2011 30 Mg Oxycodone Shortage (Page 8)
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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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Carl, that was an excellent response. I've seen pink and yellow percs - think it depends on mg and manufacturer. Just like there are blue vicodin and white ones.

Once I get on a roll, it's hard to stop me too LOL. Good to see some great, normal posts!

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the Pharmacist had us come on the weekends when she was there and not during the week when the "other" Pharmacists was there.. I would drop the script on a Friday and p/u on Saturday.. I am a bit concerned about next month.. We went thru 4 months of Hell like others on here have.. looking for the oxy's..All I can say is thank goodness for the methadone.. it helps hubby maintain until they CAN get filled...

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Sandy,.. I wanted to say the same thing the other day, but figured I'd wait and let someone else catch that. I was getting Percodan, back in the 70's, Schedule II as always, made by Endo, yellow, and the half dose was Demi Percodan and pink. Then they came out with Percocet, white, which seems the mainstream now. Percodan having only 4.5mg oxycodone hydrocloride, but it also has small amounts of oxycodone in another form other than hydrochloride. So people don't necessarily think you get more from Percocet at 5mg hydrochloride. I have no idea or need to figure out the comparisons of the 1/2 mg more hydrochloride to the smaller doses of 1/2 mg that are not hydrochloride comparability, it may actually be stronger. I could never tell the difference. As you said, Perc's and Oxycontin, same drug, same drug been around many many years, one has APAP, one time release. Well there I go, I said it anyway, can't stop me once I get started.

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To bound up Kevin. Get some prune juice [for a quicker fix] and eat a lot of dried fruit. Your body is not used to the change yet and you should adjust to "normal" again, soon. In the mean time - god that sucks! It's worse than the having to go all the time. If I had a choice, guess give me a library, rather go than not! Peace and laughter

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Good luck! Keep in contact. Let them know your concern, as well as getting the district manager and area manager's contact information! Walgreens used to be very good to people. Then I actually exp what you did when trying them one month when my store didnt have enough to fill my script in full. The line was "will not have them and we will *never* have them in stock" Well if you've been a regular patient, they should have called all other stores you would be willing to travel to if required.

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To HUCK. Percodan and Percocet still exist. They are not for chronic, long term pain. Percocet especially is not due to the tylenol in them [APAP/combo pain meds tend to be for short term, acute pain like surgery, tooth probs, broken bone etc].

Tylenol is the #1 reason for liver transplants in the US. And you have it backwards, oxycodone IR has been around longer than the oxycontin [which is extended release]. I manage my pain on an IR alone. Been on very high doses and currently on relatively low dose mostly due to injections each month. But, I have to include a small amount of MJ daily - late afternoon - which has long been known by pain doctors and researchers in CA to help you require LESS opiates for your pain [literally meaning it stops the feeling of needing to add another opiate and you can go from 6 to 5 or 4 in a day. Let alone the help with pain and if it's good it'll help with anxiety too].

Plus the DEA has always been involved with these medications, the second they were manufactured.

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Been with WALGREENS for over 10 yrs.. same scripts for the last 6yrs "my" RX decided that they had none, couldn't get them etc..... so I went to every Walgreens I could find.. plus whatever RX i drove by I stopped Finally after 6hrs I found a Walgreens that saw I was there ever month for the past yr. I've had no problems for 3 months..but the Pharmacists I am dealing with is going to Greece for 6 months!! yikes so I will see what happens in April...

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Thanks Donna. But it has nothing to do with having an ER med w/an IR med. I had to go off the ER due to cost. Then a new doc changed mine to even less of the IR.

30mgs as of 03/2012 are not available. I use only the same pharmacy each month within a chain store - best rec I can give any patient. STAY WITH ONE PHARMACY!

The only reason I have not run into shortages is due to the care they provide. The only reason they provide me with great care is getting to know me, what's wrong with me and talking to me about my doc/s etc.

If you can find a pharmacy with a stable pharmacy staff [meaning few staff changes] they will go the extra mile for you. Perfect example was yesterday - had monthly doc appt and contacted them that morning so I knew what I was going to be up against. Turned out they only had enough to fill for me and that was only if another regular didnt get them first [because they weren't giving them to new patients - which is a HUGE problem. New patients are having the biggest problem].

