Substance Abuse Community

What was done to it? Does anyone know?

Purdue told me that they added butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and possibly hypromellose to make it gel on contact with moisture. i don't think it's the same as what was added to the generic pills because they made me even sicker than the brand name.

I don't really know what those 2 things are. I'd have to look them up. But if they do what you say, then the purpose would be to stop people from shooting up the pills. That won't really stop abuse. But if people would stop shooting them that's a big step in stopping abuse of the OxyContin.

I had read something about 3 years ago that said those pills were going to be taken off the market. So this was a compromise. By doing this the pills were still allowed to be made and used. But if they no longer kill pain adequately what good is it. They might as well have taken them off the market.

Saxon, from your 1st post it sounds like you were using the pills correctly, and to kill pain. So what's the problem now, do they not kill pain, or do they make your stomach sick? I've had the opiate that's in those pills, but I never had those exact pills. My doc gave me a script for them last year but my insurance co. wouldn't pay for them, at all. So that makes me a bit angry too, because the reason the insurance co. won't cover them is because of all the abuse with them.

So I'm on your side in asking for the original formula to continue to be used. But if it is, I think the courts have ordered them taken off the market.

I thought what they did was to add either Naloxone or Naltrexone to them. This was done to one of the Morphine pills on the Market. Morphine pills are made by quite a few different companies and in quite a few different ways. In one of the pills they added either Nalox or Naltrexone. Those 2 drugs are opiate antidotes. Those are the drugs the docs use if someone takes an opiate over dose. They're also used when docs make a mistake and give someone too much of an opiate in hospitals. So if they counter act the effects of opiates, I don't see how they can be mixed with Morphine and have the Morphine still kill pain. I don't understand that. All I know is because some people abuse opiates, it makes things harder for us folks who take these drugs to kill pain.

they added one of the many varieties of PEG to cause the medication not to come out of suspension and remain gelled no matter what a person does to it, as far as attempts to misuse or abuse it will remain gelled so snorting or cooking or any of that is now not going to happen with the Purdue version. And as far as why did they do it now?? so that they could force there competitors of the generics off the market and extend the patents on the "real thing" forgive me Coca Cola.

Peace

That's not why they did it. They did it because several years ago they paid out multiple millions in law suit damages due to wrongful deaths and addiction complaints. The courts then wanted OxyContin taken off the market. It's simply too dangerous. So this was a way to satisfy the courts and keep what is still a good pain pill on the market. I'm on various pain meds. The thing I like best about Oxy is that it doesn't make me tired and lazy. Most of these drugs make me want to sleep and do nothing. But Oxy allows me to function. And that's why I like. It also doesn't make me more depressed. When a person has chronic pain depression is common. Morphine makes the depression worse. Oxy doesn't. So the drug has many legitimate benefits.

Taximan283
first let me thank you for your input. the side effects are not life threatening. bad headaches, very tired all the time and dry burning eyes, which after paining $300.00 for contacts i cnn"t wear any more. the pills actually feel stronger, especially at first then it tapered down. i used to use the "Patch" but the generic leaked all the stuff into me in 1 hour not 3 days, i DID NOT feel high or good. i was also going through deppresion meg adjustment and the two combined made it worse. my point is that Purdue changed the pills to solve a problem that is not their concern or legal responsablity. the alcohol companies don't get sued everry time someone dies from alcohol related situations and why should they care what happens to people who abuse Oxycontin. few are in cronic pain and the others are breaking the law. use the laws in place to do the work along with the DEA.
i suppose the fact that we won't destroy the poppy field in Afghanistan

you really think that a few million dollars means anything to Purdue, and a court case that ties up 20 of there 20,000 lawyers means something you must be joking. I learned this lesson the hard way a drug company made a drug that i took 20 years ago i have had 2 heart attacks and developed Diabetes from it , at the time we settled the company had made 740 Billion in worldwide sales do you think my little multi million dollar settlement meant anything, not in the least they tossed the money at me stomped me like an an,t and revised the label on the bottle to include theses as side effects and the continue to sell this drug and they probably are over 100 billion in sales by now.

