Did They Replace All The Original Oxycontin With This New Crush Resistant Formula? (Top voted first)

I heard that all the pharmacy replaced all the original oxycontin (OC) with this new formula that prevents anyone from crushing it. The new pills says OP on the one side instead of it saying OC. And if you still can get the original oxycontin (OC) do you now need to request it from your doctor so he can write you a prescription for the original oxycontin (the pill that says OC on one side instead of it saying OP

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I talk to pain patients every day, many of them, like me, take oxycontin and were switched to the new version. More than half of them, myself included, have said their pain has increased and have also reported stomach issues with the new version. Whether it is the coating, for the stomach issues, and whether it is because the new coating means the pill is passing through our bodies before it is broken down enough to be helpful I don't know. But it seems an awfully high number to be coincidence. I want to know what kind of testing they did before they released it.

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I have been using oxcotin 60's for quite awhile. Now with the new formula they DON'T work anymore! I am in pain almost 24/7. Is there anyway us (users) that have been precribed by our physicians to have this formula discontinued and go back to it's original formula. I have a shoulder injury that cannot be repaired by surgury, (I have seen three surgeons) What is out there to replace the oxycotin to get relief? Morphine? I don't think so! Is there anyone to help? Or have suggestions? Any advise would be appreciated!

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I was in a prolonged ( 5.5 week) coma after a truck went out of control and broke every bone in my body.
I have been through the gambit of pain relievers. Morphine made me ill, and Hydrocodone made me foggy, ... both caused severe constipation.
I have used Oxycontin for 6 years.
I started out at 80, moved to 60, then due to my constipation got down to 20 mg twice a day( with breakthru meds)
This allowed some small pain reduction, and no constipation.
My wife snitched on me to the doctors about my extreme pain levels, as I was accepting and trying to function at a 6-7 pain level so I could stay fully alert.
Doctor wanted me to go up to 40 mg twice a day, and we compromised at 30 mg
30 did help. No constipation. not foggy either, and pain level stayed at about a 5, which was not fun, but I could get by!
I stayed at 30 for last year and a half
The new formula is killing me!
I get heartburn 24/7, and am constipated.
My tongue stays green, and I am at a level 5-7 all of the time... and there is more-
Sometimes after 8-9 hours It is as if the pill has completely vanished from my system.
I have found gummy partially dissolved pills in my stool on 3 occasions.
The doctors have commented I may need to go up in dosage, but I know I do not need a higher dosage.
I am displeased with the new formula, and looking for advice or guidance.
I have blindly joined and signed up for a class action suit, that I was approached with by an attorney.
He is promising folks financial restitution
I DONT WANT MONEY.
I finally found a dosage and medication I could tolerate, and Purdue has screwed it up, in an effort to look good to the powers that be.
Oxycontin no longer is the same medication, and it is not just me. I am in a pain support group, and in therapy to this day, and the name Purdue, and the effectiveness of Oxycontin has become a joke among both patients and hospital staff.
Any advice ?

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People using this new formulation including myself, are finding little pain relief and numerous side affects and undissolved pills in the stools.
Purdue thought that it was worth reducing patient welfare to make abuse potential lower.
They have created a new monster.
Now street thugs are getting even more money for warehoused Oxycontin OC.
The street price for the Oxycontin OP has dropped significantly.
Now at 50 cents and $1 per pill, even youngsters can afford to get them.
Even if the pill can't be crushed for a stronger effect, they can now afford to just swallow a bunch more pills at once to get that high.
So what Purdue has in effect done was made CERTAIN that kids and all who buy the new lower street cost extended relief Oxycontin OP for abuse purposes, are treated to a 12 hour high, minimum.
When the kids come down from a few 12 hour multi pill doses of this new abuse free formula, are they going to now be less addicted. It seems to me like the addiction risk is now worse.

