FDA panel: Lower maximum daily dose of Tylenol

LOL Bingo

Never said the FDA was very smart, the doses we been taking work so what will it do now. I am sorry some people are stupid and can not follow direction but the FDA is saying the balance of us are unable to follow direction and they must hold our hands and help us. I am sick of government making decision for me, I for one can think for myself and do not need anyone making decision for me period.

Everyone that work for the government should be replace for they seem to think they know everything and us poor little must obey what they say. funny our country is in trouble do to their bad decision not our.

We adapt to our situation. The more we get babied, the more we need to be since we lose the skills and intelligence to survive on our own. OTOH, the more we stand on our own, learn about the world around us, and make our own decisions, the more capable we become of being free and independent, which leads to further evolution.

I am constantly baffled by this reversal of evolution that we seek to impose upon ourselves...

As a pharmacy technician, I see the value in Vicodin, Percocet and other related drugs. Pulling them from the market is a terrible idea. Roxicodone (the same thing as Percocet but without the Tylenol) is widely abused and results in many deaths due to overuse every year. Everything can be misused and abused, but it doesn't make it a less valuable product for the vast majority of people. One thing the FDA should do is require a change in the abbreviated name. Percocet = oxycodone-APAP Vicodin = hydrocodone-APAP Many people don't realize APAP = acetaminophen/Tylenol and then take Tylenol on the side. Perhaps adding a very clear auxillary label to prescription bottles of meds containing acetaminophen would help clear the confusion, but don't make people suffer because a small percentage are misusing their medications.

I suspect a lot of people have died from morphine. Perhaps that should be banned as well.

The continued dumbing down of America is still alive and well I see. I think its a joke to think that we now will be unable to take a tylenol because of some dumb asses who cant read and or think its a cheap high. The FDA is just like its three lettered cousin the FCC in that these people think that they know whats best for this country and probably the world with the egos they share. Gee lets now take vicodin and percocets off the market because they contain accetominophin also. HHHMMMM I just two back surgeries done with in three months of each other, they prescribed me METHADONE for all hells sake. I myself would much rather take a perc for pain than that. Is that what they are thinking behind closed doors ? hhmmm lets get them to prescribe that now, @!$%#s. What happened to personal responsibility in this country by the way, what political correctness gone even farther off the charts now. I can see the new state of the union address " Due to the continued problem of a small number of the public being unable to follow directions, and because we here at the FDA say so on the behalf of all of us we will no longer be able to sit and @!$%# without a government study due to the over whelming number of hemorrhoids due to people thinking out their ass and using too much analgesic in combination with an over abundance of Tylenol. We the all knowing led by the less aware leading the masses who know more than we give them credit for now say to you this nation once built on civil liberties and the pursuit of personal freedoms will now be subjected to untold amounts of bureaucracy and ridiculous regulations intended to make more headaches than they are worth and pad the coffers of a select few in this government and upper management of a selected group of drug companies." I hate to say it guys but unless we take back the government and make sure they work for us again we are all screwed.

I've heard that drinking too much water can kill you!

We all know that drinking too much alcohol can kill you, but I don't see anyone talking about reducing the alcohol level in vodka, for example!

I guess the alcohol lobbyists have more money than acetaminopphine lobbyist.

Just out of curiosity I'd like to know how this idea will have follow through other than paying more for less? How do they expect, for example, to keep someone with a headache from taking 3 aspirins to get rid of the headache it used to take 2 to fix?

You pointed out the obvious flaw in their plan. You can't fix stupidity but they're pretending to try. Actually I surmise it goes deeper than that. They know they can't fix stupidity but they have to justify their existance and pretend to be increasing safety regulations.

Of course the public eats up this propaganda without even looking into what regulations they are and if they will actually make people safer (hint: they're mostly like this, trying to keep people from winning darwin awards).

This is waste, plain and simple.

I believe percocet is abused in hospital settings as well as on the street.

I met people who complained a lot about percocet during hospitalization and in the community. a person I know is a victim of percocet/oxycodone during hospitalization. It seems like some docs profit from them and prescribed them like candy. I met some docs who prescribed percocet and oxycodone while stroke needed intervention treatment.

This is not only those who don't read prescription's labels that become a victim of percocet/oxycodone. However, some docs overprescribed them to some of the elderly population, the addicts, and those residing in hospice or some nursing homes.

Some people file out these narcotics in different pharmacies that have no way of tracking them.

Percocet/ oxycodone can taget the pain very well, but at the same time can induce memory loss, lethargy, delirium and etc.

Please do understand that some patients cannot stay alert when taking either percocet or oxycodone four times a day.

Depending on the young person's condition they may work, but the drug "percocet or oxycodone" may kill one even faster if the person is immunocompromised (on chemo, on glucoccorticoid, on other multiple meds and etc.)