Peace

It wasn't a few million. I don't recall the exact number but it was substantial. But what was worse was how many plaintiffs there were in the lawsuits. There were also quite a few charges of wrongful death. If it had been left up to the drug company I can see where they would have blown it off. But the courts didn't leave it up to the drug company. The court ordered OxyContin to be taken off the market.

That was the status of the case when I read the article. So for the past few years I've been wondering what happened, because OxyContin is still on the market. But now we hear the formula has been changed. Legal things are not my forte, but my guess is the drug company appealed the decision, and the courts agreed to leave OxyContin on the market providing the drug company changed the formula so that you can no longer shoot the pills. I guess you can't snort them neither? But from what I read, the main thing the courts were concerned about was people shooting OxyContin, because I think most, if not all of the deaths occurred with people who were shooting the drug.

Look, I know what I read. I just don't remember the name of the publication I read it in. If I did you could go to a library and ask to see the archives of that publication. You could read the article yourself, and then you decide what you think is going on.

I'm not saying the drug company didn't love being able to get a new patent on Oxy and then be the only company who could make and sell the pill for X number of years. I'm sure they love that. But this whole thing came from all the lawsuits. When as many people are suing over a certain drug as this one, and there were many deaths, the courts have to do something. And this is what they did. That's all.

in My lawsuit there was 9 clases of plaintiff from 1 (being Minmally affected) to 9 (death) i was class 8, Oxcy was the most over priced and "good for every Patient Pill" with a "very low to non existent addiction or abuse potential" according to the drug rep's original marketing training that they then fed the Doctors and they stared prescribing like crazy and then the ball dropped and the truth csme out...ooops

Peace

TDX, were you part of the class action Oxy suit? Because what you said was another thing I read. The lawsuits were against the docs as well as the maker of OxyContin. And the main defense the docs used was that the drug reps told them Oxy has the lowest addiction and abuse potential of all the pain pills there are. But anyone with any experience with pain pills knows this is false. I haven't had every pain pill on the market, but of all the ones I have had, Oxy has the worst cravings and therefore the greatest addiction and abuse potential. The thing is Oxy makes you feel good in a way not all pain pills do. And when a person has chronic pain, you feel rotten and depressed almost all the time. Even when the pain isn't there. At least I do. I'm always down in the dumps because I know I have this chronic pain syndrome. So a pill that makes me feel good in addition to killing the pain, is exactly what I want. Unfortunately, it seems the law greatly limits how much my doc is allowed to give me. But they don't impose those limitations on Morphine. However, Morphine doesn't make me feel good. In fact it makes me feel worse. My depression gets worse with Morphine. So chronic pain is a lose lose situation. Oxy is the only small salvation there is, and because of the people who abuse it, a legitimate patient like me, can't have enough to last the month. It's terrible.

No i was noy part of the Oxcy lawsuit as a matter of fact i take oxcycodone as my break thru med and use Fentanyl 75 Mcg patches q 48, i too am a chronic pain patient and read all the boards that interest me, so although never addicted i have interest in it.

and my knowledge of drugs and lawsuits is pretty good from my own experience and all, and all my doctors know dont even try and get me to take a drug thats not been on the market for at least five and even then its "iffy" if there are serious lawsuits against the drug. such 2 or three recent drugs that have come out that have a side effect profile of causing cancer who in there right mind is going to take that??

and i do truly share your pain i am just a week shy of turning 42 and i have so much wrong and so many causes for pain they cant tell me why i hurt(basicly they cant boil it down to one disease instead of the whole table full) no one has any doubt that i am in severe pain and i need my med's they just wish they could give me more answers.

