or crushed per the pharmacy. You'll generally have a longer effect if you swallow it whole; chewing it releases a lot more drugs at once.
posted by cobaltnine at 8:03 AM on May 16, 2007

Caffeine pills? When I lived in Hungary, I was told that it worked just because of the caffeine.
posted by xanthippe at 7:21 PM on May 16, 2007

It might be worth trying some American headache medicine w/ Caffeine in it. I believe Exedrin Migrane has includes caffeine.
posted by Jahaza at 11:32 PM on May 16, 2007