Norco Shortage In Michigan (Page 13) (Top voted first)

Is anyone else having problems finding a pharmacy to fill their scripts of Norco? I have been taking them for a few years now for my chronic pain. I always go to the same pharmacy chain, and its always the same doctor who writes my scripts, but since the new law change no one seems to have them in stock. Some pharmacists told me it was a manufacturer back order. We are told not to go without our meds, but yet how is that possible if we can't get them? Anyone knows of a pharmacy that has Norco 10/325 in the metro Detroit area?

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I have been on endocet 10/325 - 3xday for awhile, & even tho it is no watsons 10/325 oxycodone it is working enough to get alot of the pain. The PA at my pain clinic (miss powerhead as most of them are) kept telling me how addicting they are and that they don't usually prescribe these STRONG Narcotics on a long term basis, when I was doing FINE on watsons 10/325 for several years without abusing & no side effects & most of all, controlling my pain!!! Now I am doing fine on these, BUT she said the Doc would give me another month, but not to count on these for a long time or maybe ever again!...what kind of game is this anyway? I don't wish pain on anyone, but if she had mine for a day, she wouldn't say these things! She asked if my prior doctors tried anything other than vicodin & percocet on me & i said, yeah, motrin & other anti-inflamatories I they ripped up my stomach~as they DO, & she said, no other narcotics...I said no. Does anyone know where she is going with this as I couldn't get a straight answer out of her??? Is perhaps Oxycontin the same only longer acting??? This endocet is working, & I HATE to change anything as I am allergic to the inactive ingredients in the different percocet or oxycodone mftrs. I am prescribed 3 a day. I would appreciate anyones' help or suggestions please. I HATE going thru these pa's as they do NOT write down what you say correctly~please people check your records as I have, as they do NOT word what you say correctly & are VERY incorrect turning what you say around...this has happened at 3 clinics to me! I see the Doc. for just a few min. after her, & sometimes not at all. Good luck to my friends~no fun with pain I know~(where are you "just a mommy?" Have a nice Christmas if you see this!)

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I thought that 325mg apap was now banned? I read that the max dosage per unit in the USA is now 300mg - which would be fine were you still unable to buy industrial sized jars of this most dangerous of ALL pharmaceuticals in supermarkets for God's sake. We here in the UK I might still permit up to 500mg but at least you are unable to purchase any more than 16 tablets... It is the major cause of death in females between 12 and 24 years of age.

MY MAIN POINT IS - How can I get Hydrocodone bitartrate, of which the entire 100% world supply is consumed in the USA, being the only country since the withdrawal of DICODID which licences that drug for any reason (it is principally an antitussive, and with a synergistic addition of around 60-75mg acetaminophen per 15mg becomes a weak opioid, the most overpriced one in the world by the way, 10mg being equivalent to 40mg of its parent drug dihydrocodeine tartrate (pure) but 3-4 times stronger. It is actually according to the INN system officially named dihydrocodeineone bitartrate and I am looking for both 10 or 15mg IR tabs or ZOHYDRO Err 50mg capsules. No US pharmacy will ship them, and I can not find anyone to help out since my friend who supplied me with this 'in between' analgesic until his untimely death last year... HOW CAN I GET US ONLY ANALGESICS SENT TO THE UK? I need the aforementioned, high dosage IR hydromorphone (4/8mg) and IR oxymorphone (again only licensed for use in the USA). H hydrochloride tablets have far too low a bioavailability and I need a 50mg dosage and Palfium is now Ireland and Netherlands only and the 10mg have been withdrawn, dipipanone and cyclizine brand DICONAL now withdrawn leaving only an inferior generic and no South African pharmacy will send the original, branded 'WELLCONAL' there. Help anyone???

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I am sorry that this is happening now to people who are taking this type of pain medication however since we have been having problems getting oxycodone and fentanyl patches; some of the strongest pain medications it seemed that no one took notice! Why is it that it does not seem to hit home that there is a problem until the problem hits home and effects you?? We need to be more compassionate of each other even when we might not altogether understand someones problem! It should not take much to think of yourself with a daunting tooth ache for the rest of your life to realize that if there is something that can help someone in pain; it should be made available to them without interuption!!!!! Again, I truly am sorry for the pain that you have to live with; we all need to work together to get the rest of the world to understand that these medications are a necessity for some of us to live!

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Does anyone know why Central Florida area pharmacies are still claiming to be out of stock (of generic Norco 10/325), and also claiming that they don't know when they will get another shipment? I am a chronic pain patient, on disability, have seen the same doctor for 13 years; never had any problems filling, while it was a CIII. I would appreciate hearing from other Florida pain patients. One pharmacist told me that Fla. was "the worst state of all", in regards to "pill mills" and illegal sales/usage of pain pills. She stated that "people used to fly to Florida, from many other states to get these drugs".

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I'm supposed to have surgery in the summer n my Dr just started giving norco 5/325 I can not find them at any pharmacy and am being treated like a junkie. I don't even feel like trying any other pharmacy because it's embarrassing to b treated that way!

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See my post #188 below...

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So is my doctor if you're talking of St. Mary's at 5mi and Levan. Great news, thank you so much.

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So is my doctor if you're talking of St. Mary's at 5mi and Levan. Great news, thank you so much. Tell me, are they yellow with check mark on them or are they white ones?

