2011 30 Mg Oxycodone Shortage (Page 4)

I am a 51 y/o who lives in Florida, suffering from chronic back pain, and have been prescribed to take up to six 30mg oxycodone tablets a day for over two years by my Pain Management doctor. However, when I went to fill my prescription almost 4 weeks ago, my pharmacy told me their distributor had stopped shipping oxycodone to Florida pharmacies. Since then, I have personally visited about 100 pharmacies but have been unable to find them in stock anywhere. As a former paralegal, I attempted to research the situation, but could only confirm that the DEA has yearly quot on all controlled substances (for oxy's is 98 million grams in 2011). From I gather from the Internet, it appears that the ENTIRE state of FLORIDA is not getting any shipments of oxycodone 30 mg. from distributors, but are other states having this problem as well? Also, can anyone confirm whether (and HOW) the DEA is pressuring distributors to avoid Florida?

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REPORT

Well, after nearly a month upon receiving my, FU, letter of dismissal from my PCP, I finally got an appt in his office to straighten out and clarify my side of the mess I created by doing an early fill for my Oxy's that the pharmacy did fill, but being the honest person that I am,went back to my Dr to advise of my screw-up. He appreciated my honesty, and for me integrity and full disclosure is everything to me. Today's honor system, just isn't that of the same my folks taught me when I was growing up in the 70's & 80's. Nowadays, it is just all a scam to get narcotics, and jeopardize the physicians license. If the Dr. was dirty to begin with, F_ck him or her, if a well intentioned Dr. that one has mislead,f_ck them too. Honesty is indeed the BEST,& ONLY policy.

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They have not completely stopped shipping them to ALL Florida pharmacies. I just filled mine yesterday. I had a lot of trouble filling - however, they are still out there. My main Walgreens rec'd their shipment last night at like 7:30-8pm. Luckily, something told me to stop by & check again (for the 4th time in 2 days) and wa-la! they had them! I was told by both the doctor's office & pharmacist that 2 main oxycodone distributors were shut down by the DEA which has created a SEVERE shortage. Don't stress too much - everything will return to normal at the beginning of next year, 2012.

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My doctor appointment was Monday 12/19 and did the same thing. I normally get 135 30mgs and had them switch me to 270 15mgs for this month due to the severe shortage. I've never had to wait a day to fill my stuff for the 2-3 years I've been going to pain management. Only ONCE actually - but I literally filled the very next day early in the morning. However, my doctor spilt my prescription into two so it would be easier to fill (in case the pharmacy that had them only had half in stock, etc.) ... this can be a real problem b/c some pharmacies may make you wait until the 1st one runs out. So, I went back to my doctor and had him re-write the 2nd script back to the 30 mgs (so 135 15s and 68 30s). Filled my 15s early in the morning and then the 30s last night around 8pm. The shortage is bad - however, they are out there... you just have to keep on looking. 2 main manufacturers have been shut down - but production will return to normal in January.

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I went to my doc and got my script on the 25th of nov but I couldn't fill them till dec 13th due to this shortage. my question is what do I do now I have a doc appt tomorrow but am I able to fill them again or do I have to wait 28 days before I fill them again.i'm in florida . Thx in advance

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Apparently in January everything will return to normal I have been gettin oxycodone 30mgs for the past 6 years from one dr, I am sick of all these r shoppers and dealers, I for one cannot wait for the system comes up so that these people get caught, and im glad to hear that many places are making people get real MRI'S, For all of us with actual problems and were getting these before the big boom for these drug dealers, it will get better. And any one that fits the description of dealer or junkie better try switching to something else cause they are gonna start cracking down HARD.

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shut up.

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I agree with your ad these people need to get MRI"S done just like the rest of us. I do not want to see them changing the formula to these as well because i really would be screwed along with a lot of others who depend on this medication to be able to move around.
Oxycodone helps me to be able to get up and move a little w/o being in server pain. I wish to GOD they would bring the old formulary of oxycontin back.

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Chris in Tampa-

Absolutely! Good for you dude.

