Abuse Deterrent Xtampza Vs. Oxycontin (Page 2)
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Newly FDA approved Xtampza ER has a different abuse deterent additive than Oxycontin, however I have not tried it yet for effectiveness. I have taken Oxycontin over 10 years so I felt the huge difference when they began adding abuse additive to it. I am curious if anyone has info on this new med, how it works as compared to Oxycontin, or all info on it that may help me decide if I should switch? I always had excellent results with Oxycontin but when the abuse stuff was started it took so much away from effectiveness. Appreciate any info. Thanks.

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Re: Beagle mom (# 26)

Im curious about who ur pain doc is. I live in south florida.

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I was on 40mg of oxycontin , 3 times a day. I was switched to xtampza er 36. I like most see abuse deterrent and thought would be weak. WRONG! If you do not abuse or even if on oxycontin since 1996 this formulation is strong like the 1st ones to come out. Purdue is suing the makers for billions in fact for infringement. They are twice as efficient as the O.P.'s. There bio-availability is 89% on empty stomach as opposed to 67% in OP's. This is from an independent lab. Most insurances cover or will with p.a.

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Re: Markemark (# 4)

I tried xtampza 18mg for the ER aspect 2x daily for 1 month. I was taking 6 to 7 10 mg oxycodone for several years and I was becoming tolerant. I have a bad diagnosis of degenerative disc disease which I will need fusion from bottom of Cervical to tail bone I am going to be 47. The xtampza is the worst medication I have ever taken. It has 23 side effects to include back and muscle pain which makes no sense. I got no relief none whatsoever. I think the FDA rushed this to appease the judging public. My meds were changed to 20mg oxycontin ER 2x and 20 mg oxycodone for breakthrough pain. That is working. People who need these to just survive should not be judged or kept from what they need because the popular opinion of anyone who takes these meds is a junkie. I have almost taken my own life to relieve the pain. The psychological aspect of chronic pain is often overlooked unfortunately. Sorry I rambled. Xtampza is horrible and was created to make people who don't need them feel like they are doing something. That is BULL S***!!!

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Re: Dan (# 16)

I agree. I took morphine at 100mg 3xday for years. I have cerebral palsy w/spina bifida, multiple sclerosis and Lupus. When I was on that amount I could manage my dose depending on my pain, I rarely took more than 200mg. I worked as a public law paralegal, did my own housework, gardened. rode my horse etc. Now after being "cut-off" for years after the FDA quidelines that frightened all the dr.'s and insurance companies, I only get 15 mg.s 3x a day. I don't even feel it. They tried to put me on methadone, which is a very dangerous drug, and tramadol which does nothing, and I refused. They wanted to do spinal blocks. I can't do that due to an autoimmune blood clotting disorder for which I have to take warfarin. They have tried to replace morphine and like drugs with methadone and others that are dangerous and don't work as well. All to appease the FDA and DEA. I am 64 and they say they don't want me to be a drug addict. How ridiculous. My time is limited due to my diseases which have cased permanent organ damage. Taking too much anti-inflammatories because I couldn't get morphine has caused kidney failure. The other "neuroleptics" and drugs that are supposed to help pain have terrible side-effects and don't work well for my diseases. I have been through all of them. We need to get the govt. out of our pain control. Every person should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We aren't gutter hypes. Pain kills.

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Xtapza er 13.5 seemed about the same as OXy 10 er, but caused occasional nausea problems. Was increased to 18 mg and can't stop puking. Taking two OXy 10 at a time never did this. Also, did not seem to be equilivant, but slightly less. (Ymmv). Have been on OXy for over 20 years, both er and ir, and had two surgerys so far. More recomended.

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Re: Phil (# 44)

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure if I like the sound of that though. It seems it could be a little confusing if I were put on Xtamza as opposed to the 10 mg. of Oxycodone I take every five hours. How would I know if I'm getting too much oxy using Xtamza and the quick release less often?
Does that make sense?

