HEALTHWATCH: FDA Might Tighten Reins On Vicodin

[Purveyor]

WASHINGTON (USA TODAY) -- The DEA for nearly a decade has pushed for tighter restrictions on Vicodin, the nation's most widely prescribed drug. The chronic abuse of such painkillers, and devastating toll associated with this abuse, has reached epidemic proportions in the United States.

The agency could get its wish later this month when the Food and Drug Administration considers the DEA's request to put Vicodin in the same category as OxyContin and other powerful narcotics.

For the millions of patients across the nation who rely on Vicodin for relief from severe pain, the new rules could sharply restrict the number of pills they can get and drastically increase the number of doctor visits necessary to get them. Many patients who can now get a six-month supply would need to visit their doctors every 30 days to renew a prescription.

MORE...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/09/fda-might-tighten-reins-on-vicodin/1822211/

[maxsolomon]

1. I had some minor surgery in late October

I got 30 Vicodin. I took it for 2 days. I have 20+ left. I would say, yes, I was over-prescribed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bAXPUN2z2CE

[Purveyor]

2. I got 20 for toothache a while back. Aleve worked better for the pain and the vicodin was just

plain fun but I don't need a whole pill. Half a one was just fine and if I just wanted a mood enhancer, I'd even get good results with a quarter.

They lasted for at least 6 weeks.

Due to their addictive nature, I can see how they could be a problem though.

[haikugal]

3. I rely on it...

when I need it nothing else works. My doctor knows I don't abuse my script.

[maxsolomon]

4. keep telling yourself that, Limbaugh!

JK!

[haikugal]

6. You don't know what you're talking about...

so you'd fit the Rush profile better than I...he was addicted to Oxy wasn't he...not Vicodin.

[maxsolomon]

8. it was a joke

jk = just kidding

[blazeKing]

5. Screws over people in legitimate pain

I had horrible pain early last year and I had to put up with being treated like I was an addict coming to get a fix. I felt humiliated just trying to get help for the extreme pain. The hospital was the only place that treated me decently with the pain I was in. The way the doctors treated me, I had to endure harsh pain for a long time because they wouldn't prescribe me but a few weeks of meds. Puritanical America right? Suck it up, pull your bookstraps up while your shaking on the ground in pain.

It's not right to deny people in pain. Addiction is my responsibility, not theirs. Theirs is to prescribe meds to help with your problem. By the way, all this will do is increase heroin sales and things will just get worse. The demand for them is high, someone is going to fill them and unfortunately it won't be doctors now. So basically this doesn't effect recreational users, but screws over people in pain.

[haikugal]

7. That's it right there ^^^^^

fuck your pain!

[JoeyT]

9. +1

But apparently it's better for people to suffer horribly than to think that someone might be using a chemical in a way we don't approve of.

Well, better for POOR people to suffer. With enough money you can doctor shop.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. Another stellar victory or "the Drug War!"

Translation: suck it up, because someone, somewhere, might get an unauthorized buzz. Thats all that matters.