Morphine Sulfate - Generic For Avinza (Page 3)

I was in an auto accident 8/21/96 and ever since then I have been dealing with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). For the last 11 yrs I have been on Avinza 270 mg (2 120mg, 1 30mg once a day) by King Pharmaceutical and now my ins company is insisting that a generic is made and sold in the US by Acatavis Elizabeth. I cannot see anything current that it has been released. There is a legal suit between King and Acatavis because it states a generic cannot be released until 11/2017. Generics do not work for me and right now I'm fighting it, but would like to know if it is true about Avinza being made and sold in the US by Actavis. Please let me know if you're able to, I would surely appreciate it. Thank you!

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Hi Becky. It's very frustrating that the Avinza is no longer made. I hope that you find another med to help your pain. As far as the Embeda goes, I would ask for the same amount as you were taking of the Avinza. My Doc started me lower because he had no experience with Embeda. If I would have stayed on it, my dose would have needed increased. I believe that Lorraine started at a lower dose also, and she is trying to get her's increased. Don't be surprised if your Dr has never heard of Embeda. In one of my other posts, I explain how to find (on the internet) some info about Embeda that you might want to take to your Dr in case he or she has never heard of it. I took it to my Dr with me and I believe that it helped. I do want to caution you about supply issues with the Embeda. If you read Lorraine's posts and mine, you will see that we both had trouble getting the Embeda for our second month on it.I no longer take it and I don't know how Lorraine is making out. Good luck and please let us know how you make out. You will find a lot of support on this site if you need it.

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Hi Becky. Just wanted to check in and see if you talked with your Dr yet about trying the Embeda? If so, did the Dr put you on the Embeda or are you trying something else? I hope your days are as pain free as possible.

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Hi Lorraine. Just checking in. I hope you are doing better. I am keeping you in my prayers. When you feel up to it, please let us know if you are doing better and if you got the Embeda supply issues resolved.

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I have been taking Avinza 150mg for over 10 years (120mg + 30 mg capsules) for chronic spinal pain after cervical vertebrae crushed during Parathyroid surgery with C5 pressing on spinal cord for 9 mos before it was identified. My neurosurgeon told me following decompression surgery that the area where C 5 was pressing against the spinal cord had cause permanent damage to those fibers of the spinal cord. The Avinza has been fantastic for me and when I tried the generic in January of this year I experienced what has been described above by others and went back on the brand drug. It figures that they (whoever?) would find a way to screw this up. I got my last Rx and filled the 120 mg capsule of Avinza (and 30 mg generic /refused to take after 2 doses); I am as devastated as everyone else and wasting time like everyone else, because there is no good answer; it's Pfizer wanting another patent with Embeda and it's dollar bottom line is all that matters to them. The mechanism of time release as explained by the comments above is a problem with many other medications that generic manufacturers can not duplicate and why so much difficulty with "so-called" medical equivalency is never close !

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Hi Yanni, how are you doing and are you still on the Embeda ER? Last month for some reason the odor of the Embeda was extremely strong. Every time I opened the bottle, the smell almost knocked me over. I also noticed that when I took my dose I became extremely sleepy. This month the odor isn't there like last month and I'm not sleepy at all. It seems to be working, still not like the Avinza, but I'm trying to adjust. Hope all is well with you and maybe some day they'll figure this out for us! Take care and talk to you soon!

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Hi Lorraine, I am so happy to hear from you. It sounds like you are starting to get back on track after your horrible experience a few months ago. Is your pharmacy still having supply issues with the Embeda, or did you switch pharmacies? Did you Dr. increase your Embeda strength, or are you still on what you started with? Are you having any real bad side effects from the Embeda, or is it the normal side effects from narcotics? As I said, I am very happy to hear from you again. I know you were struggling for a couple of months and those times can be very hard and lonely to get through. It seems like you are headed in the right direction again and I sincerely hope and pray that you are able to continue in the right direction.

