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Mrs. Cream never even considered that she could slip on the rug in her own living room – a rug that by her own estimate she had walked over a thousand times. But the stumble caused her to hit a table and fracture her hip.

After surgery and a hospital stay, Mrs. Cream, 77, was sent home with a prescription for a pain reliever called Darvocet. Not only did the medicine not control her pain, she found it also made her confused and sleepy.

Research has shown that Darvocet (and its first cousin Darvon) is no more effective than acetaminophen (Tylenol) or aspirin, and perhaps it is no more effective than even a sugar pill. Experts suggest that to treat serious pain, ibuprofen is far more effective than Darvocet.

The active ingredient in Darvocet is propoxyphene (also found in Darvon and Wygesic), which is dangerous and ineffective. Specifically, propoxyphene can cause serious cardiac problems, including issues with the heart pumping blood. Propoxyphene also causes harmful effects on the brain (sedation and confusion) that can lead to the type of problems many people experience – difficulty standing, loss of balance and difficulty thinking clearly.

If that's not bad enough, once people are started on these medicines, it can be hard to stop because the medicines are addictive.

Drugs containing propoxyphene can be toxic even at normal doses – over the past two decades, they are estimated to have been responsible for at least 2,000 deaths in the United States. Their toxicity is greater in the elderly, suggesting that the drug was particularly inappropriate for Mrs. Cream, yet these pills are prescribed for millions of older folks in emergency rooms, nursing homes and in hospitals after surgery.

Dangerous and ineffective are two qualities of a drug that one would think might lead a concerned and consumer-focused Food and Drug Administration to take the drugs off the market. But the FDA is neither.

Information about propoxyphene's dangers and ineffectiveness of isn't new. These facts are at least 20 years old. Public Citizen, the nonprofit health advocacy group, publishes the useful "Worst Pills, Best Pills" (Pocket, $19.95, 960 pages).

Based on sound research, the book has listed medicines containing propoxyphene in the "do not use" category for more than two decades. The sad fact is that doctors – particularly older doctors – seem unwilling to stop prescribing these drugs despite the fact there are a number of safer and more effective alternatives for pain relief.

Pills with propoxyphene remain among the top 25 most- prescribed generic drugs in America. Last year alone, 22 million prescriptions were written for these drugs. At this point, it is unclear who is more addicted to the drug – doctors or their patients.

Federal law requires the FDA to remove unsafe products. I have no idea why drugs containing propoxyphene remain on the market, particularly when other countries removed them years ago based on the documented dangers. But Americans may be a step closer to having the drugs removed thanks to a lawsuit filed last week by Public Citizen. The group is suing the FDA for disregarding the known dangers of the drug.

I called the FDA to ask whether it felt drugs with propoxyphene were safe and effective. A representative told me that she was unable to comment on the drug's effectiveness or safety due to the pending litigation. She did confirm that the FDA has been working on "a response" to the complaint for the past several years, but said these things take time.

I asked how much time it could take to determine if a drug was unsafe. She refused to comment. I contacted her supervisor, who also was unwilling to comment on whether the FDA was worried about the drug's safety. I asked if the FDA felt the public had any reason to worry. Again she would not comment.

It appears that the FDA could have had one of two responses. Either it could say the drug is safe and effective and all the research showing its danger is untrustworthy. Or it could say the safety of the drugs is of concern and doctors should prescribe other pain medication until the issue is fully resolved.

"No comment" seems inexcusable as a response from an agency whose mission is to protect the health of the public.

Mrs. Cream is no longer taking Darvocet, and she is pain free. But thousands of other patients are being prescribed drugs containing propoxyphene.

It is unclear what direction the court will take, but it is absolutely clear that until the drugs are removed from the market, doctors should simply stop prescribing them and choose alternatives that are safe and effective.

As for you, if your doctor offers to prescribe these medicines, don't take them. Ask for an alternative pain reliever.

Michael Wilkes, M.D., is a professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis. Identifying characteristics of patients mentioned in his column are changed to protect their confidentiality. Reach him at drwilkes@sacbee.com.

This video shows us why sharing is so important.  In life we should USE Things and LOVE People. Far too often we get this in reverse.  Please leave your comments about this video… Because sharing is great for your health – AND the health of others!