Laid Off From Job. No Insurance. Been On Oxycontin 60 For 4 Years Can't Afford It Now. What Are The Alternative Medications?

I was laid off from my job after 18 years!!! I have been taking OxyContin 60 for over 5 years now for chronic pain. I have applied to Purdue for their patient assistance program to receive free OxyContin. Dr. Has been in touch with them but it takes at least four weeks to receive the medication. She is presently looking up the alternative medications that I can take in between now and the delivery of my medication from Purdue. Can anyone help me with the alternatives? I'm a wreck and so worried that whatever I'm going to be given will not work as well as the OxyContin 60.

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REPORT

You may want to talk to your doctor about trying the time released Morphine, the name brand is MS Contin, but it's also available as a generic.

It isn't as potent as Oxycodone, so you'd need a higher dosage of it, which would be about 90mgs for each 60mgs that you take of the Oxycontin.

Learn more Morphine details here.

But since a generic is available, it is much cheaper than the Oxycontin, so it may be enough to get you through for a few weeks.

I'm also trying to stick with something that can be a fairly clean switch back and forth, from one to the other, without causing any severe withdrawal effects.

Is Oxycontin the only pain medication you've tried?

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If the dr will give u enough of them go with 30mg roxy or oxycodone 30mg....Its the same chemical as oxycontin,but its instant release instead of time released like the oxycontin....You wont like the morphine I dont believe

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Yes, I also take 10/325 Percocet for break- thru pain. No, have never been prescribed anything else.

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You might want to consider switching to generic oxycodone IR 30 mg every 6hrs. It's a lot cheaper. I did it 4 years ago and I still prefer this method to the ERContin . . . Q

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Is the Oxycodone IR 30 mg the same as the 10 mg Percocet (oxycodone) that I take 3 or 4 times a day for break- thru? Because 3 of the percocets together would never take the pain away like the OxyContin does!

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The 30mg oxycodone will be 3 times stronger than the percocet plus they dont have acetemeniphin in them either like the percs do.They work alot better

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Im surprised the oxycontin even works that well for you.The old formula (OC) vs probably the new formula that you take(OP)have a double coating making that makes them less effective....Do your pills have an OP or OC imprint???I get no relief from the OP,s but alot from the old type OC,s

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Is oxycodone HCL the same as oxycodone ir ? I looked the price up and it's 114.00 for 120. This is can afford. Please let me know ASAP thanks for your help!

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Thanks

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Yeah its the same....Do you have a Freds pharmacy in your state???Im in Tn and thats where I get my oxy 30,s and theyre only $67 bucks for 120 of em....Walgreens,CVS,etc. are always a lil more than Freds,but you might not have it in your state....Hope this helps and good luck

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No, I'm in nj. I still don't have the actual Rx in my hand! Dr. Office nurse called back she told me that Dr. Suggests that I check other pharmacies for the cost of my OxyContin. That I could get it for less that 600.00! I told her that I had already checked everywhere that the going price was 600! Omg! And she hasn't gotten a chance to fill out my Rx assistance applications!!! And here I am worried sick, no sleep! They told me to call back when I find a alternative medication that is comparable to the OxyContin and she will get back to me !!!! I'm so frustrated ! So happy that I have you to vent to and help me through this! I guess I'll call now and tell her I found that the oxycodone HCL 30s are comparable. Do you think I will have any problems with the switch? Withdraw etc? I have been on the OxyContin for a long time now under the drs care.

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Not as long as he gives you enough of them since you take 60mg instead of the 30,s....I would say you might try the opanas,but the only two mg,s you can get is a 7.5 or 15mg....All the higher mg opanas have a double coating on em now so they dont work as well....I find it sad that your pharmacy or dr thinks $600 bucks is cheap and that everybody can just
throw that kinda money on the counter like its pennies....Dr,s also get money from pharmacies for every script they write,thats why they always try to write name brand or high dollar scripts(such as yours) They know that if you get the oxycontin instead of the oxycodone, its a price difference of $600 bucks vs $60-70 bucks.....We got em figured out though dont we gal???

