Maker of Painkiller Pulls It Off Market (Darvon and Darvocet)

[The Straight Story]

Maker of Painkiller Pulls It Off Market

WASHINGTON—One of the leading makers of the pain pills commonly known as Darvon and Darvocet agreed to take the products off the market on concerns the drugs increase the risk for serious abnormal heart rhythms, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

Darvon, which contains the active ingredient propoxyphene, has been on the U.S. market for ...


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704170404575624580619320348.html

[hlthe2b]

1. No kidding.... Those drugs have been around forever...

interesting....

[lightningandsnow]

2. From what I've heard, Darvocet is really risky compared to its actual potency as a painkiller.

I do feel bad for people with chronic pain who have needed to use it, though. Hopefully they can find something that works just as well for them.

[Lyric]

10. Darvocet is a very weak narcotic. It's practically useless as a painkiller.

It's basically just Tylenol with a teeny bit of Darvon added--enough to fool you into thinking that you got "real" pain medicine, but not enough to actually stop real pain. The same goes for Ultracet and Tylenol 3, both of which are mostly just Tylenol with tiny amounts of Tramadol and Codeine (respectively) added to make you feel a little "off", but not enough to relieve any pain beyond the level of a mildly stubbed toe. In my personal experience, I've noticed that doctors tend to prescribe weak "painkillers" like Darvocet, Tylenol 3, and Ultracet for people they consider "lesser"--poor people, minorities, elderly people, women, etc. After all, poor people and minorities are all either drug-seeking addicts or criminals looking for pills to sell, and elderly people and women are all whiny hypochondriacs. We don't need to take their pain seriously. :sarcasm:

A prescription for Darvocet can often be a doctor's way of saying, "I don't think you're REALLY in pain, but I can't prove it and I don't want to hear you whine anymore, so take these and go away."

On a side note, I am 100% convinced that if men could get even MILD cases of endometriosis, then middle-strength opiates like Vicodin and Percocet would be available over-the-counter like Tylenol and Advil.

[lightningandsnow]

12. I definitely hear you on this one.

I have fairly frequent migraines - not "chronic" in the sense that I don't have them all day, every day, but I get them at least once a week. I'm having a hard time finding a doctor to take it really seriously. One of my problems is I'm supposed to wait to see my psychiatrist before I take triptans (as-needed, non-narcotic meds specifically for migraines) because they interact with my bipolar meds. If I'm not supposed to take them because of the risk, I'm kind of fucked until I can see a neurologist to prescribe me a proper preventative like Topamax. A lot of doctors have a policy of not prescribing narcotics for migraines, ever, because apparently a lot of people fake migraines to score narcotics. Basically, I'm stuck taking Tylenol 1 (weaker version of tylenol 3 that you can get behind the counter) and having it barely working for the foreseeable future.

I think chronic pain is also taken less seriously when it affects children, teens, and young adults; I'm 18.

[ChiciB1]

15. You Said It! Wonder What's Really Up? Maybe It's Their Way Of Saying

we're helping to fight THE DRUG WAR! With all the attention pain meds are getting, they want to look like the "good guys" so they pull this one, and keep stronger ones to sell!

Just thinking out loud.

[Lance_Boyle]

3. Darvon was recommended as the suicide-by-pill drug of choice in Humphrey's 'Final Exit'

in the 80s. I think the heart rhythm effects of opioid analgesics are and have been pretty well known for awhile now.

[ejpoeta]

4. they gave me darvocet after my car accident in 1997 and i had an adverse reaction.

only time i have ever had a reaction to anything. it made me throw up incessantly and i ended up going back in to the hospital. on a positive note they actually took care of my inability to walk that they refused to address when i went in there originally.

[Yavapai]

5. I remember back about 1973 or 74, that the veterans administration

stopped using Darvon because they had done a blind study of it's effectiveness and
found that plain aspirin was more effective. Also aspirin was much safer.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Completely off topic

beautiful gray...

(My two conures run the roost, I am a sucker for them)

[xchrom]

6. I used love darvon back in the day. Nt

[StandingInLeftField]

7. Well, that explains a lot!

[frylock]

8. well there goes my weekend..

no more four loko darvo nights for me. :cry:

[Lyric]

9. GOOD. They've known about this problem for years, literally.

I can't believe it took this long, to be honest.

[deaniac21]

11. Hope this never happens to oxycontin and whiskey.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Ok if this is safety related one thing

and yes they have been around like forever.

[tammywammy]

16. I've used darvocet for my back pain for 12 years now

It's always helped me.