NEWSBRIEF: Are you worried about the FDA's possible ban on popular combination painkillers that contain acetaminophen (the drug in Tylenol)? It would mean drugs like Vicodin (acetaminophen hydrocodone) and Percocet (acetaminophen oxycodone) would be gone, and for good. It would also make maximum strength acetaminophen (500 mg) available only by prescription.
The problem the FDA's trying to solve is a high rate of acetaminophen-related liver toxicity from taking too much. However, a lot of us think this is the wrong way to go. The American Pain Foundation (APF) has started a petition you can sign to show your opposition to this proposal. You'll find it here:
Also, the FDA is taking public comment until Sept. 27. Tell the agency your opionion here:
Education Instead of Regulation
Some people say this proposed action would hurt those of us with chronic pain; they say we could still get hydrocodone and oxycodone, then take over-the-counter Tylenol on top of it. That's true -- but I think it's counter to the goal of reducing acetaminophen overdose. Right now, my doctor and pharmacist can see exactly how much acetaminophen I'm taking, and they can raise a red flag if they worry about it. Taking it out of my prescription painkillers eliminates that safeguard.
I believe a little education would go a long way. The public and medical community tend to see acetaminophen as the "safest" pain killer out there, when it's actually the one least likely to cause side effects or interact badly with other drugs. Those are good things, but they don't mean the drug is safe in every way. In my opinion, the FDA should educate doctors, do a better job of monitoring acetaminophen advertisements, and run some PSAs to let people know about the dangers instead of taking away some of the oldest and most effective pain medications on the market.
If you're worried about this, don't leave a comment here -- click on the link above to leave a comment with the FDA, where it will hopefully help sway the decision. Urge them to chose education over this ill-conceived ban.
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Adrienne~ I already signed it through FACEBOOK !
There are a few different sites there that are having people sign the petition of APF !
Also, I’m a member of The American Pain Foundation~
Lumigrate.com has some good Natural Health, Nutrition writings there ! Neat Site You should take a look Adrienne!
I always ask for Vicoprofen anyway. I dont like using acetaminophen. Problem solved, or am I missing something? I guess some people can’t tolerate the ibuprofen, and therefore need acetaminophen?
Yes, I take sulfasalazine & Enbrel and was advised by my rheumatologist NOT to take ibuprofen. I am only allowed to take acetaminophen. I can’t take Percocet, it makes me break out in hives, but I can take Vicodin. I have Ankylosing Spondylitis.
I can’t take anything except acetaminophen, since fibro isn’t the only condition I have. Also, the extra strength Tynlenol seems to be the only thing that helps in lieu of a stronger script. Why can’t people just read the labels and pay attention to the dosage warnings? (Sigh)Pain is sometimes the least of the suffering. “It’s always something.”
I completely support the FDA’s pending decision to remove these acetaminophen-opioid combinations from the market. I think many people don’t understand how much liver damage is caused by acetaminophen itself. If one suffers from severe pain and needs to take painkillers many times during a single day added up the amount of acetaminophen they’re getting, many of us would be quite shocked.
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) has been under investigation for a long time by medical researchers and its toxicity to the liver is well-known. Personally, I’d much rather take a single product like oxycodone by itself anyway. The weird thing is that acetaminophen provides little, if any, actual help to patients who have chronic pain, such as we who have fibromyalgia experience daily. Acetaminophen is indicated for acute pain to provide pain relief after breaking a small bone or having one’s wisdom teeth removed – in other words, pain that will pass after healing takes place. It just isn’t effective in chronic pain like ours. Combine that with the potential liver damage and I just stopped using it all.
Another problem is that people like us probably take other medications that must be processed by the liver as well. I feel that by not taking the acetaminophen I’m giving my liver some help!
It’s important to me to understand any medication and its effects so that I can know what the risk is in taking them. I am quite happy to be on a single-ingredient painkiller; it works really wee and causes much less liver damage or other nasty effects to my body, which has it hard enough as it is!
Thanks,
Ellen
Just to clarify a couple of things from above comments:
It’s true that some people don’t tolerate ibuprofen well, and others just do better with acetaminophen.
Also, a key difference between acetaminophen and ibuprofen/anti-inflammatories is that the acetaminophen-related liver damage is a result of OVERDOSE, not continued use. The kidney & liver damage that’s possible from anti-inflammatories is more often from continued use, not overdose. (I’m not saying continued use of anything isn’t potentially dangerous, or that anti-inflammatory overdose isn’t also possible and dangerous — just that the most common problems of those drugs are from different kinds of use/misuse.)
Also, while acetaminophen is approved for that short-term pain of trauma, it does work well for some of us with chronic pain. Personally, I found it was the only thing that helped with my carpal tunnel pain and some other types of nerve pain as well.
Shirley, you’re right — it’s always something! Having limits on what you can safely take, limits on what works, and limits on what the doctor or FDA will allow you to have unfortunately adds layer after layer of “something” to the equation.