FDA Panel Urges Ban on Vicodin, Percocet

Old 07-01-2009, 04:48 AM
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FDA Panel Urges Ban on Vicodin, Percocet

TUESDAY, June 30 The popular prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet, which combine acetaminophen with an opiate narcotic, should be banned, and the maximum dose of over-the-counter painkillers with acetaminophen, like Tylenol or Excedrin, should be lowered, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel urged Tuesday.

The panel's recommendations followed the release of an FDA report last month that found severe liver damage, and even death, can result from a lack of consumer awareness that acetaminophen -- which is easier on the stomach than such painkillers as aspirin and ibuprofen -- can cause such injury.


It's gonna get interesting.......
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Old 07-01-2009, 05:19 AM
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ever wonder why we have such problems with prescription drug abuse - especially pain killers?

It used to be that when you had an operation, you stayed in the hospital for two weeks - the main reason being that you needed strong pain killers during that first part of your recovery - AND THOSE PAIN MEDS COULD ONLY BE GIVEN IN A HOSPITAL - once you were discharged, those pain meds were not available to you. But when hospitals started shortening the length of stays they allowed, they also got the laws changed where those prescriptions were now available outside the hospital.

Kind of reminds me of the Manhattan Project inventing the atom bomb yet having the naivete to think it would remain only in the United States military....

The common man once again has to deal with the havoc wreaked by the "forward thinking" of the "experts."
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Old 07-01-2009, 06:57 AM
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I hate to think that such useful medications could be withheld from people who really need them. They are abused by many, but I'd argue that the vast majority of people prescribed these meds use them responsibly. I cringe at the thought of not taking pain meds when my wisdom teeth were pulled! They kept me comfortable and helped me sleep, two things that pain does a good job of preventing. When it comes to meds like Oxycontin, I can see why they want to rein it in, but still, I think about people dying from cancer and how dependency is not really an issue for them.
(Because they won't be around)
But you're right...regardless of the outcome...this will be interesting.
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Old 07-01-2009, 07:05 AM
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I think great care should be given to the safety of any drug. And greater care should be given to loud and clear warning of side affects, including drug dependency (such as can happen with oxycontin even when taken as prescribed for legitimate pain).

That said, people will abuse anything, just look at the meth epidemic. It's not about the drug (if safe for the prescribed purpose), it's about the responsibility of those who use (or abuse) it.

Originally Posted by DirtMagnet
The panel's recommendations followed the release of an FDA report last month that found severe liver damage, and even death, can result from a lack of consumer awareness that acetaminophen -- which is easier on the stomach than such painkillers as aspirin and ibuprofen -- can cause such injury.
Exactly, DirtMagnet, the public should be made aware of these findings.

Thanks for this thought provoking thread.

Hugs
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Old 07-01-2009, 08:58 AM
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I agree w/ Dirt & Ann, tylenol & ibuprofen can be MORE dangerous to your insides than an opiate addiction. There's a complacency and an ability to be in denial when it comes to pills. Either it "must be safe b/c they sell it over the counter" or "its prescribed by a doctor so it is safe" and neither is necessarily true.
Amid all the hustle and bustle surrounding MJ's death, I found it interesting that his former nurse/nutritionist on CNN last night claimed MJ was using an IV anesthetic to sleep. Just shows that tons of scrips are dangerous.
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Old 07-01-2009, 09:16 AM
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I read this letter years ago and never forgot it.


I wanted to write explaining to you the dangers of acetaminophen and ask why no one does anything to stop this. You see I HAD a beautiful daughter named Kellie. She, as I do, suffered with Migraines, but she wouldn't take anything stronger than Tylenol.

On the morning of June 26, 2003, Kellie got a Migraine around 3am, so she took some Tylenol. She vomited, so she took more, not realizing it had already been digested. This happened three or four more times. She ended up taking up to 20 in a 16-hour period. Around 4:00 p.m., she started having severe stomach pain. I took her to the hospital then. At the hospital, they took blood, started the "antidote," and gave her some "charcoal stuff," which she threw-up. She said, "Mom, I'm sorry. I tried to keep it down." I told her, "It's OK, don't worry about it."

She said "I thought it was OK, Mom. It was only Tylenol". I said "It's OK, Kel." I had no idea what was to come of it. I figured she'd be OK. WRONG!!! The doctor came in and told me that, at that point, Kellie had an 80% chance of dying. You could have blown me over with a feather. The doctor told me, "You need to call whoever you need to. She might not make it through the night." I was horrified and in shock. I couldn't understand why he was saying that and went into denial mode. I called my husband and told him to get there as fast as possible. He argued with me; he was in shock too.