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The saga continues!!!! I don't know what to do now! I received a call once again from her nurse and she told me Dr. Will call me at the end of the day. I called at 5 and got answering service. She said that the office just closed and that is when they make all their call backs from the day! Waited till 6 it's 7 now in nj and left a message on her cell. I had this number from December when she called with a test result . I don't thinks its her personal number since she said on the message that the office was closed etc and if she didn't get back to the caller please call again later. I have a history with this Dr. And I can't imagine her just blowing me off like this. I have been with her over ten years and have followed her through all of her moves to different offices etc. she's always been bad about returning calls and sometimes forgetting a appt and left office early etc. so this is why I have been so patient and not gotten all pissed off! So, here I am sitting at the same spot on the sofa where I have been the entire week waiting for a call that I may never get! Nobody that I know has 600 to loan me for 2 weeks or so and frankly I would never ask. I don't live my life that way. Sorry for the rambling on and on but I have to vent!!!!!

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Do you have last months script that youre takin rite now or have you been completely out???Hope youre not med free cause if you are I know youre sick as hell rite now....My mom lost her dr 2 months ago cause he got shutdown,but luckily she was able to get another one....I got so tired of issues with pain Clinics that I had to give em up and swap to a methadone Clinic....I at least know the dr here wont leave me high and dry or close his doors,etc for whatever reason....I only have to go 1 time a week then I get my 6 takehomes to last me til the next week so its not bad....I do miss gettin pain relief plus a buzz on top of it when I was prescribed oxys,etc but the methadone makes me feel normal then I take whatever else needed with it if I want my buzz....You can vent anytime you need,Im a good listener....Hope you start havin better luck....Too bad somebody in NJ cant hook you up with a different doc

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Yep Kate they are the same thing. You should check out GoodRx for their self printed coupons that will save you even more money! I take one every 4 hrs and have a way better response pain wise than the Contin ever provided. Glad to help, best of luck and the least of pain.

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I know this post is late but may help others... I am a cash patient. I went to CVS and asked Them DIRECTLY if they knew of any good discounts.

They converted me to a cash account. This changes your base price from what people with insurance pay before benefits to a lower cost.

Then, they had a number of cash program cards behind the register.

They gave me a California discount card with a good discount-no fees for all this!

So a $60 rx went to $38.81.

And I'm permanently in the system to get the discount on ALL qualifying meds-so far, that's been all my meds, BP meds, pain meds, even a round of antibiotics cheep cheep!

You can't win if you don't play!!! Ask!

Walgreens had nothing like this..at least here. But worth asking if you love it there...

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Oh my God, they will attempt to give you Methadone, the poor man's alternative to Oxy. I was prescribed Oxy for a few months in 2005, I reacted very badly, and it nearly cost me my life....I got free thanks to a dear friend, a surgeon, who found a high blood pressure medicine, Clonodine, to dry up the sweats and shakes when I had detoxed down to 40mg a day. It worked, and I have never touched the stuff again.

Methadone is far more deadly from which to detox. Is there any way you could detox from Oxy and move to high powered pills, such as Percocet? Percocet has Oxy in it, but not as strong. I have a terminal spinal disease that will soon take my life, so I understand if that isn't a possibility. There are other drugs, but I am not sure what they cost. The generic for the pain med I use, I am allergic to morphine, the base ingredient in Oxy. I used dilaudid, the generic name is Hydromorphone with varying mg. Fentanyl is equally powerful, but it may be expensive as well.

Have you checked local clinics, perhaps you can volunteer, answer phones, ETC in exchange for help until your new resource for Oxy comes through. From all I have seen and read about Methadone, I strongly urge you to avoid if possible. If you only have to use it for a month, I guess it isn't the end of the world. It was first developed by the Nazis in the 1930s, and they finally stopped making it, they found the costs far outweighed any pain management resources. In the 1960s, it was introduced to Americans as a wonder drug to cure opiate addiction. Needless to say, it was a lie, yet they still feed that rot to addicts. Good luck to you, I feel for you, hang in there.

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Kate I know by now your life has rectified the medication issue but wanted to correct something I have seen here.

Morphine sulfate is an excellent drug one of the best medications and earliest discovered effective pain medication known to man BUT if you are comparing LA medications morphine (MS Contin) does not compare with LA Oxycodone (Oxycontin) and the milligram conversion is very different.

Hope that helps some folks!