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Really agitated right shoulder Oxycontin guy (# 43) --

I'm on a roll tonight. Yup, very sorry to point this one out, please don't take offense Kenny Kane. I actually lived in Jax Beach for a time back in the 80s. Supposedly met one of dudes from Skynrd, not sure if I was being goofed on, met a lot of characters while I was down there. This was one of the states where the "pill mills" originated, as far as my research shows. Once again greed of a medical "professional". I believe it was DEA that finally got him, but not before his greed messed a lot of people up. Now people are getting fentanyl from China. Another thing, up around here it's been a big problem of late. As messed up as it sounds, yet another bit of my research. Drug dealer was shown bagging up his illicit drugs for street sales, with whatever particular stamp he put on his packages. That's for "marketing" purposes, they pretty much all do it. New twist, I hadn't seen this seen this one until earlier this year. He would randomly pick out a package for the street sales, and put enough fentanyl in it to cause an overdose. Like I stated, rest was straight up illicit drugs. Once people get to that point in their, I'll say spiral (I hate seeing & talking about this stuff, but I feel it needs to be put out there). Please don't take it as me judging anyone. When the cash is flowing in every dirtbag wants there blood money. Whether they are street dealers or the ones wearing their white coats in a nice comphy setup with secretaries greeting & scheduling. I'll get this stuff off my chest before I have to lay down and look at the clock. While dwelling, I refer to it as my thoughts "rat racing". Like with gerbils in their cages, going round & round on their spinning wheels. I say "rat racing" because it just seems to be more fitting. Feels like another uncomfortable sleepless night coming on. Just putting it out there for others in this forum THAT CAN RELATE TO EXACTLY, maybe not using my rat analogy, WHAT IM TALKING (more like rambling to me) TALKING ABOUT. Would ranting seem more appropriate? Thanks for "listening". My regards to all.

Sorry - I just checked out one of my posts from the 10th. I got a statement backwards. More people die from the pain meds than those other combined. My apologies. Always try to correct any of my stuff if I've screwed something up.

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Been on OxyContin for 18 years now. In the old day's I was getting 120 mg when they first came out! Then only 80 mg, then tamper proof in late 2009 which were no where near as good! Now this! Been on almost everything, Fentora which by the way was the best (GREAT) however, after 2.5 years at a cost of $5,000K for 121 doses per month, Busted Cross & Broken Shield declined to cover any longer. Their reason was that the pain wasn't derived from Cancer! This may help some people in FL with legit pain! BCBS of FL will cover OxyContin with prior auth. until 04/1/2018. That may give u more time to find another Provider. In addition, they will still cover Oxycodone with prior auth. Simply put, I will seek an alternative to Xtampza. I'm the only one that can say what helps me deal with my Handicap, not the insurance company or the Gov!

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Re: Ktb (# 45)

Xtampza is oxycodone with a different delivery system. So if someone is allergic to oxycodone then this would not be the drug for them. Also the half life of oxycontin is 4.5 to 5 hours but that is only when half the drug is metabolized and it is at its peak. So it would take another 5 hours to be completely metabolized. That means that thus drug is a twice a day medication as the manufacturer and the physicians state. Now every body is different and some may get rid of the drug faster or slower than the average. I have seen it written for 3 times a day before but no more than that. From what I have heard and read about xtampza has about the same half life but seems to take effect quicker than the oxycontin and may stay around a little longer. Obviously, the main difference is that the oxycontin is a tablet that has to release slowly whereas the xtampza is a capsule with small abuse deterrent beads inside that release the medication in a small amount at a time. The beads are different sizes that metabolize at different times. I personally would prefer the xtampza delivery vs the oxycontin delivery but both are made for twice-daily dosing.

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Re: Phil (# 44)

Phil is that in same family as hydrocodone and oxycodone? What I mean is I get hives and the meds for lupus started making my stomach bleed plus I got sphincter of oddi disfuction after gallbladder surgery that went wrong . I found I couldn't take dilaudid but could take low dose morphine but they switched it to IR and for some reason on bad days it wears off in 4-6 hours . Do you think the new drug you said was gentle might work or could I still have that same allergic reaction ? It seems everything even patches I was allergic to so right now I'm paying attention to these forums and trying to educate myself Bc I feel so lost with this incurable disease ! Thanks

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Re: Verwon (# 1)

I have used Xtamza since it came out and have been in the health care field, specifically pharmaceuticals about 35 years. I do know a little about pharmacology and half life. Oxycontin is NOT a twice a day medication, never will be. It's half life is too short. But because it is an opioid, that's what we're stuck with. Xtamza has a half life of a little over 10 hours where Oxycontin is 4-6. It lasts much longer, is fairly gentle, and have been very satisfied with the pain relief. The problem is you have to take an IR medication for immediate relief. It takes several hours to reach peak blood levels and doesn't relieve tough severe pain straight away, if at all. It keeps the blood levels up so it does help and you can tell when it is wearing off. The problem is the next dose takes a while and there are gaps where you need an IR complement. Hope this helps.

