FDA panel wants limits on hydrocodone painkillers

[Jimmy1975]

Hi all ! This is for all you souls that come on here and read all the post but are still on the fence about quitting . If this comes true you will probably be paying three or fore times the amount you are paying for pills now . Jimmy                                               WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health advisers want new restrictions on hydrocodone, the highly addictive painkiller that has grown into the most widely prescribed drug in the U.S.

The recommendation from a panel of drug safety specialists would subject Vicodin and dozens of other medicines to the same restrictions as other narcotic drugs like oxycodone and morphine. The Food and Drug Administration panel voted 19-10 in favor of the move, which is supported by the Drug Enforcement Agency. The FDA will weigh the vote in its decision-making process.

Hydrocodone belongs to a family of drugs known as opioids, which include morphine, heroin, oxycodone, codeine and methadone. The DEA has asked the FDA to reclassify hydrocodone as a schedule II drug, limiting which kinds of medical professionals can write a prescription and how many times it can be refilled. The Controlled Substances Act, passed in 1970, put hydrocodone combination drugs in the schedule III class, which is subject to fewer controls. Currently a prescription for hydrocodone-containing Vicodin can be refilled five times before the patient has to see a physician again. If the drug is reclassified patients could only receive a single 90-day prescription, similar to oxycodone. The drug could also not be prescribed by nurses and physician assistants. "There is an unquestioned epidemic of opioid abuse, overdose and death in this country, an epidemic we need to address as a society," said Douglas Throckmorton, FDA's deputy director for regulatory programs.                          This would no doubt be a good time to get your life back people .  God bless Jimmy

[clean_in_ks]

Wow...as I was reading that, my heart rate increased just like the old days!!
Hydros were my doc, got started on them when my first PA prescribed them for pain WITH REFILLS.  Then yrs later another PA, then lastly my back surgeon.....it was almost like I was having a panic attack.....and then realized , hey Connie....YOU"RE CLEAN....YAYYYY"  No worries...

Thanks for posting this, Jimmy.  It truly is a nationwide epidemic and just about everybody I know has a bottle of hydros whether new rx or not....just sittin in their medicine cabinet.  Not to mention the "younger" generation (which I am NOT) and their recreational use of hydros.  I'm all in favor of govermental control on this issue......others.....ummmm.. not so much LOL

[dominosarah]

They have my vote.  Thanks for the info Jimmy.  I hope this takes off and soon.