As for me, after taking the Embeda for a couple of months, I stopped taking it in July. My main reason was it made me very tired and I had the I don't care about anything attitude while taking it. Also, I would have needed my dose increased for pain control, but I figured that would only make me even tired. When I stopped the Embeda, I went to MS Contin, 120 mg (2 ea 60 mg tabs) twice daily. Of course, I had to start with the generic, and the release from the pills was not smooth at all and they were not lasting twelve hours. After a couple of months of playing with the dosage and how often I take it, this is what I ended up with. I take the BRAND MS CONTIN 90 mg (1 ea 60 mg + 1 ea 30 mg), three times daily. With that, I feel I am as good or better than where I was at with the Avinza. Once again, the Brand name proves far superior to the generic and it amazes me how much of a difference there is between the brand and generic when you know what to look for as far as pain control. I feel like I wasted my whole summer getting my pain back under control (as good as it gets for me). The good thing is that I made it, and with any luck, I won't have to go through that mess again for a long time. As you know, the hardest part is finding what works for you and then being patient while you get the correct dose dialed in. Keep in touch when you feel up to it and thanks for checking in.

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Hi guys! I'm replying to Lorraine's "message" because she has the most recent post. Avinza. From 2000-2014 I was prescribed Avinza for chronic pain (obviously). My tolerance for the medicine was HIGH. The first 10 years I took it, the Dr's office faxed my script to a particular pharmacy & the medicine was delivered to my door by their wonderful, sweet delivery man. I'm not sure what exactly happened but in 2013 the Dr's office could no longer fax in the script. The pharmacy was 23 miles from home so I tried to find a local pharmacy to fill the Avinza. NO ONE had any, could order it blah blah. One fine day I walked into a pharmacy in town hoping to fill my script and was told the usual. They didn't have any in stock and doubted they could get it. As I was leaving the Pharmacist stopped me & explained that Avinza is morphine. Plain and simple. Well, ER morphine but morphine just the same. He said he had "a ton" of that if I wanted he could make a quick call to the Dr and fill the morphine. OMG. Yes! Thank you! When I got home I Internet searched Avinza to be sure what I was told was true and yes it was and what a freaking relief! I never had any problem with the substitute thankfully. I know that can happen though. I'm wondering what's in (or left out) of the generic y'all are getting. I thought morphine is morphine is morphine. Or it should be that's for sure!

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Eric, I'm surprised you were able to get the Avinza this long. I was told back in January, 2015, King Pharm was no longer manufacturing Avinza, they even took the coupon off line, so I believed the pharmacist. Good luck with the generic brands, they didn't work for me. The Embeda works, not as well as the Avinza, but better then the generic brand. Between the dr's office and the pharmacy, I'm stilling having issues filling my scripts. I have a question, in my dr's office there is one person who is a secretary/medical assistant, who is now arguing with me about getting my scripts too early (one week to be exact). She is putting on my scripts "Fill date and then dates it." I tried to explain to her she cannot do that because of the way I have to take my meds and I would be out of them her way. I don't even know if it's legal for her to do that. Also, because of all the problems with my pharmacy and filling the Embeda and oxy-ir, they are telling me they can't have more then one month's worth in stock. I don't know the laws and if anyone can direct me or let me know if you're having the same problems, I would appreciate knowing. Every month now it's becoming more and more of a hassle to fill my scripts. It's enough I have to deal with 24/7 pain, now more stress. Sorry!! Good luck to all and keep me posted! God Bless.

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I have a good pharmacist I guess because they were willing to call around the area and see who had avinza left to fill my prescription.
We live in the North Atlanta area so that helps.
I am on day number 35 of the ms sulfate and it is not working at all. I am waiting for my doctor to call back because this sucks. Thanks

