The news headlines this morning probably took a few people by surprise..."Ban Percocet and Vicodin"...two of the most commonly prescribed pain relievers.
High doses of acetaminophen (main ingredient in pain relievers like Tylenol and Excedrin) are a leading cause of liver damage. Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of liver failure in the US, sending over 56,000 people to the Emergency Department. About 200 people die yearly as a result.
A committee of experts assembled by the FDA voted recommended that the FDA eliminate prescription drugs Vicodin and Percocet and reduce the highest allowed dose of acetaminophen in over-the-counter pills like Tylenol to 325 milligrams (from 500 mg). Members also voted to reduce the maximum daily dosage of acetaminophen to less than 4,000 milligrams.
Acetaminophen is combined with different narcotics in at least seven other prescription drugs, like Vicodin and Percocet. All of these combination pills will be banned if the Food and Drug Administration heeds the advice of its experts. Vicodin and its generic equivalents alone are prescribed more than 100 million times a year in the United States.
Dr. Lewis S. Nelson, a toxicologist from the New York University School of Medicine who served as the panel’s acting chairman, said experts had been warning of the dangers of combination painkillers like Percocet and Vicodin for years.
This recommendation is likely to come as a shock to many patients, who may be unaware of the dangers of high doses of acetaminophen — even if they know the drugs contain the ingredient.
This action has the potential of leaving many chronic pain sufferers with yet another challenge: finding a new way to reduce or eliminate their pain.
SAFE options would be a great starting point, don't you think? Maybe it's time to 'think outside the box'...the 'box' that most of us have grown up with: Pain? Take a pain pill. It that doesn't work take more pain pills or a combination of them.
How about this: Pain? Let's figure out the cause of the pain & address that. In the meantime, how about using totally safe and clinically researched technologies like far-infrared and magnetics for relief? I realize it may sound unusual---different---unlikely---that's because most of us have been brought up in the Western Medicine philosophy of treating symptoms, where pharmaceutical companies are earning billions of dollars, often at our individual great expense.
Safe, effective options---definitely worth checking out!
I look forward to your feedback....Let me know if there is a particular topic you would like addressed.
Be Well...
Sana
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