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Wtarin1... don't leave because of a few creeps that try to use this forum as if it were High Times.
I have, through this nightmare been in touch and had established a rapport with one particular Purdue employee, who confessed to being increasingly embarrassed at pretending each call of complaint was the first she had heard of it.
Some of the creeps in this forum, I learned are potentially Purdue Provos.. these are people who are paid to come onto forums like this , and to act illiterate and like junkies so that legitimate pain patients will begin to jump ship, and give less credibility to what Chronic Pain Patients have to say.
Please stick around, and show them that we can discuss the ineffectivenwess of the new OP formaula, and perhaps each of us can say one time.. in a post... publicly as I am about to do now....
Do us a favor. This forum is PrecriptionDrugInfo- A legitimate People's Medical Community. Take your talk about getting high , and about skirting the rules of state, ethics, and humanity to a site made for that. If you can't find a site to talk your BS... create your own forum!
so stick around... someone may post here and truly need your input.

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I had cancer in 2005 and had a stem cell transplant the same year. Now I have osteoarthritis in my hips and bone pain 24/7. My cancer Dr. started me on 40 oxycontin and morphine as breakthrough meds. Then he sent me to a pain clinic and they put me on 3 80mgs oxys a day plus 5 30mgs roxys a day for breakthrough. Before they change the formula I stayed about a 5 on the pain scale and was able to function in life. But when they changed the oxys I went into withdraws. And my Dr. told me on my last visit that they only are putting out 53% of the pain medicine they used to. So it would be nice to go back to the original. Please if anybody cares.

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From everything I have heard, the pharmacists I have talked to, and I have talked to many in a few different states as well as patients in different states and patients in many states, there is no original Oxy left out there. It has all been replaced by now with the new formulation.

And while there are some Drs who are sticking with the party line that there is no difference between the old and the new formulation, the ones who are truly in touch with their chronic pain patients will tell you that they believe what their patients are saying. And that is that roughly 50% of patients who were on the old formulation have reported SIGNIFICANT problems with the new formulation; significant enough to warrant needing to find another medication as a substitute.

Is that what you wanted Purdue? To lose customers? That is the bottom line isn't it? For us it is pain relief but for the drug companies it is the bottom line, that is, the money.

If they had researched the new formulation using chronic pain patients, which they apparently did not, they would have found what we in the real world did; that for half of us it does not only not provide the pain relief we had become accustomed to but it may also provide extreme stomach pain issues.

Forget the people who post here about cutting it, selling it, that sort of crap. Who knows if they are real or not. The majority of people who post and read here are legitimate patients looking for real answers. They are people who do not take medications like oxycontin or oxycodone or any of the others to get high or stupid things like that. We cannot even comprehend sticking pills in our mouth or shooting them or whatever they do, if we didn't have to. We generally take many of them every day and have for years and have to simply to have some semblance of life.

We do it to live, not live to do it.

When you take away a medication that has taken away a majority of our pain relief you thrust us back in a daily battle many of us had under control or had at least a handle on. Increasing our pain puts many of us in a spiral that can take weeks, months or longer to get back under control.

The real drug abysses will simply find a way around your "fixes" in weeks, as they did, leaving the real patients struggling.

Purdue, fix your mistake and fix it quickly. We aren't addicts or criminals. But we are hurting and you are actions directly hurt hundreds of thousands if not more of the people you are purportedly supposed to be helping. Find a way to fix this miscue and quickly!

For what it is worth fellow patients, my Dr has moved some of his patients who reorder problems with the new oxy to a drug called Opana, made by Endo Pharm. It is a long acting pain med and is typically taken twice a day. Most consider it a little better at being long acting than oxy. And no, I am not a seller of meds, just a long term chronic pain patient.

I switched myself from being a long term oxy patient
when the new formulation stopped working, and my Dr suggested Opana. It has really worked great for me. In his practice he said about half of his former pain patients who were on oxy who switched to Opana were helped by it, about half weren't, so it may not help everyone.

Hang in there guys!

