Heart Attack Patient Shocked to Discover Darvon/Darvocet Recall

Weare, NHJeff recently found out that Darvon and Darvocet are associated with heart problems, which explains why he suffered a heart attack in his prime, and why he is furious with the FDA. "If the FDA is going to approve a drug like Darvon or Darvocet, and if it is going to cause more harm than good, it should be public knowledge," says Jeff. "It's like me making moonshine out of grain liquor and not telling my customers it will make them blind."

Darvon has been around for half a century, and the FDA has been petitioned to remove both Darvon and Darvocet from the market, but it took the agency about 30 years to do so. And that doesn't bode well with Jeff or potentially thousands upon thousands of Darvon or Darvocet users who have suffered either accidental overdoses or heart problems. Or death.

Jeff took both Darvon and Darvocet for severe back pain since 1982, when he was hit by a truck. "I shattered so many bones the doctors told me I would never walk again but I proved them wrong," Jeff says, catching his breath and wheezing. "I was a senior mechanical engineer for the military that involved a lot of lifting so I quit my job to become a farmer—I grew up on a farm in Ireland.

"Three or four years ago I was outside getting our winter wood supply ready and suddenly both my arms went numb. I went back to the house and sat down for a while then went back to splitting wood. I was really listless for about a week then fine again. About six months later I went to the doctor for a different med because the Darvon wasn't helping my pain anymore. I also mentioned that I had mild chest pains.

"He sent me to a cardiologist who ordered a battery of tests and found out that I had suffered a heart attack! I was shocked to discover my heart was only working at 45 percent capacity. How could this be? I was only 47 years old and in great health. It certainly explained how this attack had curtailed my activities…

"The first year I farmed, I was able to split 12 cords of wood by hand, but the second year (after the attack) we had to purchase a log splitter because I couldn't even swing an axe. I built a barn that should have taken three weeks to finish; instead it took three months.

"Anyway, my cardiologist suggested that I build my stamina back up and he put me on all kinds of meds. We never talked about how the heart attack could have happened, and never connected it to Darvon or Darvocet.

"Then my wife saw an ad on TV recently about the Darvon recall. 'If you have had a heart attack and took Darvon, call an attorney,' it said. It shocked the hell out of both of us. I was taking this med to ease the pain and here it is damaging my heart. I am now taking morphine sulphate; it is addictive but it has been around since the 1800s—a lot longer than Darvocet—and it isn't going to kill me. But my cardiologist said it's doubtful that I will get better and I'm only 51—this heart attack pretty much caused permanent damage."