FDA crackdown could empty some medicine cabinets
When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) takes a serious look at restricting access to a medication, we’re talking about an issue far more serious than some weight loss pill reviews you might read on a blog. We’re talking about decisions — in this case regarding one of the most widely used painkillers in history — that may empty out medicine cabinets (including mine) throughout the land.
In case you haven’t heard about this yet, an advisory committee to the FDA recently went public with plans calling for serious restrictions on the use of acetaminophen (you probably know it best by its chief brand name: Tylenol). It seems people haven’t paid close attention to warning labels and somewhere around 50,000+ or more people experience liver damage, sometimes bad enough to call for a liver transplant or even cause death, from overdosing on this painkiller.
Amazing. People seem to be incapable of reading, or unwilling to follow, directions clearly printed on acetaminophen labels. The drug is found in many compounds, both prescriptions and over the counter, hence people are sometimes carelessly taking too much.
But what amazes me further is the degree to which dosages would be restricted. Currently, total daily dosages of 4 grams is considered safe — that’s eight (I think) extra-strength tablets in a 24 hour period. Under the suggested restrictions, a “safe” dosage would be considered no more than 650 milligrams per dose. That amounts to two regular strength tablets. So, if I understood some of the newscasts correctly, the guidelines will make extra-strength acetaminophen available by prescription only.
For your information: I struggle daily with a very sore, lame shoulder the doctor says is probably caused by arthritis. The generic version of “Tylenol Arthritis” pills I take at bedtime most nights are two 650 milligram “caplets.” I guess that would mean a whole different level of dosage and pain relief (or non-relief?) for me most evenings.
So what are we to do? Hard to imagine becoming a “junkie” for jumbo sized acetaminophen caplets. I guess we’ll see what the future and the FDA bring to us.