No More Percocet & Vicodin...How About Some Safe Options?

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

What's a Wellness Nurse?

Does the term 'Wellness Nurse' fall into your category of oxymorons (the use of contradictory terms like 'jumbo shrimp' and 'plastic glass')? Fifteen years ago, it would have been right up there in my books with 'boneless ribs'!

My nursing career dates back to 1981 (yes, that makes me 47!). I chose a nursing career because I wanted to 'help people.' It didn't take me many years to realize that, although I was helping people/patients in an acute care setting, many of these patients continued to be challenged with deteriorating health. Just 'adding another pill' or 'trying' a new treatment didn't provide longterm health that people were looking for. The overall health of Americans---of all ages---was falling apart right in front of me. I didn't have any answers to this ever-growing problem until I was introduced to the concept of Wellness and the use of Wellness Technologies.

I've been on a Wellness learning path for the past 12 years. It's taken a change in mindset...from one of waiting until I got sick & then seeking treatment...to one of expecting to feel healthy, full of energy, with full expectations of staying well longterm.

The most rewarding piece for me in these past 12 years has been sharing what I've learned with others---showing them how to get their health back safely & effectively---as well as showing them how to 'build wellness' into their daily lives. My family & I also enjoy great health, high energy levels and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that we're being proactive with our health (without any medications!).

I look forward to sharing what I've learned with you, so that you and your family may be blessed with True Wellness.

More tomorrow!
Sana