There ARE a lot of scammers working the system, but then again there always HAVE been. Apparently the DEA has powers they did not once have. They need to stop wasting our time and money on this petty crap and go get the damned BIG, HARD-DRUG importers but that's not likely to happen now, is it?

When I was coming up in the 60s and 70s it was the same: Colonels importing refrigerators full of fine China white and a bunch of poor-assed users going to the pen. I know- I was one. My first last and only time.

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we are living in a police state that is inching more and more towards communism. Trying to control everything we do. have you tried changing to another medication for a couple of months until the back order sorts itself out?

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Opiate withdrawal can be fatal very easily. First of all is dehydration. when you body is violently rejecting any sort of liquid due to detox this is a very real, sobering and definite threat. another factor is a heart attack. it isn't the detox itself that kills you, it is the side effects of the detox on your body. It is physically damaging and puts a strain on your heart and can also cause a stroke. my blood pressure one time during detox was over 300/210 I believe and had to be shot up with ativan while in police custody because I was very close to a stroke and heart attack. it is B.S. that opiate withdrawal can not be fatal.

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the shortage of oxycodone based products I believe is due to new formulations of oxycodone generics and name brands soon being introduced into the market. new naloxone based oxycodone products have been tested and soon to be released. the abuse potential of this medication is the companies and governments main focus, not patient care and pain management. If anyone bothers to research, they will realize that opium itself was made illegal due to a racist law passed targeting the chinese population to drive them out of business and out of the country. It was NOT regulated because of it's threat. It is a very necessary medicine that should not be regulated at all and available to those who need it just as aspirin is. I don't see what the big deal is. If you think about it, If controlled pharmaceuticals were completely legalized the medical BUSINESS would take a huge hit because people would simply buy the medication they needed over the counter and not see a doctor at all unless it was a severe case. we don't need a babysitter to tell us what we need to do. we are grown adults and it is an insult to think any of this medicine needs to be regulated in the first place. Alcohol is legal and it is 100 times more dangerous and detrimental to people. wake up people.

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I agree with you 200 % They need to leave our much needed pain medication alone. I think we need to start a petition to have them not change any of the formularys of Oxycodone like they did to Oxycontin.. I Take oxycodone 30 mg 8 times a day and Oxycontin 80 mg twice a day and i swear the only one that works well for me is the Oxycodone 30 mg The Oxycontin used to until they messed up the formulary so people out there dont abuse it. So now WE the ones with true pain who depend on pain medications to be able to walk,move or do anthing, will not work as good if they keep screwing with the medication's formulary. In fact I plan on starting a petition to send to perdu to bring back the old Oxycontins.

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To Chris and all other Florida pain patients my The American pain Foundation Leaders are listed above. Try on facebook under the (name and city state) and I know you will find Donna, go back to page 3. She has alot of answers for you. It seems that athere are no limiits, just that Pharmacies aren't ordering. Also her email info is on the painfoundation.org page. She has a task force coalition in place for florida.

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So glad to hear someone else in this universe with some sense.

Merry Christmas mon,

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Please, all of you having problems with your Pain Management and/or problems filling your medications. It is time to start getting together so our voices can be heard. One foundation I know of, The American Pain Foundation, is a good place to start. (painfoundation.org). Find your leader for the American Pain Foundation by going to the the website, click get involved. A drop down list appear, click leaders. This will take you to a map of the country and click on your state. Your leaders email address will be shown.

For Floridians, the Leader in Lithia/Tampa area is handling this situation. Email her and she will fill you in on what's being done about our problem. There is also an APF Florida Facebook page, for support and and working together to be heard. Also run by the FL APF Leader. Search for American Pain Foundation Action Network FLORIDA- Go to the group page. You will have to be added as a member. This is a closed group for privacy. Make sure you choose the GROUP page), Hope to see you there. I have post this way because we can not give contact info on here.

