The perennial issue with opioid drugs is that they are still our most effective drugs against pain, but they are also the most addictive of the prescription drugs. I've been teaching pharmacology for most of the last 26 years and I'm blown away that more prescriptions are written for hydrocodone + acetaminophen than for the top ACE inhibitor, cholesterol-lowering statin, or beta-blocker, respectively. Rounding out the top five are lisinopril, simvastatin, metoprolol. To give a sense of how widely HCPs are prescribed, the #2 most prescribed drug is thyroid hormone (levothyroxine sodium), the only other drug to pass 100 million prescriptions in a year. (For list lovers, bear in mind that this is not based on total sales but, rather, total prescription numbers, where 30-day or 90-day prescriptions count as "one." Generic drug manufacturers are responsible for nearly the HCP market, so you won't see these combinations on the "top-selling" drug lists.) For perspective, that's one prescription for every 2.3 men, women, and children in the U.S. In 2012, that was over 135 million prescriptions. prescriptions were written for hydrocodone + acetaminophen than any other drug. Hydrocodone is the most-prescribed drug in the U.S. But we have enough evidence that placing more restrictions on hydrocodone combination products is in the interest of public safety. The purpose of the change is to minimize the misuse of the drugs for recreational purposes while still ensuring that patients with severe pain still have reasonable access to the amount of drug needed to control their pain and suffering. NEW! - FDA Weaponizes 'Opioid' Term Against Kratom Consumers The rule will take effect 45 days from today – Monday, October 6. Although the DEA rule does indeed allow your current prescriptions to be refilled, it appears that conflicts with state pharmacy laws are causing your refills to be denied without a new prescription on or after October 6.Īfter 10 years of formal debate and consideration – and 15 years since the idea was first proposed – hydrocodone combination products are being reclassified from the more-permissive Schedule III to the more-restrictive Schedule II category. IMPORTANT UPDATE, October 4: Some of you have reported learning that all prescriptions for hydrocodone combination products have been nullified for post-October 6 refill by many of your pharmacies. I plan on writing an update after the October 6 change. Your personal identifying information will remain anonymous and, while I may respond, I won't spam you. If you have a personal story to share, please comment below or send a note to my Gmail address at tips4davidkroll. Most important to me are those whose voices were not heard in the decision-making process and who will be extremely inconvenienced by the upscheduling of this drug. Welcome readers: In the month that this post has been up, it has generated abundant discussion among patients taking hydrocodone.
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