Drug history (maybe brand names)

skelly · Feb 5, 2008

Does anyone know where I can find a resource that will tell me when a certain drug was in use? Or, conversely, what drugs were used at a certain point in time?

I'm back in 1964 and I have a nurse in a maternity ward with a hellacious toothache. She has had to resist the urge to head (i have no idea where, maybe she has a buddy in the hospital pharmacy...dispensary?) and grab a couple......

There I break down. I was able to google to the point that I figure she would grab a few Demerols, but did they call it that back then? I got that it is a chemical compound called pethidine, and that it has been around since the 30's, but what was it called back in 1964?

Are there any resources that give you the history of when certain drug brand names became available?

As always, thank you very much for any information.

HeronW · Feb 5, 2008

from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pethidine

skelly · Feb 5, 2008

Thank you for your time

I found that earlier. It doesn't give me the info I need, tho.

reigningcatsndogs · Feb 5, 2008

I checked with my mom and my sister who were/are nurses, and my brother who is a professor of Pharmacology. Demerol has been around since at least the 40's, although at first it was always given as an injection. You might have to check when the tablets came out if that's what you need. There were also 282's and 292's. The Demerol, being a narcotic, is very strictly monitored and controlled, so the 282/292 route might be better. It gives you a starting place to look anyways!

skelly · Feb 5, 2008

Yes it does. Thank you very much reigning, I really appreciate your help. I'm headed back into the net to check all that out

ColoradoGuy · Feb 5, 2008

As I recall, Darvon (propoxyphene) was probably the most commonly used oral more-powerful-than-mere-aspirin pain killer during the 60's and early 70's. Later it usually was compounded with tylenol as Darvocet. Another commonly-used oral drug then was aspirin compounded with codeine, but these days it is combined with acetamenophin rather than aspirin and called Tylenol #2, #3 or #4, depending how much codeine is in it. Dilaudid (hydromorphone) came in around then as a more powerful oral narcotic drug but was less commonly used in my recollection.

Narcotics are much more closely monitored these days in hospital pharmacies then they were during the 1960s, especially the oral ones. For one thing, there was a "floor stock" of these drugs that nurses could dispense to patients; now they come directly from the central pharmacy. When I was an intern in 1976, for example, I once had a smashing, incapacitating migraine and a nurse just handed me a Darvon from floor stock--that would never happen these days.

The categories of drugs, called DEA schedules, have also changed since then. Darvon, for example, was not really closely controlled at all even though propoxyphene is a narcotic.

Bottom line--what you're thinking could easily be done in 1964, particularly with oral Darvon or aspirin with codeine.

skelly · Feb 6, 2008

CG- That's perfect, and very interesting as well. Thank you for your insight. I really appreciate you taking the time

Tsu Dho Nimh · Feb 6, 2008

Popular non-narcotic pain killer in the 1960s was "Darvon". Small pink pill, quite efffective.

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/propox.htm

ColoradoGuy · Feb 6, 2008

Tsu Dho Nimh said:
Popular non-narcotic pain killer in the 1960s was "Darvon". Small pink pill, quite efffective.

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/propox.htm

Darvon is actually a narcotic. See my post above.

GeorgeK · Feb 7, 2008

I can say from being both a patient and the prescriber that darvon tends to work reasonably for incisional pain, kidney stones and broken bones, without much in the way of euphoria or confusion at the prescribed dosage, but seems not to do a whole lot for headaches or pain from infections. Most Common side effect: constipation

dobiwon · Feb 7, 2008

In the mid-to-late 60s I used to work in the quality control lab for the company that made Demerol. I tested and released plenty of it, so I can assuredly say it existed then and was in common use. Pethidine was the name by which it was known in Europe.

johnnysannie · Feb 7, 2008

GeorgeK said:
I can say from being both a patient and the prescriber that darvon tends to work reasonably for incisional pain, kidney stones and broken bones, without much in the way of euphoria or confusion at the prescribed dosage, but seems not to do a whole lot for headaches or pain from infections. Most Common side effect: constipation

I agree. I've been prescribed Darvon post-surgery and it was effective but did have the same side effect George mentions.

Now codeine would have been a common pain med in the 1960's and since. I was prescribed it during college during a brief illness and it did give me the euphoric, floating feelings that are not associated with Darvon.

Tsu Dho Nimh · Feb 7, 2008

ColoradoGuy said:
Darvon is actually a narcotic. See my post above.

It's not an opiate, which is what I meant. Not much for euphoria either, unless you mix it with alcohol, which is suicidally stupid.

It was pretty good for things like cramps, wisdom teeth, etc. but I tended to become homicidal if I took it for more than 24 hours.

Drug history (maybe brand names)

skelly

Kickin it old school, posers beware

HeronW

Down Under Fan

skelly

Kickin it old school, posers beware

reigningcatsndogs

Too sad for words.

skelly

Kickin it old school, posers beware

ColoradoGuy

I've seen worse.

skelly

Kickin it old school, posers beware

Tsu Dho Nimh

ColoradoGuy

I've seen worse.

GeorgeK

ever seeking

dobiwon

Planning to retire for the 5th time

johnnysannie

Tsu Dho Nimh