By not administering percocet or oxycodone to an elderly parent with cancer he lived past a century even though there was a prescription for these drugs. If one day the family gave her either one of these narcotics, the elderly parents slept all day without eating.

pharmaceutical companies need to fix whatever is wrong with them and prevent patients from developping lethargy, coma, delirium and etc.

What's sad? having neurological complications from them, some docs may diagnose some patients with Alzheimer disease while these narcotics may be the culprit.

At first they may work (target the pain), but their long term uses are problematic to certain population-percocet/oxycodone-induce tolerance or/dependance.

Another person was taking them and the person slept with food in his mouth right after taking the first pill.

If there're better substitutes for them, why not ban them for the safety of all.

I agree with FDA to lower the dose of tylenol.

Acetaminophen OTC prevents certain people to delay or follow treatment on time.

a correction to the last paragraph

some people delay treatment b/c they abuse over the counter (OTC) acetaminophen causing them to develop liver failure and etc.

The government CAN lower health care costs. They already have in some public examples. The FDA seems to be mired in too much free time thinking on micro-management.

I would agree that they could; I just doubt that they will. They seem to spend much more time and energy raising costs.

Griff, in health care they would have to seriously work long hours to even match the failure that we have in our current health care system. Not that they wouldn't, but it may be an impossible failure to match. lol

Griff,

Given that our healthcare costs are probably the highest in the world per person right now, we have no place to go but up! We're number 1!! Yeah! The health insurance industry and pharma are responsible for the cost of healthcare in this country. Buying up shelf space in pharmacies, doctors, pharmacists, tv ads and politicians is expensive after all and requires lotsa $$$$.

Rhazes, to your point, that is exactly what happens. The war on drugs doesn't work because people who want drugs bad enough will buy the drugs.

And, although I think it's a very bad idea to buy vicodin from a drug dealer, there have been times (an absessed tooth once) that if a drug dealer had knocked on my door with $3.00 vicodins, I'm not sure what I would have done.

The acetaminophen part of these drugs really is the health issue, they should start combining the opiates with something less harmful. If they feel they have to do something, they should begin there.

That's exactly what this move IS about. All this vote says is to remove the Tylenol from the pills and to change the dosage printed on the Tylenol box.

They're NOT coming down on the narcotic ingredient, just not allowing it to be packaged with the Tylenol any longer.

Right, but as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong), you can't get these narcotics straight.

Unless people do cold-water extraction, they can't get away from the acetaminophen when taking them.

If the FDA does take these particular drugs off the market, they need to provide an alternative form of the narcotics.

ashepp3, this type of ban will force the drug companies to dilute them with something inert. We can always say that if someone dies of liver failure due to alcoholism it's their own damn fault, quit drinking!

If they die from liver failure due to an excessive amount of acetaminophen because they were hooked on either of these drugs or HAD to take them to control pain is a different story. This isn't about stupid people who can't follow instructions, this is about a hybrid medicine that truly doesn't have to be. Who benefits from this type of hybrid drug? Many users do of course but so do drug companies who charge (probably name-brand price) for the acetaminophen as well.

No, it's about stupid people who take these drugs. Every time I get a prescription there is a 2 page information sheet on what the drug is, the dosage, why it's being prescribed, and side effects. If people don't bother reading up on what they put in their bodies then why should some of us who take time to see what our medicines are pay the price? In my opinion that's natural selection at work.

If the FDA does take these particular drugs off the market, they need to provide an alternative form of the narcotics.

They're already out there. Johnson & Johnson just has most of the doctors so deeply in their pockets that very few people ever get them prescribed, so not a lot of people out there know about them.

In the end, this REALLY will only hurt J&J, making them promote Tylenol on it's own merits instead of letting them piggy-back on narcotics.

Gotta cut costs. Bottom line. Carbon credits won't cut it.

An aspirin a day keeps the heart attack away! You may be right Obamasized. You seem a bit angry about it tho. Watch that blood pressure! :)

Funny thing is, I used to get worked up about this stuff. Kinda like death I guess. Everyone passes at some point. Same as with these new programs. Everything will pass. Getting worked up serves no purpose.

Wait until your own child has severe pain, like mine did. She has tolerated painful migraine headaches for 18 years without drugs, but in April she had kidney stones so bad she was crying. She thought she was dying. You'd be in the doctor's face wanting relief for your child, just like me.

Been there, personally. Not fun. I never took anything either. I could always tell when one was on the way, so I would just go lay down and relax... as best I could that is.

I've been in the doctor's face before over my kids. Not for the want of medicine, but for the doctor's advice to take certain meds.

Seems to me, that I could tell you what medication would be prescribed before my kids went, or at least what the diagnosis was going to be.

My oldest boy was easy. He could go in for a broken arm and the doctor would give him an anti-biotic for the strep and increase his pulmicort to stave off the inevitable asthma attack. Every time he went in. I had asthma and my boy doesn't have near the symptoms I had. Long story short, we've since thrown that expensive nebulizer and the plethora of meds in the garbage. My son had some slight difficulties breathing while he was taking that crap. Now he is fine, and was fine almost immediately after we stopped giving it to him.