The next day Kellie started going into convulsions, and they transferred her to a hospital where they could do transplants. The Tylenol had started to shut her liver down. There is no liver machine, transplant was her only chance. They put her on the "list" as #1 , but there wasn't a liver available. They put her into a medically induced coma to, "lessen the stress on the organs," we were told. We had called our son, who lived in Georgia, and he immediately flew out here. Kellie was his only sister. He loved her very much. By the time he got here, she was in the coma. On June 25, Kellie's kidneys shut down. On June 27,The doctors put a screw into Kellie's brain to monitor the fluid, they then found out that she started getting water on the brain. On June 28, the doctors told us she was brain dead. We as a family had to make a decision to keep her alive as a vegetable or let her go. She wouldn't know who she was or who we were. The only part of her brain that was still functioning at that time was the part that was keeping her organs going. We all agreed Kellie would not want live like that, for that is not living. We then made the decision for Kellie to be a donor, in hopes of saving someone else. Her heart was still good and her eyes and other parts, but unfortunately she developed an infection and no parts could be used. I truly believe if Kellie had gotten a liver she would be with us now. That's why I believe strongly in organ donation. Livers do not age. Unless they're damaged, they regenerate themselves, and without a liver machine, a transplant is your only hope of survival.

Now, without even being able to say, "good-bye," or "I love you," we watched her slowly die as the machines slowly shut down. On June 28th, 2003, at 6:00 p.m., Kellie was pronounced dead.

Please get this across to your readers in hope no one else has to live through a hell like this.

Thank you,
Jodie
There is an unfortunate tendency for people to think that over-the-counter medications aren't as strong as prescription medications, that they're safer, and that they won't hurt us. When Kellie died, the Managing Director of the Oklahoma Poison Control Center commented, "People think analgesics are safe, but they don't read the labels and they easily can make dosage errors ... fatal errors.
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Old 07-01-2009, 10:05 AM
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Originally Posted by sojourner View Post
It used to be that when you had an operation, you stayed in the hospital for two weeks - the main reason being that you needed strong pain killers during that first part of your recovery - AND THOSE PAIN MEDS COULD ONLY BE GIVEN IN A HOSPITAL - once you were discharged, those pain meds were not available to you.
I saw my eye doctor yesterday and told him about my son's retina surgery. We're the same age and he told me he was already practicing, when they used to keep patients like my son for a week, instead of outpatient. What a coincidence that my son stopped taking painkillers right at one week, huh?

Anyway, there are other prescription painkillers available besides the ones they want to axe. And if they lower the maximum dosage of OTC's, that's per pill. People can still pour more out of the bottle.
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Old 07-01-2009, 12:50 PM
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its a nice thought, but something like this will never pass. And god forbid it did...the end result would be all these people put on opiods like vicodin and percodan would be switched to pure opiod narcotics like oxycontin and roxicet just making things even worse (from an addiction perspective)
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Old 07-01-2009, 01:12 PM
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I was surprised to learn today (on NPR) that Vicodin is also not one of the drugs that requires a triple-hardcopy at the pharmacy. I guess I knew that already, but never really thought about it. Where would be the harm -- given that it's obviously being abused so heavily -- in changing the status of the drug to require a doctor's scrip to obtain?

I suppose you can always still get it mail-order from Bermuda or wherever, but at least someone in the pharmaceutical world would be acknowledging the problem and trying to help. Wacky me, what a thought.
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Old 07-01-2009, 02:42 PM
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The Tylenol had started to shut her liver down.
I had been admitted to the ER one time for blacking out while doing things, when they saw me the first thing they asked was "Did I take any Tylenol" They went on to tell me that Tylenol is one pain pill that should come with a warning. They also told me that people who drink and take Tylenol to help with hangovers are really playing russian roulette because Tylenol mixed with alcohol is Toxic, that many have died from mixing the two. My doctor told me that Tylenol should require a prescription. That is how dangerous it is. When I got home, I immediately threw away all the Tylenol we had in the house. And Tylenol is the first thing they use to tell you to give even babies to bring down fever or teething.
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Old 07-02-2009, 09:36 AM
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Now that my AH is on suboxone, he abuses the heck out of Tylenol.. we go through a really big bottle in one week.. So basicly he is no better off then he was when he was taking opiates...

My AH's liver must be shot and he must not have much of a stomach lining.. could explain all the stomach aches he has... but alas, what can I do? Nothing.. banning these drugs is not going to solve the problem for my AH because as long as he is in his disease he will find a way to get a hold of something...
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Old 07-02-2009, 01:15 PM
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My first thought when I read this article was "If this comes to pass, what drugs will our addicts turn to when their old one is out of reach?" THAT scared the hell out of me.
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Old 07-02-2009, 01:52 PM
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jerect-
from a reward pathway/pharmacological standpoint, why do you think he would abuse tylenol? just curious. I like the attitude you have about it though.
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Old 07-02-2009, 05:02 PM
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Originally Posted by breakingfree88 View Post
jerect-
from a reward pathway/pharmacological standpoint, why do you think he would abuse tylenol? just curious. I like the attitude you have about it though.
I honestly don't know.. I think it's just an excuse to take something.. He crushes them up like he used to do the oxy's because he says it hits his system faster. We or rather I should say he, goes through a big box of goodies powders a week too.. he claims he wakes up with headaches everyday or his back hurts.. it's always something.

While I know these are not habit forming, it's still not healthy.. in fact it's down right toxic.
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