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To: BL; Post #193 - Could you please supply more details on your post? How did you find out that Norco shortage will cease in January 2015? How, exactly, do we, the chronic pain patients, contact these agencies that you mentioned in your post? This site does not indicate which state you are in, unless you all specify it, in your posts? (ie: where is Channel 7, which many are urging us to contact?) I have signed petitions, and am willing to do whatever I can, to help myself and others, who are going through such terrible times. If you, or someone else, suggests actions which we can take, the details would help tremendously. Also, I suppose it would depend on which state we are all residing in. I am in Florida.

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Gail, My doctor works out of St.Marys and he has his office on Farmington Rd. I usually get the yellow from my drug store. They were out and I got them up the street at another drug store chain. They are white and are marked M367. They stop pain just the same but the after effect is a bit rough. They tire me out like it's a sleeping pill or something. I will go to St.Marys because its so close to my house and I'll bet they never run out. Thanks again.

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Hi Beagle. Yes. I think the white ones are a bit different as well. I prefer the yellow ones too. But heck I was just happy to get my script filled. As for the whole shortage thing. That is a crock. Only the drug stores are having trouble getting them. I don't know if the FDA has put a limit on how much drug stores can get at a time or what. All I know is it's just one more way our constitutional rights are being taken away by the Obama regime. This past week has been so stressful. I can't wait until he is out of office.

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I FINALLY got my Norco 7.5 prescription filled yesterday at my local CVS store. There must have been a lot of people with the same prescriptions because I've never seen the pharmacy so busy. The pharmacist filled Norco prescriptions all day. I don't know what caused this "shortage" or if it will continue. The pharmacist told me that the DEA and FDA put limitations on the amount of schedule 2 drugs that pharmacies can order each month. We aren't doing ourselves or others any good by remaining silent about this. We should all contact Detroit-area tv stations and newspapers to let them know how much people with legitimate chronic pain are suffering due to this rescheduling. Spokespeople for the DEA said patients would still get their pain meds in a "timely manner." What a joke! I had to wait nearly two months often in agonizing pain before I was able to get a script filled. I wish the people responsible for this rescheduling had to live in such severe pain for two months!

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Thank you, Jerry, for the information. I live in the Central Fla. area (Volusia County), between Orlando and Daytona Beach. One pharmacist told me that it would be useless for me to drive to Orlando, stating that, because I live in a different county (and the prescription was written in Volusia County), no pharmacy in Orlando would fill it. I have a legal, legitimate prescription dated 12/31/2014, and I worry myself sick(er), wondering where/how I am going to get it filled (last day of the month, last day of the year). There must be something that can be done.

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Thank you Gail, if I have a problem at Walgreen's again, although they've been decent, I will try the hospital pharmacy my Dr. Is affiliated with. Good idea!

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Sorry! I didn't even notice that when I typed "Five" a day, my phone corrected it as "Give"! Jeesh. I guess I was more tired than I initially thought!

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That is sooo not true! You can get your prescription filled in any county or any state. I was actually right at the corner of Michigan/Ohio/Indiana border last month for my husband's work, and decided we would drive 15 mins to a grocery store pharmacy in Ohio.(we are from Metro Detroit, Michigan) while waiting for my script, the pharmacist told us that they usually never have any issues with Norco shortages. I've also been told plenty of times when going on vacation that if my script is due during, the doc just writes it for the correct date, and I can get it filled wherever we are vacationing. One time was actually visiting my father-in-law in Florida!

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Are the drug store chains doing this on a whim or are they being told to do this by someone in government? How can we force their hand and make them tell us. Are there new rules they do not have the courage to tell us? I do not for a minute buy this hogwash about re-labeling of products or a shortage from manufacturers. That at tops would be 2 months of delays. For me it is going on 4mos. Perhaps if we all got together and spoke with an attorney to see if we have any options to force their hand it would help us. I spoke to one chain store about the white vs. yellow and must have thought I wanted the white ones. I did not, I wanted what I always have gotten, the yellow ones. The man told me the whites can be abused. I thought to myself, I do not care if they put them where the sun don't shine. I just want my script filled the VERY day I bring it in. I am forced to drive to my doctors to get a script each month. I am forced to go to the drug store and wait while they fill it every month now. Why should I go through a delay of any kind because some mutt misuses his medication? Thanks to Gail I know now I can go to the hospital, my doctor works out of and get it filled I hope on the spot. The hospital is less than a quarter mile from my front door.

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Pattycakes, I am beyond appalled, and so very sorry for what you have been going through. Those horrible people at Walgreen's called the police?? And, you were Baker-Acted?? And, you are correct re: hospital pharmacies. All of you need to listen to her. They will not fill our prescriptions, either, unless we have been an inpatient. Florida pain patients: DO NOT go to Walgreens! I knew they were terrible to us, but what they did to this poor woman! There is a blog called askthePharmacist, written by a pharmacist (Steve Ariens), on the National Pain Report site. His wife is a chronic pain patient, and he has much information on his blog. Read his blog from March 31, 2014. Helpful information regarding the disabled, and their rights.

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someone should get the news involved.

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I was wondering yesterday....has there ever been any legal suits against the Drug Administration? I wonder also if there has been people out there that have suffered from heart attack or stroke or hospitalized from anxiety that was a result of withdrawals from norco. I know when I went to the ER, the nurse was concerned with my blood pressure being 190/100 and my HR was 111. It was from pain and withdrawals, and I already take Bp meds. I mean Patti was "hospitalized" at her own expense, and it was all due to this! I wish that I had an idea how much gas I have spent on driving around for hours with no results of finding my meds. We visited 15 places just 5 days ago. OH...BTW...my husband found yellow norco at Walmart in Livonia for me. They filled a script for 60, just not sure how many they had left. Hope that can help someone!

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