Long winded but to get to a point. We promoted the practice of doctors prescribing this crap without doing a proper diagnosis by going and filling the prescription. Not any more. I question everything. I truly believe that there is a severe problem with over-medicating in this country. Its not all the doctors fault. People have to take responsibility.

Obamasized, thanks for the insightful story. Spent anytime in this world and you've got a medical story or two to tell. Hope your kids are all ok now and thriving.

Well, that's nice and all but it's not the government's place to tell people that they can't use Tylenol for pain relief. Especially when there are some diseases that have no cure and the only thing available for that particular disease is pain management.

Yes, the pain does indicate a problem. But in the case of my daughter the only alternative was giving her straight morphine (if they pull oxycodone) or else doing surgery to remove kidney stones, which would drive health care costs up. An Rx for Percocet is far cheaper for the patient than the cost of a surgery, even outpatient.

. But in the case of my daughter the only alternative was giving her straight morphine (if they pull oxycodone)

They ARE NOT pulling Oxycodone! They are not even pulling Tylenol. They are only saying don't let doctors FORCE doses of Tylenol on patients in order to get them a dose of oxycodone. They can still tell you to take the Tylenol, or even write a prescription for it if needed for insurance coverage. If anything this is just allowing MORE choices, not less since it allows either dug separately besides the combination.

Lots of people, such as myself, are allergic to NSAIDs, so vicoprofen is not an option for them.

People will just take more OTC Tylenol to make up for the missing dosage.

But the idea is that they will be more aware of how much Tylenol they are taking then.

the government trying to control our bodies and our private lives.

If that were what this was about, they'd be banning Tylenol or at least controlling it like Sudafed. ALL they are doing is saying the drug makers can't try to hide an OTC med inside a pescription one. It even says in the article that the exact same regimen will still be available, just in two pills now.-- "If the combination products are eliminated, the acetaminophen and the other ingredients could be prescribed separately. In effect, patients would take two pills instead of one, and be more aware of the acetaminophen they are consuming."

Having worked as a psychiatric nurse for over 35 years, and taught pharmacotherapy in several universities. There's a basic truth, people believe "more is better". I interview patients everyday that astound me with their revelations of how much acetaminophen or ibuprofen they take daily "to sleep, or for this/that pain. And if we're voting, before we banish Percocet or Vicodin, PLEASE BAN XANAX!!!!!!

I'm not saying that the government is trying to control our minds. If it's trying to control our minds it was doing it long before Obama came along. The partisan sniping here is still incredibly ignorant of the facts after all this discussion. I realize this is anecdotal arguments but at least follow some logic or reason other than chicken little logic. The sky is falling! is not an argument it's a cry.

I'm upset if you can't tell.

But why??? Tylenol will still be available, and since you've stated already that you ignore printed dosages and maximums by downing "an entire bottle of Tylenol in one day ", I can't believe that changing the printed dosages will in any way effect how much you take.

From what I read, Lortab will be included too. One of the sentences in the article cited "Percocet and similar treatments" , implying that Percocet and Vicodin are only examples, not an exhaustive list.

I'd like to see a comparative study of these drugs to the use of the Benzodiazepines (especially Xanax).

Yep, Benzo's are another WAY overprescribed drug. The problem is that no matter which drug they choose to look at next, someone will always find a different one they feel should have come first. I guess we should just be glad they finally decided to get out of the pharmaceutical companies' pockets and start doing the job they were created for in the first place, no matter where they start. Even if your particular pet peeve wasn't first, maybe it will be next. :-)

The government isn't banning anything as far as I know. <yawn> It's like threading a needle over and over. My last breath in this thread. Good luck convincing the unconvincible the sky isn't actually falling and we're not in the matrix. <sigh>

ok, does it seem like you're talking to a wall? Some of these people are like in another atmosphere when it comes to understanding that THE GOVERNMENT ISN'T BANNING THIS DRUG ALTOGETHER. It's just reconsidering these particular drugs as hybrids. You will still be able to take these drugs until they kill you if you want! You'll just have to take them seperately.

I don't want the government in charge of my healthcare either, but I don't want the health insurance companies in charge either! Therefore give me a Public Option and I'll have yet another choice! In my best Mel Gibson/William Wallace impersonation....FREEDOM!!

Have they considered what restricting percocet and vicoden would do to our War amputee's?

ALL it will do is change their prescription from Hydrocodone w APAP(Vicodin or Percocet) to a prescription for straight Hydrocodone plus a possible dose of OTC APAP (Tylenol). Once again a non-issue since they will still get the same drugs, just packaged differently.

What's sadder is using these heros as a tool try to make this into an issue it's not. To think their sacrifice is being used for something so trivial. For shame. :-(