July 08, 2009 Andrew Abramson, a Staff Writer for the Palm Beach Post said, "last month, the FDA's federal advisory panel voted 20-17 to ban Vicodin and Percocet, drugs that combine hydrocodone and oxycodone with acetaminophen. An overdose of acetaminophen can cause liver damage or even death".
This is not a bad thing, to many doctors prescribe Schedule III drugs like Vicodin and Percocet, when they should be prescribing a Schedule II drug like Morphine. In the past my doctors have prescribed so much Vicodin or Percocet, that the pharmacy refused to fill the prescription. Not because of the hydrocodone or oxycodone, but because of the acetaminophen.
Truth is, it's safer to the doctor, not the patient, to prescribe a Schedule II drug, because DEA and state medical boards don't watch Schedule III drugs like they do Schedule III.
This change doesn't effect hydrocodone or oxycodone, it effects acetaminophen. Hydrocodone or oxycodone will both still be available, just not as a combination drug. I don't think the change is bad, in fact I feel it will force doctors to treat pain more effectively.
Risk vs. Benefits: Medication has always been judged by the risk of side effects and complications, verses the benefits to the patient. Some how things have been turned around today, medications are judged by the risk of arrest for the doctor, verses the benefits of less pain for the patient. In the current system, the patient is most often the loser.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!
Tylenol toxicity
Yes, Jay,
Many of us that have treated pain patients have been through the same dilemma. When Norco was introduced, it was really a God-send. A patient could avoid Tylenol toxicity and still get a medication that would prove to be very effective in relieving pain. Since I was forcibly retired for treating chronic pain patients in a way that was inconsistent with the state medical board, I no longer am aware of the status of hydrocodone as a drug that is available without Tylenol in it. The Norco is the least with 325 mg of Tylenol with each ten mg of hydrodcodone. But, honestly, Dilaudid is the same drug and contains no Tylenol. It is the active metabolite of hydrocodone called hydromorphone. The sad thing is, when it was developed it was placed on the class II list, so it can only be used with special prescription forms, in many states. In the other states, it is closely scrutinized for "over-prescription"
So, it goes back to the same old thing! The DEA and other law enforcement gurus decide for your doctor, what medication he prescribes for you. Nothing like having a third person in the room when you and the patient are trying to figure out the best way to treat his pain. Pain that is often incurable with any other treatment. But, if I were a practicing doctor, I could always just tell the patient to "learn to live with it"!?
mlang52 Contact
mlang52
Would you please contact me at the address below.....
Jay
E. Jay Fleming
LEAP Speaker
LEAPSpeaker@Softhome.net
Mohave Valley, AZ
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