The FDA recommend ban of popular painkillers
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | 4 Comments
Vicodin and Percocet are high on the list of drugs the Food and Drug Administration want to see banned in the United States.
These two very popular painkillers are recommended for banning not because of their potential for addiction but because of their acetaminophen content and its effects on the liver. High doses of acetaminophen (also found in over the counter pain killers like Tylenol and Excedrin) have been known to cause liver damage and liver damage from acetaminophen kills more than 400 people in the United States each year. Anyone suffering from dependency on these types of medications should consider painkiller rehab programs.
Both Vicodin and Percocet mix acetaminophen with a narcotic to help in pain relief. If the ban goes through the FDA, then other pain killers which mix the two will also likely be banned. Popular pain killers in that category include Darvocet (which has a fairly large group of people upset with the drug) and Lortab.
The recommendation also included limiting the “maximum” dosage for acetaminophen to 650 milligrams, way down from the current 1,000 milligrams on the extra strength Tylenol bottle.
It is likely a surprise to those who currently take the drugs for pain relief. Honestly, after reading some comments on the story across the internet it doesn’t make a lot of sense why the FDA wouldn’t just limit the amount of acetaminophen in the drug rather than doing away with something that is commonly prescribed to patients all the time.
There are some people out there who have stomach issues who can’t take aspirin or NSAIDS because of the chances that they may cause ulcers. They are told if they have pain of any kind to take Tylenol. So, what happens to those people if they end up in the hospital and prescribed pain medicine?
This is something the FDA really needs to look at before accepting the recommendation and banning the drugs.
In no articles I came across did it say what the FDA recommended for a “safe” dose of acetaminophen in these drugs.
Maybe having a lot of money can bring happiness of a different kind
Your money may be laced with cocaine
Are we an overly medicated society?
Tags: food and drug administration, FDA, liver damage
Amy | Fri, Jul 03 2009
Tylanol is paracetamol in the UK, and as long as people stick to no more than 4g in 24 hours then there are minimal risks to health. Yes, some people have problems with every medication, but surely lowering the dose to 650mg per 4 hours will mean that people who remember the 4g rule are just going to carry on regardless. I’m sick of drugs companies treating us like children. I can, and will, take 1g paracetamol per dose, thank you very much.
Anthony | Fri, Jul 10 2009
A lot of people need to realize that some of these drugs, although meant to help the person, can become addictive!
Peter from Statins Side Effects | Thu, Nov 12 2009
Prescribed drugs of any nature have their benefits and possible side effects.
Some drugs can be addictive and some will have little effect the longer you take them.
Reza rahman | Thu, Dec 10 2009
Every life saving drug plays a very important for a daily patient life. When we get ill we realize the need of drugs. But it is bad to hear that some of life saving pills are banned for mixing cocaine. We need to aware about these drugs and also act with addicted people with care for their drug rehabilitation.