Well my MIL came to my appt with me; after my urinalysis - doc gave my script to her to take into the pharmacy [it was getting late in the day/early evening]

Staff didnt know her LOL they almost told her NO until she told them it was for me. MIL called docs while I was still getting injections to say "all is well"

My doc was furious to find out an 85yr old woman had to drive to hundreds of different pharmacies to get script filled. I explained to *him* the process w/a pharmacy, getting to know the staff and how new patients are being screwed. Get to know thy pharmacy manager, treat them w/lots of respect, like anyone else. With advanced notice they will try to order your medications to be available for you when they arrive. Talk to them, explain why you take them. It's not that they must know but it sure helps them understand why.

Plus, they know who is a good doc and who is the shady doc in town - so they can give good recs or warn you if you are with a doc that pharmacies balk at. However, even if you run into a doc like that, if you have built your relationship up with the staff, they will take your script anyway. Just cannot say enough about sticking with the same store, within a chain. They can also call all other stores if there is a problem, saving you a long drive. There are many reasons for people going to dif pharmacies, but I've only been to two different chains in 10yrs. The one I'm with now has been for over 7yrs! Those ladies deserve some flowers now that I think about it. They really do go above and beyond for me!

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Tammie can you re-post the full link to the FDA article? It looks like the one you put up is cut off.

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fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/Dru...
Everyone needs to read this website You will think different about a lot of things about 1 person that's for sure...he is on our side he is putting a stop to price gouging and the medication shortages....Thank Obama. I was not a Obama... fan at all but if u read it might change your mind because it sure changed my mine..he has my vote....please read he is on our side.HE is putting a stop to PRICE GOUGING AND THE MEDICATION SHORTAGES...Obama needs 4 years

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Hey Chris, #201 Who were you directing your comment at? I thinkl I totally agree with you. I am curious, If you don't want to post here I have an open e/m if you would let me know

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Most people who take oxycodone are not addicts,and in since you are so brilliant,you should know percocet can be 7.5 and 10 mg's as well as 5.Perhaps you should follow your own advice,and read up on the medications.Oxycodone and oxycontin are relatively new pain meds,1995 they were introduced,and people with pancreatic cancer are hardly drug addicts.You my friend are an imbecile and nincompoop,who points the fingers at others,Worry about yourself,and others will do the same.Jack asses such as yourself,are the reason people think Oxycodone is for junkies,when the medical community,of which I am part,hailed these drugs as miracles for those with debilitating chronic pain,as well as those dying a painful death.People such as yourself,with no proper training and education,trying to belittle others,are worthless losers,who desperatly need a life.

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To 197 Huck...#1 I do not brag about it only taking me 7 months to get SSD. I just used that as an example of my condition. #2 Where can you get a Rx filled by sending someone other than who is named on the Rx in? I am driven around cus I can't drive. OKAY. I would die to be able to get back out into the work force, A body in motion stays in motion, and I wish I could get in motion. Other than in my electric chair. And yes I AM ADDICTED & HAVE BEEN FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, I do not deny that. So huck all I can say is get off your high horse and stick your tiny weener where ths sun don't shine.

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JON Post 158...Thank you for the information..Im sure everyone appreciates it..Will they except you're prescription if you live out of the area..I live in Auburndale FL...And another think just being a smartass.. Its called a Run on sentence..put some periods in those sentences brotha lol

