Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Tips with Robin August, Ph.D.

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION CONVENES PANEL TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT DRUGS CONTAINING ACETAMINOPHEN (TYLENOL) INCLUDIING VICODIN AND PERCOCETTE. BLOG BY DR. ROBIN AUGUST

Posted on 09. Jul, 2009 by Robin August, Ph.D. in Uncategorized

Lots of people are very frightened about the potential being discussed to remove certain commonly used pain killers such as Vicodin and Percocette from the market. It should be noted that these drugs contain acetaminophen (commonly known as Tylenol brand). The group that has made these recommendations is a group of 37 experts who were assembled by The Food and Drug Administration to discuss and make recommendations only. This group was convened to recommend ways to reduce liver damage or liver failure and even death in individuals taking “overdoses” of acetaminophen. It should be noted that the FDA has not made any decisions about these recommendations. So, no decision has been made.

I have followed different blog sites about Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and there seems to be a lot of fear that the pain medications they are taking will be removed from the market and that they won’t have any pain medication to take. Again, please note that no final decision has been made. I would recommend the following:

1. Discuss with your Physician the ramifications and develop a plan for dealing with this if it goes into
effect.
2. Contact the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) directly and discuss your concerns.

3. Contact your Congressmen/Women and Senators to discuss the potential impact of such an action
on you.

4. If you are in a Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome support group, discuss with the group what
you all might do to educate people about this potential problem.

5. Discuss with your Pharmacist your concerns and find out what pain killers are available for pain that
do not contain acetaminophen.

Please note that I am aware that there are some narcotics on the market such as Hydrocodone that are made without acetaminofen. This is one issue you can discuss with your Physician or Pharmacist.

Dr. Robin

Tags: chronic fatigue syndrome, Fda Food, fibromyalgia, Fibromyalgia Syndrome, Final Decision, Food And Drug, Food And Drug Administration, Hydrocodone, Liver Damage, Liver Failure, Narcotics, Overdoses, Pain Killers, Pain Medication, Pain Medications, Percocette, Pharmacist, Ramifications, Syndrome Support Group, Tylenol, Vicodin