DEAR DR. GOTT: I am 73 years old. Owing to arthritis and many broken bones, I have been taking Darvocet with good results. Now the Food and Drug Administration (thanks to Public Citizen) has removed it from the market. I have now been put on a stronger drug (Vicodin). Are there any other medicines you could mention? I have not had much success with the new medication.

DEAR READER: In November 2010, the FDA removed Darvon (propoxyphene) and Darvocet (propoxyphene/acetaminophen) from the market. They also asked generic-drug makers to stop marketing medications that contained propoxyphene. This came after the manufacturer of the drugs completed a new study (at the request of the FDA) that showed propoxyphene put patients at risk of potentially serious and sometimes fatal heart-rhythm abnormalities. Propoxyphene was banned in the United Kingdom in 2005 and in Europe a few years later. It has been a controversial medication for decades.
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