Since the acetaminophen component of those drugs is what's at issue -- not the narcotic component -- it seems that doctors could just prescribe the single-component narcotic w/o the acetaminophen.

Is the other ingredient available separately for doctors to prescribe? (I've never understood the painkillers used in the US - different ones are generally prescribed here.) I used to take a formulation of dihydrocodeine and acetaminophen, but it gave me headaches. Taking the dihyd. separately from the acetaminophen, then adding the acet. in smaller quantities if I need it, always seemed to work better. I've had the headaches with other narcotic painkillers when combined with acetaminophen. Over here, I'm fairly sure there are doctors who prefer to prescribe the ones that include acet. because they think people are afraid of the effects and therefore less likely to overdose. Of course, the reverse is what's actually happening. We've recently had co-proxamol, a popular combination narcotic painkiller, banned to prevent accidents. That's annoyed a whole lot of people for whom other medications don't work.

Aceteminophen is available here in drugstores without a prescription as Tylenol.

They're talking about reducing the maximum dose per pil from 500 mg to 375. Which is fucking stupid. What will happen is that people will start taking three of the "regular" strength pills, therefore getting 175mg MORE than the old dose. Idiots!

My dad was one of the people inadvertently OD-ing on acetaminophen. He takes percocet for diabetic neuropathy, and was also taking Tylenol PM for insomnia. He didn't realize that percocet has acetaminophen (or didn't realize that acetaminophen -- which was on the percocet bottle label -- is the generic name for Tylenol).

Nothing bad happened, as far as I know, but when I realized he was taking the 2 drugs, I told him to just get benadryl, since that's the sleep-making part of Tylenol PM anyway.

Aceteminophen is available here in drugstores without a prescription as Tylenol.

Yeah, here too (different brand name). It's the others that are treated differently in each country. Last time I was in New York I went looking for codeine for my migraines, and was told it's prescription-only. Next visit, I'm taking my own (plus a copy of the prescription!)...

What will happen is that people will start taking three of the "regular" strength pills, therefore getting 175mg MORE than the old dose.

Do you (not just Vortex; the general "you") think that more people ignore the limits given on the bottle of an OTC drug, or adhere to them? Because I know a ton of people who REFUSE to ever take more of any OTC drug than the bottle says, even when I point out that when the same drug is prescribed, the dose is 2x that amount. Like ibuprofen.

Yeah, here too (different brand name)

Paracetamol! I remember this because when I was in london, a little boy told me a joke (why are there no headaches in the jungle? Because parrots eat em all (say it fast) )and he was very upset that I didn't laugh because I didn't know what paracetamol was!

Because parrots eat em all (say it fast) )and he was very upset that I didn't laugh because I didn't know what paracetamol was!

Heh. Ancient joke. Actually paracetamol isn't a brand name - it's another version of the chemical name.

I argued with The Girl, who is not British, about this for years. She refused to believe that acetaminophen and paracetamol were the same thing. She'd been importing Tylenol for years, claiming it worked better than cheap paracetamol from the pharmacy down the road. She was most upset when I eventually proved to her they were exactly the same thing. (I nearly had to demonstrate with actual chemistry.)

Do you (not just Vortex; the general "you") think that more people ignore the limits given on the bottle of an OTC drug, or adhere to them? Because I know a ton of people who REFUSE to ever take more of any OTC drug than the bottle says, even when I point out that when the same drug is prescribed, the dose is 2x that amount. Like ibuprofen.

I will ask if it's safe if the "recommended" dose isn't doing the trick. For example, my doctor was prescribing 600Mg of naprosen for my cramps. 30 pills was a $12 co pay. However, my doctor suggested that I buy Aleve, which comes in 250mg tablets. Taking three aleve is cheaper than $12 prescription pills, and my doctor gave me the okay for that dose, since he knows that I only take it three days a month.

Random pronunciation question - do y'all pronounce naproxen as na-PROX-en or NAP-per-sen? The first time I ever heard it was as the 2nd way, but I suspect that might have been just my oh-so-southern roommate.