Darvocet is an opioid painkiller that has been pulled off the market. Image: Flickr / amayzun /CC-BY
After an FDA recommendation, the maker of Darvocet and Darvon has pulled the painkillers off the market. The active ingredient in Darvocet has been shown to cause abnormal heart rhythms. Doctors have been told to quit prescribing Darvocet, though the recommendation also advised individuals with the prescription to continue taking it.
Darvocet pulled off the market
In cooperation with the FDA, the maker of Darvocet and Darvon has removed the product from the market. Propoxyphene, the active ingredient in Darvocet, has been found to cause irregular heart rhythms. Drug approval agencies in the United Kingdom and European Union have already pulled propoxyphene-containing drugs such as Darvocet off the market, as early as 2005. Pharmacists have been instructed to immediately stop filling prescriptions, and doctors are to stop writing prescriptions for Darvocet.
Darvocet questioned in 2009
The active ingredient in Darvocet was first approved by the FDA in 1957. Safety questions have followed the drug for years, and in January of 2006, an FDA panel recommended its removal from the market. The FDA rejected this recommendation, though, in favor of further study of the drug. There were studies going back as far as 31 years, sponsored by drugmaker Lilly, that stated “cardiac conduction depression may be a factor in some of the (human) cardiac toxicities associated with propoxyphene overdose.”
The cost of the Darvocet ban
The recent ban on Darvocet is raising many questions about FDA drug approval and review procedures. It is estimated that about 120 million prescriptions for Darvocet or propoxyphene prescriptions have been filled in the past two years. At approximately $70 per prescription, that means more than $8 billion worth of Darvocet has been sold. The FDA is recommending that anyone who currently has a prescription for Darvocet continue taking the drug and immediately consult with a health care professional to find other alternatives.
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We need to get a petition in motion to force the FDA to put Darvocet back on the market. Most of the people
taking Darvocet have benefitted and have not suffered heart attacks or irregular heart rhythms.
Someone familiar with this proceedure, please take the lead!
did these studies find that "over time" you would develop this or just randomly even if you were newly prescribed darvocet?
It can happen no matter how long you have been taking the drug, though those who have been taking it longer appeared to be at a higher risk.
Yes I have abnorman heart beat! Yes I have pacemaker due to electrodes going out! Yes darvocet was my main drug for pain! I have bad knees and arthritis. Two heart surgeries! I believe darvocet has caused me to almost die when the electrodes went out in my heat. No I don't or never abused the drug but took one or two a day since 1993. I thought this was safer than taking the more high powered meds. I need answers. Please help.
This is…or was the strongest med I could take for my back pain without getting sick from the opiates. I've never had an irregular heartbeat from using it but then again I've never abused it either. Guess i have to switch to Ultraset or Ultram…unless they get banned too.