Taking Pains With a Painkiller

As FDA Weighs Limits on Acetaminophen, Consumers Must Stay Alert to Prevent an Overdose

By MELINDA BECK, WSJ

Whether or not the Food and Drug Administration decides to limit sales of acetaminophen, consumers should know this:

• It’s easy to take more than the recommended daily dose without realizing it.
• The margin between a safe dose and a potentially lethal one is small.
• The first symptoms of acute liver failure caused by an overdose seem like the flu and don’t set in for several days, by which time it may be too late to save your liver and consequently your life.

That’s what happened to Rebecca Drake’s 23-year-old sister, April, who was taking an acetaminophen product for acid reflux. Ms. Drake, a pharmacist, told an FDA advisory panel last week that April kept taking more and more to control pain. She suffered acute liver failure and died last year, despite a last-minute liver transplant.

Such unintentional overdoses prompted the panel to recommend sweeping limits on acetaminophen, including lowering the maximum daily dose to 2,600 milligrams from 4,000 mg and limiting the amount in a single over-the-counter pill to 325 mg, from 500 mg currently. The panel also recommended banning sales of prescription pain relievers that combine opioids with acetaminophen, including Percocet and Vicodin, among the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S. If the full FDA follows the panel’s advice, it could have a major impact on the multibillion-dollar pain relief industry and the U.S health-care system at large.

(Continued here.)