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Amen to post 165 the Pharmacist. That is the best advice any one including your VooDoo Doctor can give. I am on 15 mg of of MS Contin ER twice a day, and 30mg Oxy 3 times a day. I was in the boat of taking 180 Roxys a month, and I asked my Dr to change something that I was becoming way to dependent on the Oxys..Every since he switched me to the 15mg MS, and the 30mg oxy 3 times a day, it took about 3 days to adjust to the difference, but my pain management level is better now than when I was eating 6 oxys a day..Thank you for the advice I hope others take the same advice and use it to help the ones that ARE in chronic pain..What pisses me off is the Pharmaceutical companies making the 30mg Roxys knew exactly what they were going to create. I blame the Pharmaceutical companies for doing this..When Oxycontin hit the market it blew up with intense reaction to the public, then the DEA got involved with that and put a cap on that..so what do they do, they make an INSTANT Release Oxy, that they KNOW will make people even MORE addicted. What ever happen to the days of percodan which I believed had 4.5mg of oxycodone, and Asprin, or Percocet which only had 10mg of Tylenol, and that kept all the Chronic pain patients in relief. I think that Dr's need to go back to Talwin NX which has a medication Nalnoxine (spelling) that will help with a person Not to get addicted..But no they prescribe OXY OXY OXY..Now that its almost impossible to find people they have created Mass Hysteria to people that are incredibly addicted to it. Im in the same boat as everyone else, I just took the initiative to tell my Dr I had a problem and need to adjust..Im done Rambling But Good post Pharmacist..Thank you

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who are you trying to convince..You or Us..If I had a nickle for every...No if I had a Roxy for every time I heard...For US that need them and cant get them..If you are SO disabled and brag that you got SSI in 7 months, you do a lot of driving, going in and out of pharmacies, I would consider that a job almost..if you are So disabled how can you do all that running around..You are an addict just like me and everyone else on here..oh by the way..I really need them to BECAUSE IM AN ADDICT, and I have 3 herniated disc degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, Neuropathy and I have a tiny weener..

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GOTTA TAKE A CRAP......changed my meds from Oxy 30's to DL's and am now bound up tighter than all get out. I don't want to become laxative dependant. ( Can't imagine what the withdrawal would be like LOL ). Any suggestions on how to stay regular naturally, I am high does and have been for a LONG LONG time, and never really had this problem before.

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BTW...the only opiate I haven't had is Opana. Now that, that is generic. Which is better Diluadid or Opana in their respective order, Hydromorphone, or Oxymorphone???

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#175 Kevin Back when I heard they were going to change the formulation of the time release in Oxycontin, I thought, what's next, so I did change over to Dilaudid, and I never had to go to more than 2 Pharmacy's. If one didn't have it, the other one did, and visa versa. Now my dextro amphetamines are a whole different story. In November thru January. Only 1 pharmacy had them for 50 miles around. The 10mg, or even the 5mg( I had my Dr. double the script one month, and sure enough, only that one Pharmacy had them also. As had said long ago, the manufacurers had reached the DEA's limit for the year. If there are any out there that don't believe they put a limit on Schedule II med's you need to re think it). The Dexies were harder to get than the Dilaudid's. So I have had no problems. By the way, the one pharmacy was in my town, a Wal Mart had the Dextro Amphetamines Sulfate. So I was lucky on the Dexies, but no problem with Hydromorphone. I know you like the Oxy's more, I guess I do too, but I could not handle doing what some of you have said. All that driving around forever and not getting them filled, or get price gouged. I get all generics for $0.00 because of my insurance, but brand names can be a killer, some go as high as I have to pay half, so I stay with nothing that is not generic available. It's a little ot, but just wanted to have a little change in subject for a few minutes.

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Just for everyone's information here. There is obviously 2 or 3 Donna's on here. I am not Donna s or donna k. I am Donna, now known as Donna Ratliff. I am the Florida state leader for the American Pain Foundation. I just wanted to set the record straight here. I hope everyone is having an easier time getting their medications filled these days, but I do know that some are not. I agree with pharmacists post on here. I do believe that these Rx's for oxycodone only prescriptions are causing the problem with getting them filled. Chronic pain should be treated with a long acting med, then a breakthrough. If your not able to fill your pain medications and would like some tips on this or would like the support of other's in pain come help advocate with me, I do have that support group on facebook(mentioned earlier). Anyone in my state with legitimate pain is welcome to join. I was actually getting confused on here too and now I know why. So for my group members that are confused as well, I am NOT the other Donna s. I hope everyone is having a low pain day. :) I will not be posting on this thread anymore to stop the confusion. If I post, it will be on a different thread. Btw, I am not a fake Donna s. check me out on the painfoundation.org. I am a leader for FL.

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