ACTION NEEDED: FDA may remove pain killers
Action is need by the chronic pain community to tell the FDA not to remove medications like Percocet or Vicodin from the list of medications available. In addition, extra strength medications like Tylenol would be removed from over the counter and would require a prescription by a doctor. Tens of thousands of pain suffers depend on these medications to have a good quality of life and taking them away would force them to take opioids which are much more powerful and potentially addictive. This action is being looked at because of deaths tied to acetaminophen. If someone takes more than 2000mg a day they risk damaging their liver to the point where they will require a transplant. Others have died because they took more pain medication than was given in their prescription. Rather than dealing with this with training to doctors and also to patients to let them know how important it is to follow doctors orders, medications may be taken away. If this happens there will be much suffering from people that do not have the money to move to more expensive pain killers or to use grey market suppliers to get the drugs they need. We all depend on the FDA to keep bad medications off the market, but well known and safe medications do not deserve to be removed because a few people refuse to follow prescription orders. This same issue can be used for many pain killers and other medications, yet they are not being looked at for removal. There are links that you can go to that will let the FDA know how you feel about this issue. Please follow the links below so that medications we all depend on will be there when we need them. (Source: American Pain Foundation)
Respond to the FDA NOW:
- Click here to read APF’s position statement on the FDA recommendations for acetaminophen combined medications and over-the-counter acetaminophen medications.
- Click here to read the task force’s concerns about the FDA’s recommendations regarding prescription acetaminophen combined medications.
- Click here to read the task force’s concerns about the FDA’s recommendations regarding over-the-counter acetaminophen medications.
- Click here to read APF’s Question & Answer sheet on acetaminophen and opioids.
Don’t wait until it is too late and the FDA makes it decision and we are all left with few possible pain killers that work well, are inexpensive and easy to find.
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