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Hi Lorraine, what you describe that your Dr.'s office is doing with regards to dating the prescription's is legal, at least in Pa. Not only is it legal in Pa, it is common practice. Every Dr. I have seen for the narcotic's has their nurses count out the days to see when I should be due for a refill, and then date the Rx accordingly. This can be extremely frustrating when dealing with the weekends and holidays. The best way I have figured out to handle this is to talk to your Dr. at your next appointment and explain to him/her the problems you are having getting your meds because of the way the scripts are being dated. Every one of my Docs has listened, understood and put a note in the chart regarding weekends and holidays. Also, you may want to try scheduling your appointment's about a week before you are due for a refill, and at least all of my Doc's (after explaining the problem's I was having with refills), wrote the new script 4-6 days before my due date so I had at least a small grace period in case there was a problem at the pharmacy with either insurance approval, or the pharmacy needing to order the meds. The next time you call the Dr.'s Office for refills, they will count the days from the last Rx that was wrote. If the Doc gave you the grace period, you should have the same grace period going forward because the Nurses count from the last Rx. I know people who have had the pharmacist call their Doc to explain why the pharmacy needs the grace period for the med in question. I don't know if any of this will help you or not, but it's worth a shot if you haven't tried it already. Isn't it amazing how many people post on this site about Avinza and how well it worked for them?

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Hi Lorraine,

I can relate to the issue with the receptionist/medical assistant at your Dr's office. The clinic I attended for 8-9 years had a receptionist who wasn't responsible for writing scripts or writing on the scripts but she could make life miserable for a girl nonetheless. She'd try and schedule my next appt 1 week or 2 weeks AFTER my meds would run out. It was crazy! The first time she did it to me I didn't realize it until I was down to a weeks worth of meds & checked the appt date to find it was a week and a half AFTER I'd run out of meds. When I called the office to straighten it out she told me they were completely booked up and I needed to just "make it work". I was crying when I hung up with her. This called for some kind of action! I knew my doctor wouldn't want me to run out of medicine! SO, I hand wrote my problem on a note, placed it in a sealed envelope and wrote the particular nurses name I knew would help on the outside. PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL I wrote across the bottom. I physically drove to the office & asked someone coming out if "C" was there today, the answer was "yes". Then I waited outside till I saw a familiar face (of a fellow patient) going in for an appt, stopped her and asked if she had any problem giving the letter to "C" for me. She kindly took the letter and promised to give it to her as soon as she got to the exam room wing. Fifteen minutes later my cell phone rang. It was "C" who'd gotten the note obviously. She couldn't stop laughing at my description of their receptionist as the "Appointment Nazi". EVERYONE at that clinic had dealt with the receptionist from hell. On the note I wrote that I had my medication with me for a pill count to prove I wasn't just bull****ing. I offered to come inside and let her count my pills which she declined and told me to come in the following Monday morning for my script. Moral of the story; If someone other than the Dr herself is ****ing you around, go into stealth mode by contacting a higher up!

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Beyonce, I couldn't agree with you more. When it comes down to it, we are the one's at home and in pain. As nasty and as mean as some people are, they go home and forget about us. We have to be proactive or we will get lost in the shuffle. Look at it like this, what would have happened if you would have accepted what she told you and either went the 1.5 weeks without taking any meds, or making what meds you had stretch out the extra 1.5 weeks? The Doctor may have assumed that since you made it with a smaller dose, or without taking any at all, that either your prescribed dose was too high, or that you didn't need it at all. Thankfully there was someone in the office that you could count on.

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Hi There,
I'm wondering if you've found any other info on Avinza. I was on 60mgs for 5 years and it was absolutely the best medication for my pain. I had zero side effects and remained on the same dosage year after year. This year when Avinza was no longer being manufactured, I began the generic that was available at that time, Morphine Solphate and it does not manage my pain near as well as Avinza and I've experienced side effects. It has been terrible trying to find another medication that worked even close to Avinza. I would love to hear that they actually were able to produce a REAL generic or better yet, that Avinza has been put back on the market.

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Cowgirl, I don't know why I didn't think of this before but, take your morphine with grapefruit juice. Or eat grapefruit right before you take the medication. Grapefruit juice "ups" opioid potency. It's worth a try right? Also, Google search "foods which make opioid stronger" or something like that. Good luck!