Peace

Well, we're not in exactly the same boat, but we're certainly on the same body of water. They know most of my pain is coming from my back, and the MRI showed all the things wrong. But there isn't any surgery for what's wrong, and I doubt I'd let them operate even if they wanted to. I've read too many posts from too many people who had spinal surgery go wrong. I'd rather be hooked on pain pills and deal with the side effects. However, other than the back pains, my body is wracked with other pains they can't find reasons for. They chalk it up to depression and to a certain extent, I think they're right. But what came 1st, the depression that caused the pains, or the pains that make me depressed? This no one knows. At this point it's a viscous cycle with the 2 things feeding each other. The pain makes me more depressed, which in turn makes me deem the pains as worse than they are. Currently I am not in pain, but the Morphine I take makes me so tired I find doing anything very hard. Only the Oxycodone helps me to function, and the doc can't give me anymore than he already does. The only way to give me more Oxy would be with the OxyContin pill, and thanks to all the people who abuse it, and get them fool self's killed with it, my insurance won't even touch it. Maybe in a couple of years they'll cover this new formula. But does the new formula work? Does it kill the pain? That's what I need to know.

You know what else makes me upset is when other people think I'm lucky because I get to be on pain pills and don't work much. They're more fools. I'd rather work any day than be in pain, and have to take all these pills. I will admit there was a time when I thought taking a few pain pills a day was fun. But that was when it was for a toothache, or even a broken bone. Something I knew would heal and go away. But now it's like I'm on this stuff for life, and it's no fun at all.

To everyone reading this, I say watch your health. Do what you can to be healthy and stay healthy. Maybe all this would have happened to me anyway, but maybe not. I never lived a healthy life style because I was depressed since I was 18. I say join a gym, if you can, and eat healthy, and don't do drugs for fun. When I was young there were no gyms yet. But I could have eaten healthy, and I could have done some kinds of exercise. And I could have chosen to not use drugs. If only I had it to do over again. I'd do it all different.

Amen

i used to use the 75Mcg patch, but i have a very bad problem with constipation no matter what i take for pain, but with the 75 i couldn't "feel" myself push when tryig to BM. i switched to 50 which was better. then i got the generic and it leaked. i called the doctors office and they wouldn't do anything until the next week when my script was due. well i went throught hell getting off that crap. i've delt wit a lot of doctors and i don't know if it's were i live or what but it's a grap shoot to find a good one especially when it comes to pain. after going to a pain clinic on and off from 2000-2006 i finnaly got it worked out 3x 40mg oxycontin & 3x 15mg oxycodone. life was good.NOTE: i suffer from 3 ruptured dics in lower back, surgery, because i wasn't given an MRI until 2000 from an injury in 1995 the surgen said not good idea. then generic changes formula. i'm so sick i can't take it, switch to brand name OC. my HMO constantly was screwing up my scripts and when i made a stink they through me out. my new doctor, after 2 yrs tells me he thinks i'm taking "an awful lot of meds. and he has the right to change my scripts and that he can legally do so every 3 yrs. well i had my release paper from the pain cilic which stated what i was to take, no time limit and that if my condition got worse to return. he didn't seem to care about what i concidered a "legal binding document" but didn't change anything, but i ended up going back to the sme pain clinic seeing a "new" doctor not one that had previously had. this guy belives pain is just in our heads or it might be caused by somthing else ie.: diebetes, cilyac? or over weight. i went through blood test after blood test. fortunatly? i was due for a colonoscopy and that doctor said I DID NOT have cilyac. i'm 5'9" and was at 199lb. i'm usually 175lb. i lost 27lb and went to PT for 10 wks. well no diebetes either. my basic story is that i've had a somewhat "active " life in that i've had injuries but no broken bones. about a week after landing badly on my back i suddenly got a sharp pain in my right ass cheek, like a knife. as i stated before no injury showed up on xray, no MRI, so i thought soft tissue damage will heal in time. well this new doctors theory is told damage think pain. he gets pissed when i tell him i described my condtion to a 'T" before knowing it. i wish there was an advocate for us to go to when they try to play these games. now he has me reading two books, both full of his BS thinking. i'm planing on sending my file s to them . one is "STAbbed in the back" by Dr. norton m. hadler. the other the pain chronicles by Melanie Thernstorm. i'll give you a little insight to Hadler: he's a condesending" BALLOON KNOT". final thought: why do doctors replace hips, knees etc. and not just say "suck it up"? medicine is there to help people.no one should live in pain and GOD help the SOB i catch that's abusing this right!!!