Keith

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Verwon, I am really disappointed in you. If I had my choice, I would be on NO drugs. But I am in chronic pain like many others here looking for guidance and help. The new OP's DON'T work like the old OC's. PERIOD! My doc has me on one 15mg oxycodone in the morning, kinda like a jump start on the day. Then the rest of the day I take the OP's as directed. I have learned alot from visiting here. I didn't even know you could smoke them. Don't call me a junkie or just plain stupid when it comes to drug abuse. The junkies that post here how to get around the new pills is appalling. I know the constitution and the right to be able to speak and be heard but this is ridiculous! Why don't you take down those posts? This will be my last post and I will not be returning. Thanks to all of you, that like me are in pain and there is nothing to do about it. God Bless to those that, like myself was looking for some hope!

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Vito - Thank you for the kind words. They are gratefully taken. And yes, I'll stick around, maybe you are right, just one more voice will take Purde to the wall. They KNOW they don't work. Someday we will get the old OC's back but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe when they see their money going down the drain, will reverse their decision. I was told they tried this before and it was taken back to the original and effective drug.

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THE OXY OP MED TORE MY STOMACH UP! i VOMITETTED EVERYTIME I ATE IT . WHAT CAN I DO NOW?

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the new oxycontin suck they dont work for pain they need to bring back the oxycontin oc to help with pain the oxycontin oc is a lott better and it helps my severe back pain

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Keith - You couldn't have said it any more elequently that any of us! Thank you. I am still in pain like most of the others that come here. It's sad, really sad to keep us in so much pain when it could be resolved in a few swipes of a hand signature. But nope, the OC's are gone. And I have called Purdue three times and got no where, just like the others. I even downloaded a few pages from this web site to show my Doc. and he didn't even look at them. Changing Doctor's in the middle of this right now is out of the question, cause THEY don't want to OWN it.(I am speaking of our pain) I also know that alot of the blogs here are from Purdue employees' acting like junkies to see what the response will be. Like I said it's sad. Again thank you Keith. Couldn't have said it better myself.

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They aren't just acting like junkies to get response- Purdue knows they are in BIG trouble here, and they act like junkies to "water down" the forum to discourage real Chronic Pain Patients from posting (intimidation/futility factors).
Purdue Provos come in 2 types. One acts like a junkie for distraction... the other type acts like pain patients saying "My meds work better than ever... "
DON'T BUY IT!
Purdue knows they screwed up. Write to FDA... if on any program, contact Case manager. Do tell pharmaciicst that meds are not the same, and he is obligated to report that to the FDA!

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Vito - Do you mean to tell me that they HAVE to report to the FDA? I have papers here to report but Purdue told me not to bother, that the FDA approved this change. Should I go ahead and report to the FDA? I still have the papers. Let me know please.