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Unfortunately king no longer manufactures avinz, I have fought like hell for years to stay on it only thing that works for me the generic seems to work as well they must use the furmic acid also. When King no longer manufacture It not many other options and now unfortunately for me my insured does not want to cover the generic so now I'm in a fight with them. For me personally I'm not taking it to high I'm taking for pain management, and so I can function throughout the day I do believe I have tried every other opiate on the market and Avinza was the only one that didn't make me euphoric, give me the same dose and MS cot. Or kadian I might as will just become a Heiron junkie cause I just get the nods and fall asleep. Avinza was my saving grace, and although the generic seems to work the same for me at least I don't notice a difference I don't know what I will do it for lose my fight with my insurance company. it truly is only thing that works for me that doesn't make me have that euphoric feeling. Been taking it for 15 years.

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The medication you are requesting from what I understand from a number of pharmacies has been discontinued. Morphine sulfate er has taken its place. I would suggest you consult your pain specialist. That is in the state of Georgia, USA, Atlanta metropolitan area. I just went through this a few weeks ago and my doctor was able after writing a prescription for avina to contact my pharmacy and request that order the generic equivalent. This order was to replace fentanyl patches 50 micrograms due to a bad prescription of patches, the aluminum foil type. I was not getting enough fentanyl and it caused me to go into withdrawals. Of course my insurance would not replace and the manufacturer would not replace. The manufacturer is under investigation by the FDA and there have been numerous legal suits. At this point the more thing is working well for me however it is 3 times more expensive than the fentanyl patches, so I don't know if I can afford to continue. It is my experience that Milan makes the best patches and I have been on fentanyl patches since 2004.. wishing you luck but again check with your pain specialist regarding morphine sulfate er I am taking 90 milligrams which is the equivalent of 50 micrograms fentanyl patches according to my doctor and I have not had any problems. I take percocet 7.5 for intermittent pain three times a day. Good luck!

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In addition please note the morphine sulfate er replacement is manufactured by activis

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Why did I think Avinza is same as Kadian? Are they both not extended release morphine? Early 2014, I couldn't find a pharmacy with enough Kadian in stock to fill my prescription. Finally, the kindest Pharmacist I've ever met told me he had a "ton" of generic morphine but that he rarely saw a script for Kadian therefore they didn't really stock it. I agreed to the generic, he called the Dr to confirm and I never saw or felt any difference at all.