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More people die every year from diabetes, heart disease, and cancer than from opioid deaths. From my research, to date I'm sure that there are many other types of comparisons that can be made. How about someone else come up with some stats on how many of those were from legally prescribed meds to the patients that they were prescribed to Vs. illicit drugs or if the person had been using unprescribed meds to try to get more relief after having had their "medical professionals" cut them off, while still in pain verified by other Doctors, diagnostics/evaluations by mental health professionals. I've got unfortunately more time on my hands from my last surgery a month ago to further follow up on while waiting to recuperate for the next of at least 2 more surgical procedures to look forward to. I know of one individual, personally, that couldn't handle the pain. The begging & fighting between his Doctors and on verge of losing everything after being cut off from his medications by his insurance company. He took what he felt would be the final end to his pain, suicide. It totally destroyed his family and friends as well. As selfish as I can only imagine he felt, he ran out of options. He was a good husband, father to his children, and friend. It bothers me to my core to have to share this at all. I know that there are plenty of junkies out there who blew all their bridges "chasing the Dragon". He wasn't one of them, he couldn't bear for his loved ones to go through it anymore. I don't recall too many eulogies putting that heartwrenching stuff into the obituaries of the people they Loved in Life, and lost them. Unfortunately, he is now just another number to these statistics that will only continue to rise. Very Sincerely. Just one more statistic to open the eyes of "those people" running our pitiful healthcare system. What stigma is left behind for the poor families and friends that they have left behind. Congratulations to our state reps right up to the FDA & DEA for protecting those most dearest to us. Are they just too stupid or just do not care about we the little people who still have the luxury of friends and family to stand by us through all of this?

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Part of the effectiveness of opioids is that they change your brains perception of pain so when they put something in it to change that aspect it isn't going to work as well. Opioids do not do anything for pain in the aspect of affecting the nerve or reducing inflammation. They work by working on the chemical receptors in your brain and changing how it deals with the pain signals coming into the brain. The euphoria you feel is part of that medication working. When it's reduced so is the effectiveness.

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Re: Retired Nurse helper PT to others (# 33)

I can understand your frustrations on how you're going to make the switch to Xtampza er especially since it's being forced on you starting on the first of the year. Just a really short explanation on how I got to this point. I was referred to a pain mgt. group to deal with opioid rx's. They started me out on 4 5mg pills a day. Progressed to 7.5. My primary said to ask about going on er to make sure I got the 4 pills in every day. They agreed. Started 13.5. Upped to 18. Sorry, I can't make anything short. What got me on this site was questioning what food and how much to take. Have learned a lot by just reading all these posts. The most helpful thing I've picked up is from Mr. Ryan on another group also on this site. Only way I know to tell you how to find his posts is to search Xtampza er at the top and scroll down to the left where it points you to 80+ posts and scroll till you find him. He goes into such detail on his story and what he has found that works for him. His trick is to set his alarm for 3:00 am, eats a bit, takes his pill, then goes back to sleep til 5:00 when he has to go to work. This gives his pill time to kick in. If you find his posts on the other group you'll get the rest of his story. If you can't find him, give me a shout and I'll try to get you there. Personally, I have my pill, snack and drink right next to my bed and follow what he does. Like you, I can't move first thing. One thing I will tell you, in case you don't know, is that Xtampza er does not have acetaminophen in it. I take some with my first dose of Xtampza. I think this kicks in pretty quickly so that might help. I wish I could tell you what magic would help. Read up on anything you can find on this site. You'll get a lot of ideas you never thought of and can explore on your own. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer so I have read over this stuff numerous times and am still learning. I encourage you to work with your prescriber until you get it worked out. Don't be afraid to talk to them. If you don't, they won't know that you need help. So much for keeping it short, huh? Hope you'll check back with your progress. Best of luck!

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Re: Really agitadated right shoulder Oxycontin guy (# 39)

Ok I will be watching for it !!! Nothing surprises me anymore and yes we are constantly screwed over !

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Re: Ktb (# 38)

Just saw something the other day about big pharma. I'll put it out there for the rest of you. Check it out please & spread the word!!!
They are "researching" (I can't even describe how frustrating to properly emphasize with these quotation marks) in Columbia. Yup.
They've paid, more specifically we've paid to get around FDA/DEA rules in the U.S.A. If they do it here, openly, they would be prosecuted & lose their monopolies to screw/abuse us legally.