At the moment I have a wonderful doc. But I have a nightmare story too. I developed a pain syndrome in right arm when I developed spontaneous spinal nerve damage in my cervical spine. The damage is in the spine, but most of the pain is in my right arm. That was in 02. I still have it, but most of it has calmed down. But it's still there. So for 2.5 years I was on 4 - 8 Vicodin a day. I then hit 14 Vicodin a day for a short while. Then I went on Subutex. That now seems like a bad idea. I just didn't want to do a detox off the Vicodin, and Subx seemed like a good idea. I was very happy on it for 5 years. It killed the pain in my right arm, and made me feel OK. Not high, and that's fine with me, because I have moved past wanting to feel high. Besides, my drugs were Pot and Beer. Never narcotics, or opiates as I prefer to call them. And then 1 year ago these back pains became very intense. They've been building for a number of years but they became very strong very quickly. So I had a spinal MRI done, and all the doc said to me was, "Your back is a mess". He was a surgeon but didn't give me a follow up apt. I know what that means. It means there's nothing for him to operate on. Instead he told me to go to a pain clinic. The pain clinic wouldn't take my insurance, and so I went on pain meds. Luckily I have a doc who understands what Subx did to me. Subx has given me a tolerance that is through the roof. I now need 240 mg of Morphine a day to stay out of pain, and out of wds. And the wds are worse than the pain. I cut the dose down 2 or 3 times a week so I can have a BM and when I do my back hurts too much. So as soon as I can, I go back to my usual dose. I also get some Oxycodone every month and when I have them, I take them instead of Morphine. I need about 300 mg a day of Oxy. So I take Oxy or Morphine, and I'm out of pain, but I am quite alarmed at how much I take. And this is what Subx did to me. I only needed about 100 mg of Hydrocodone a day when I went on Subx, and now I need what I told you. I had no idea Subx was going to do this to me. I was never a Heroin user. So with all the pain meds I'm on, my life is terrible too.

I also suffer from Depression and anxiety, and I have been this way since a teen or about 32. The anxiety started at 32. I was labeled Addict in my life because of my Pot use. Not because of Opiates. I only became hooked on Opiates because I took them for pain, like you do.

Maybe Subx did 1 good thing for me. I no longer crave more and more of the pain meds I take. I need a certain amount, and once I reach that amount, there's no cravings for more and more. I don't know how Subx caused this to happen, but it seems to be a permanent effect, even though I'm off Sub about 10 months now. I also no longer get a buzz from anything I take. But I still need these massive doses everyday, and I never knew this would happen. I wish I would have done the detox from the Vicodin back in 05.

So I guess I wish us both luck. Chronic pain is 1 of the worst ways to live. There are worse things, I know that. But this is also 1 of the worst.

Btw, I was also on the Fentanyl patch and it didn't work because I sweat too much. At least that was what we think. But I was on the Mylan brand patch and it's not a gel filled patch. Instead the drug is infused into the glue. You can even cut the patches up into any size you want and they work as if they were the size you cut them into. The drug can't leak out because it's not a gel filled patch. So if you ever want to try them again, insist that the pharmacy get you the Mylan patch. But you still have the BM problem. That's why I like the pills. I simply cut down on them when I need a BM and then go back to my regular dose. It works best for me.

Btw, Subx is now being made as a patch for pain patients. They're going to start to give that stuff to opiate naive people who were never even addicted to anything. I think this is terrible.