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I went through a nightmare from Hell because I got some bad patches from a company right now I cannot recall the name. The gloom was so thick on these aluminum foil patches there was not enough fentanyl getting into my body and I went into withdrawals. My doctor got on the phone with my insurance company to try to order by new prescription fentanyl patches to replace the bad ones with mylan brand which has been the best for me for years! My doctor thought like a tiger that little girl little lady! Lol no way the insurance company would not do it Aetna, you know they don't. Make enough money. Haha! At that point my doctor became so frustrated she wrote a prescription for Avina? Sp?, unfortunately I could not find it at any pharmacist and was told that it was discontinued. However my doctor said that she had just written prescriptions for that medication the day before and that person had no problem getting the medication. However we did find that it was available in generic form and yes it did work quite well in fact I'm probably not going to go back to the fentanyl patches its a pain in the ass to get the right kind anyway and after my deductible I believe I will pay $7.75 as opposed to $7 for the fentanyl patches. She has been on 90 milligrams er once a day. It is sufficient with percocet 7.5 3 times a day. I do suffer a lot from intermittent pain however it does not get so bad that I can't make it through a day where as there was a time when I could not at all. My medication may have to be reevaluated and we may have to go up however that is very expensive and I'm not sure I can afford it. The percoset alone would cost me a mere fortune however the morphine sulfate er may not be as expensive. I'll just have to work with Aetna on that and see what they decide to charge. By the way I am also on klonopin and Aetna copay is $35! My God in heaven I can go by klonopin, 90 1 milligram tablets for $20 at Sams Club, now Walmart is equivalent to Sams whereas before they were more expensive. I hate Walmart regardless and I realize Sams is a part of it but still I hate Walmart and I don't shop there. In any event it is my understanding again to answer your question that the brand name for morphine sulfate is now generic. You may be able to find a pharmacy where they still have some in stock, have you contacted the manufacturer? If not it is my suggestion for you to contact the manufacturer directly and they can tell you best what is going on. I have no problem contacting the manufacturers directly. In fact the FDA is after these people who are manufacturing the aluminum foil patches and there's also been lawsuits because of the lack of fentanyl getting into people's systems. Let me move and I will get the manufacturer ok I now have the name of these i****s, APOTEX. They were absolutely asinine to work with. When I was in the donut hell hole I had no choice but to use a less expensive brand of patches, however they do not stay on as well as Milan and I was literally out 3 patches. My doctor was aware of the situation and approved more of the percocet. I contacted the manufacturer and gave them the information and of course they told me to use the tegraderm brand or style whatever one of those band-aid type waterproof to cover the very long patch. I was mostly getting enough fentanyl, but of course I had to go through the aggravation of buying those band-aid type things to put over the patch. Nevertheless one good thing I can say about that manufacture, Watson they were on the ball and my next prescription was free! Yes absolutely they replaced or gave me the next prescription at no charge because of the problems that I had had. There was no reason Apotex could not have done the same thing. Especially with all of the lawsuits and everything they've had against them. Of course I did contact the FDA however I have not yet contacted the lawyer who is handling the legal action against them. I do know that as far as the fentanyl patches when they went generic most of the patients in the clinic that I was in at the time had to up their medication because the generic was not as strong and was not working, so I understand your concern regarding the difference between generic and brand name. In some cases they are absolutely not the same and you have to use more of the medication. You are on a very high dose of morphine sulfate, regardless of brand name or generic. Very high dose! I realize your pain is probably up there, I am bone on bone in my spine. Facets syndrome, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis all joints, God I don't know what all else! My last bone density, I am 57 my bones are 79! I was getting inj's. in my spine and also epidural I may do the nerve block, however at this point they have done just about everything they can do, and of course you know how insurance is and because I was forced into disability at a young age I am on Medicare. However Medicare I have done very well on in getting my help, so to be honest I have very few complaints about them. Exception the part D, which in my opinion was created by Corporate America, major insurance companies getting into the program and they absolutely make more money! I hate to get political but I'm going to do at this point. The Republican party gets more money for their political action committees from the medical community and the Democratic Party. I am neither however I am just a common sense photo and I am a retired research analyst and I will do what it takes to know the truth. I encourage you to research each medication you are taking, if I can learn how to look at the chemical makeup and which medications may interact with others, which many doctors do not take the time to look at, even when your charge is staring them in their faces. One serious example, I was on antidepressants SSRIs, two different types, I honestly felt like a zombie all the time, I had no energy nothing. I began to research and I found that SSRIs cause what is called serotonin poisoning or syndrome. Meaning my body was creating too much serotonin because I was on fentanyl patches. I have now changed to a different antidepressant which is not an SSRI, serotonin uptake and I am doing much much better with it. It treats a variety of medication and one of them is a very old tried and true, buspar. Sometimes you have to do your homework and tell your doctor what it is you need to make it through each day however you must do you research your homework take your paperwork with you and talk to your doctors and show them the proof is in the pudding or rather the PDR! I believe anyone who is not stupid can read and research and learn. Ignorance is not bliss but it can kill you. I don't like to use the word stupid however there are some people who just cannot be educated and they need someone to assist him if you are in that unfortunate category which from your posting information I doubt you are however for those of you that are please get someone to assist you. There are people out there who know what they're doing and more times than not a nurse or a physicians assistant takes more time and no more of what is going on than a doctor does. Of course that depends on your doctor! Good luck I realize this is a long post but I hope this assists you, again I'm going to encourage you to contact the manufacturer of the Avena to see if you are able to get that medication before it is completely expired because it is from what I understand from a number of pharmacies in the Atlanta MSA no longer available generic only. Morphine sulfate er. Good luck with your situation it sounds like you have a whole lot of pain going on. Of course we have the issue of dealing with being drug addicts, lmao if they could live one day in our lives. Just one day that's all it would take. Thank you for your time.

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If you are on any type of blood pressure medication please do not drink grapefruit juice! It does not mix because grapefruit juice is a natural diuretic and a lot of blood pressure medications have diuretics in them, so check your meds and make sure that you are not going to cause yourself to have a deathly interaction.

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