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Methadone was created during Hitler's reign for they ran out of poppy and the poppy flower makes opium, what we would refer to as opioids today.

A scientist highly paid evolved this pain medication; the problem with this drug is a very slow pass through the liver; so someone new to the medication may wrongly complain "I'm still in pain" while it piles up and excretes far too slowly.

Current research shows Methadone deaths are the highest overdose rate of any opioids due to this. It is one of the best LA medications and costs pennies in comparison to other medications.

Brand Duragesic was running on my bill over $25 K a month but I am an ultra rapid opioid metabolizer. Withdrawal from Methadone can be life threatening it must be prolonged sometimes taking a half year to properly complete with a sympathetic doctor. It also gets into the bones with a poison type effect. Methadone the cheapest and Fentanyl the highest cost BOTH vy for the worst withdrawal of any opioid legal and illegal.

You can detoxify a opiate addict in three days; he/she won't feel wonderful but will be physically OFF in that period; the two drugs just reviewed will be your constant nightmare which you won't have for you will feel and may never quite sleep again.

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The FDA allows generic to be up to 47% less OPIOID wrong people. I require brand due to allergies to adhesives, fillers, dyes and the like. One of the reasons you pay less for generics is there is less medication!

A 100 mcg/hour Duragesic brand patch is 16.8 mg. Fentanyl.
A Watson 100 mcg/hour is only 10.0 mg.
A 75 mcg/hour Duragesic is 12.7 mg. HIGHER then the Watson 100 mcg/hour.

Get smart people really!

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The only thing I can think of is taking generic oxycodone, I went thru the same thing, My Pain doctor gave me 30 mg oxycodone about 10 a day. I was taking 40 mg oxycontin twice a day which worked well with my back pain. Now. the pain doc that I am seeing now cut my meds to equivalent of 4 30mg oxycodone a day from 7 30 mg oxycodone. I was told it was a government rule that you had to take the morphine equivalent of 4 30 mg a day. Oxycodone is about the same strenght as morphine, so I am in a good bit of pain due to this.

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Re: P450 (# 20)

Generic medication does not "have less" medicine. Generic simply means the branded medication's patent ran out and now other companies are allowed to make it and sell it. Generic are exactly the same as brand medications. Don't worry.

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Here is the american cancer society webpage that lists resources to help cover the cost of prescription medications:

cancer.org/treatment/finding-and-paying-for-treatment/understanding-health-insurance/if-you-have-trouble-paying-a-bill/prescription-drug-assistance-programs.html

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True, tramadol isn't an opioid but it does apparently have some action on the mu opioid receptor, which I imagine is why it helps with withdrawal a little bit.

Btw, the guy who posted that duragesic and the Watson generic have diff amounts of fentanyl seems to be confused. For a generic to bbe approved, it must be proven to be bio-equivalent, which means, among other things, that the amount of the active ingredient in your blood is the same as it is with the brand name version.

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I've been through w/d to many times to count over the last 16 years, I use my pain meds responsible now cause I don't wish this in anybody. I've tried tramadol, didn't get any relief, as it's not a opioid. The only true way is to get some type of opioid. Slowly lowering your dose. Sometimes it's hard. Friends and family may be able to help get something in your system. I see a pm Dr. every 28 days, and I got 5 more days till my next apt. I can see I'm not going to have quite enough to get through, so I'm taking a smaller dose than normal cause taking 3 times a day instead of 6 a day won't give me the pain relief I need, but will keep me from going into w/d..

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If you are not able to get the oxy...try and get tramadol in high doses will hold you - also subutex will hold you as well
You won't get the nice high you get from oxy but it will stop you going into a rattle or withdrawal when your brain n body realise that there friend oxy has gone they panic so you need a substitute. Also I have came off oxy this way using tramadol over a 2 week period - anyway if you can't get tramadol or subutex then methadone or smack is the only alternative to functioning on oxy it's a powerful drug.

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I'm not so sure about all that, I was prescribed oxycontin 80mg. And I got to tell you 1 80mg oxy.( the old ones) is much better than 3 30 mg. Oxycodin. I take diludid 8mg now. Blue's, can't even tell I did it, It might barely get me well if I'm sick, don't work like the old oxycontin.

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