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here's a little story... in 2008 i moved to Fla from NY. i have a couple herniated disks and had been taking 10mg vicodin for many years. still had a bit of pain. dr in fla suggested i try oxy. they made me feel pain-free, happy and energized - fun. in a couple months i creeped up to 30's, a year later got a solid 60 mg 3 times a day habit. not fun. so for 2 years i've been trying to quit but access and the love of the drug kept me chasing. i live in broward county. shortage started a few months ago. last month my pharm said he could only fill 60 pills a month. we'll that's not gonna do s***e, and i'm damn tired of chasing this med. so a few weeks ago i said f'it and started tapering off!! out of the gate I spaced my doses out and dropped down to 2 doses a day. each week i reduce my use by 1/4 pill (7.5 mg) I'm down to 30 mg twice a day! haven't had too much withdrawal probs. for the pain and withdrawal - yoga every morn and night has been a god send. just get down on the floor and stretch. it has seriously helped my back. think it creates lets space between the vertebrate, and less impacting on the crushed disks. lots of super hot showers. and I still have some oxy going into my system (30 mg twice a day) the coming weeks will probably get harder. i'm also taking little bits of xanax to take the edge off (i try and hold out as long as possible) and a beer helps. i'll go back to vicodin when i'm off or nearly off the oxy. i had no probs abusing those pain meds, go figure. anyway, just wanted to give hope - you can kick oxy if this shortage is permanent. no slight on anyone, i'm an old-school pot smoker and liberal, and think the goverment should support addicts. but if you have been to any broward county pain clinic - you know 95% of the people there are reselling their meds to addicts, it's an f'd up thing. the easy access to oxy has created thousands of addicts, ruining peoples lives and stuff. and it's spreading, growing still. goverment is under pressure to find a solution and will go the bad route of just taking it away and leaving people who really need it holding the bag. but i live in fla and am seeing more and more junkies cruising the back alleys of my hood. it's scary yo.

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If opiate withdrawl is not fatal, it can certainly be dangerous. I was on fentanyl patches, and every few months switched to Morphine ER in an attempt to keep my tolerance in check. Then my doctor quit taking my insurance. I am perfectly content to take fentanyl or morphine, as I get effective pain releif from either, however, my new pain doc is so afraid of the DEA he refuses to write anything stronger than 30mg Oxycodone. Normally my blood pressure is 80 over 60 with a heart rate of 60 to 70 bmp. Without pain meds my blood pressure is 165 over 110 and my heart rate is over 105. Since I cannot find the oxycodone anywhere, I have no choice but to use up tax payer dollars with ambulance rides to the emergency room. Yes, with my heart rate and blood pressure so elevated, EMS doesn't hesitate to transport me to the emergency room. Oh, I forgot to mention, I am on medicaid, so each person who voted in this healthcare bill gets to share in the costs of my trips to the ER. I will continue to go to the ER, by ambulance, just to obtain some immediate IV pain meds and a 3 day prescription until I am able to implement my plan which will render me no longer dependendant on the medical association. Remember, opiates were originally derived from a plant, but enough on that topic. I would encourage every legitimate pain patient to flood the emergency rooms and the mailboxes of the DEA, as well as any and every government official you can find.

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The DEA is an absolute fail. I still can't get my prescription oxycodone filled in the pharmacy, but, hey, guess what? I can find them on the street all day, every day for $15 a piece. The only ones that have the means and motivation to spend all day every day hunting down the few oxycodones being released are the ones that are filling scripts just to sell them on the street.
Great job the DEA is doing: now only the pill heads and addicts have the medication that thea legitimate pain patients need. It's time to kick the DEA out of our personal medical conditions.

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its a nightmare! no compassion at all... Ive been on narcptic pain meds for an amputation of my left leg and subsequent other problems and am on a "huge" amount of pain meds, and its just like, sorry man, not our problem. Im so disgusted I could vomit.

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it is hilarious. Looks like we got an early x-mas present with the Oxycodone 30 shortage. I think they are trying to boost sales of other medications that are not selling as well = MORE MONEY since they doubled their profits already with Oxy 30 why not make even MORE money? what a sad corrupt institution we live in.

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