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Re: Really agitadated right shoulder Oxycontin guy (# 37)

You are absolutely right! I wish I had my orthopedic dr... we were close for 21 years and I had to see my primary dr about all the strange things going on and my orthopedic dr warned me he was afraid I'd be sent to pain management and be screwed over in a web of deceit! He was right! I thought he was going to retire so I figured I guess I should go, big mistake! My orthopedic dr wrote out any pain meds needed but he switched out and checked on me every 3 months and he even took care of antibiotics so I should have stayed with him! He was an army dr in Vietnam then was head of surgery at our hospital for years. He told me how bad things were getting but I had to listen to my primary dr about cancer they thought I had causing pain, so I was sent to pain management. I often wonder if they trade you out too, lol. I had no idea those places existed! And the stupid contract! I often wonder if I should tell my orthopedic dr my situation since he practically saw me grow up in his office! Off that subject! so what do you really think is going on? I mean legalizing marijuana then all of a sudden deciding opiates are killing us and I'd love to see their real reports on overdoses because like I said before, whenever I worked in the lab I only saw overdoses with mixed illicit drugs. So I don't see how they can claim it's prescription drugs given to legit patients! And wouldn't pharmaceutical companies want to make money? It's like maybe they are creating a more expensive addictive drug??? Idk but it's bs and I guess one has to be held hostage to keep their meds! It's confusing!

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Re: Verwon (# 1)

Here's the deal, my opinion - Pharma wouldn't change original formulation until their 7 year patent ran out, even though they had the "recipe" long before patent expiration. As my Drill Sargent was fond of saying "y'all ain't gotta be no rock science" (translation is rocket scientist), to figure it out... $$$$$$$$. No law firm will touch this issue on our behalf. Even if we were able to get some form of litigation together, how many of us would fear some type of retribution from our health insurance providers or doctors? I know it may sound paranoid, but who else fears being screwed even further by speaking out about this? I can only wish for these greedy bastards to "walk a mile" in our shared misery, let's say a never-ending mile. The saying "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy" -Screw them!! We all know they've got the money & power to be able to sidestep (exactly like the politicians) the laws of this country.

I've got more surgeries to look forward to. What will happen to us next week, month, or a year from now? In my state, guess who has a vested interest in the medical marijuana industry? For a fact, anesthesiologists, cops (no bulls***). Here, as elsewhere in the country, anesthesiologists (highest paid specialty in medicine) are our pain management "professionals". The Hippocratic Oath should be redesignated as the "Hippocritic Oath". So far I've been fortunate enough to have my Primary Care doc here to help me. I've been with him since before this clusterbomb went nuclear. Oops, look at the time!!! Time to abuse my meds! I mean take my Doctor approved medication on schedule, in the proper dose. As in the movie Blues Brothers, Elwood says to Jake, "May the Lord of Blessed Acceleration Be With Us Now", just before being chased by "Rollers". Ironic, I just now realized that John Belushi died from an overdose. This is the country I joined the Service to defend, "the incompetence of the VA being a totally different, although related subject" I'm not going to delve into at this point in time. It's nice to relate to others in my position, as sad as things are, rather than having my loving wife listen to more of my rage.

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Re: Markemark (# 4)

Hi there and thanks for sharing your experience with this medication. I was wondering if you could please be more specific about when you say it kicked your ass? Was it drowsiness? Excessive nausea? Thanks.

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My doctor is thinking of putting me on this basically because we have tried almost everything else. If she decides to do this I will give it a try and pray it works because my current medication Kadian isn't doing anything at all. I am already on oxy 15 four times a day for breakthrough and it works so I think she believes the xtampza will help as well. I can't tolerate the oxycontin and maybe it is due to what they put in it for abuse deterrent but I'm not sure. I do know that for whoever said it is impossible to abuse xtampza that's wrong. Even the website for the drug says it has a deterrent but it isn't tamper proof. I'm not encouraging people to abuse it but thinking it can't be is incorrect. It has the same deterrent as Avinza and Focalin XR small little beads that release st different times. If I do try this I know my insurance will give me a hard time about it. And most of those Co pay cards require that your orginal insurance isn't medicare/medicaid. Now I'm lucky because my disability insurance has never let me down paying for anything even things that aren't on the formulary so I hope this goes the same. Thanks for all your opinions on how it works for you. I'll let you know how I do if I end up changing to it. I hope all of you get relief soon.

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