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I have cancer that causes daily pain enough that my quality of life doesn't exist anymore. I've had to deal with this pain for 12 years in a row now. I had a very hard time originally finding a pain medication that was effective and I could tolerate. After trying numerous pain meds, we finally found the OC Oxycontin was effective enough to give me a life again, but now the OC Oxycontin is no longer available and I have found
the new OP Oxycontin provides almost zero pain relief., so it looks like I have to spend another Summer racked with pain. I'm a 56 year old male, and the thought of not being able to experience any pain relief again is something I just can't go through again. So, I'm strongly considering ending my life this Summer, and I won't have to go through the nightmares my cancer pain causes. I am a christian, so I am working on a plan where I can end my life and not affect my chances of making it into heaven.
Did our government forget what prohibition did to this country? From the articles I read the percentage of people taking Oxycontin to get high was in most areas of the country smaller in numbers than those who had been taking the OC Oxycontin as prescribed. The OC Oxycontin provided a real benefit for people like myself. I had tried over 30 different pain medications that resulted in little to no relief in pain. For some reason my system can tolerate the OC Oxycontin but when I've tried those 30 plus other meds, I ended up in almost every case feeling worse than better. But for whatever reason, my system was able to tolerate the OC Oxycontin. I often called it my miracle drug 'cause it
was allowing me to enjoy my life for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer. I had recently started to experience a life again after 12 years without one. In the past 12 years, I was only able to join the family in celebrating Christmas twice, but now instead of continuing to be able to enjoy almost a normal life, I'm now back to square one again, and I just can't go through having to endure the level of pain my cancer causes. Thanks to Purdue and the Feds, my life is over, and I have instructed my wife that once I'm buried to contact as many attorneys as will listen to her about my case. I told her that my life may be over, but she should try to recover as much money as a court and jury will award. I would have preferred to enjoy my grandkids for the first time since they were born. The oldest grand kid is 7 years old and I've been able to watch her open her Christmas gifts once, and I've never been able to attend any of her birthday parties.
Why do we in this country force the majority of users to go back to suffering because of the actions of a few. Does anyone think that those that had been abusing Oxycontin are now eating ice cream instead of using drugs. All this will result in is we'll see a different drug be abused, so does that mean each drug that shows some people abusing it to replace the Oxycontin will mean that drug will be pulled off the market? Are we going to see this continue to happen until we're forced to use willow bark as a pain medication since all other prescription pain relievers are no longer available?
Has anyone tried to endure their cancer pain without being able to experience any relief since they happen to have a system that the only pain reliever they were able to take was suddenly yanked off our market? Well, that's just exactly what I'm facing once again. I hope the leaders at Purdue are able to sleep at night each time they read about another cancer patient who ended their life 'cause the only medication they had been able to tolerate was no longer available for him or her.

You will have to some day answer to someone for the decision you made on OC Oxycontin. In my case that will most likely be my family and a group of attorneys. That's at least a start for you to bear responsibilities for your decisions in this matter.

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YES!!!! Of course Purdue says you do not need to report to the FDA. Then they will take your report and send you a response saying your meds are fine. YES report this to FDA.

http:/­/­www.fda.gov/­Safety/­MedWatch/­HowToReport/­default.htm

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Perhaps your pharmacist (they are very well educated and sympathetic) or another pharmacist would be a good advocate. I don't mean to walk you through the process, but he is ethically obligated to send info reported to him to the FDA. I would say complain top pharmacist, then ask him point blank, would you please alert the FDA of my comments and concerns" then get busy filling FDA report.
Then do more legwork. take comments found on this and the many sites devoted to Oxy/ "Purdue's Folly" and make a list of weblinks so you have a peice of paper to wave around when at your doctors and tell him... "this isnt my imagination... read what pain patients in online support groups are saying all over the USA!
God bless you, and may a night of control over any discomfort find you!

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Preston--
SIMPLE!
tell doctor you do not like the way the MS makes you feel. Tell him it constipates you, and makes you feel "high" so that you do not care about things, or do anything.
MS contin, is continuos release Morphine Sulfate.
I took it with those results, which Oxycontin does not do to me.
I didnt poop for a week at a time. and I did not take care of house or dog.. just sat and stared into space. That was when they gave me Oxycontin.. I am regular now, and take care of house and am alert.
Tell him... you are the patient and you are in charge.
1- MS makes you constipated
2- it makes you foggy... cant do chores
3- Oxy takes edge off the pain better for you
4 lets you function
5 keeps you more regular

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Yeah just go to walgreens and ask for generic oxy manufactured by Ethix. Its the same old formula oc on one side and 80 on the other...same same original formula. It just works

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Vito - You have answered my questions, I just feel like NO one is listening. Getting ahold of the FDA, is this going to go NO WHERE also? You didn't read my older blog I take it. I have liver disease, so my box of medications that I can take are very small. Putting on clothes are even tricky. Oxycotin OC's were a God send. I have a shoulder injury that cannot be fixed by surgery. Seen three surgeon's. So I sit here in pain. Taking the OP's are like eating tic tac's. But my Doctor has the FDA on his ass, he told me just a week ago. So right now, I am still taking the OP"s.

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