Oxycontin Damaged My Teeth (Page 36)
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Has anyone else known oxycontin to rot the teeth? I used to be on vicodin until my doctor told me I needed to switch to a morphine based meds. She put me on ms contin but I had problems with it so she put me on 80mg oxycontin. Eventually my body built up a tolerance so she kept raising it, i have am now on from 4-6 per day of the 80mg tabs. It scares me that this is what rotted my teeth because only 5 yrs ago i had only 2 cavities that needed filling and then only 1 yr after going on the oxycontin i had to have all my top front teeth pulled as they where rotting from the inside out the dentist said my mouth looked like a heroin addict's mouth looks. He said it was shocking to him that normally he only saw such damage from someone who abused drugs with so much dental damage, but i have never done any street drugs and have only take my meds as prescribed to me. Now i have lost 80% of my teeth and as a beautiful 41 yr old mother its devastating. I cant afford dentures and sure cant afford implants like i would like to have. I am a single mother and refuse to date because i have lost my teeth now, i had beautiful teeth before i started on the oxycontin and only 2 small cavities that needed filling. Does anyone else have this same problem and if so why hasn't the company making oxycontin warn patients of this possible problem?

If i had known this would cause me to lose most of my teeth i would have never agreed to go on it. Of course my family doctor who has been prescribing them tells me she hasn't heard of any other cases, yet when i researched the med online there where others like this why hasn't something been put in the warnings about this med, i sure would have preferred to have lived in pain the rest of my life rather than lose my teeth and be unable to even eat now. My health has gone downhill fast as i cant even chew foods necessary for good health. All I can eat now are yogurts, and liquid type of foods which isn't much. My kids are 7 and 9 yrs old and they watch me cry when we go out to eat and they order steak, and i can smell it but can't order one as i know i wont be able to chew it. This is so devastating for me. I want teeth so badly if i could wish for anything in life besides not to be poor anymore it would be to have a full set of real teeth or implants but i could never dream of having them, and i don't know anyone out there willing to just help me get any either. I have always helped others all my life, but cant even help myself, i have had to have 29 surgeries now since 1991 when a drunk driver hit my car and caused me major injuries with my lower back and knees, i have had a full lower back fusion and 8 arthroscopic knee surgeries until a year ago they finally had to do a full right knee replacement and now they are talking about doing my left knee soon.

So my life has been up and down with surgeries and i would go thru one more surgery just to have teeth implanted if i could. but i could never afford it, but i would like to know why these drug manufacturers are making a medication that could cause teeth to rot like this without warning us patients or even warning the doctors about it. This is just terrible of them i think, as now i am the one paying for this by having no teeth to eat with at such a young age now. I am a vibrant young 41 yr old at 5'3, 120lbs, slim woman, nice looking too as i was a model in my younger days, so i keep my looks up. But to have no teeth now... I never smile anymore, I am to ashamed to smile even though it wasn't my fault i lost my teeth. I think they should pay for me to have new teeth but no one wants to admit that the med causes it, but my diet wasn't the problem back when i started the medication and i wasn't drinking coca-cola either or doing street drugs so i know that wasn't the cause either. The only thing that changed within one year to cause this was starting the oxycontin medication. Well, if anyone out there can help me let me know thanks.

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This goes out to David who went to Mexico to get his teeth done.

Can you please let me know the name of this place? Would be very interested! Thank you

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Dear Angela and all others out there,
Let me first say how truly sorry I am for some of these postings. If they do not have any kind of chronic pain they will never, ever understand no matter what you say to them.

My posting is coming from another view. My husband has been on oxy for almost 12 years. I just want to smack NO punch Drs and other a**holes in the mouth when they look at my husband as a drug addict. He would love to get off these meds, but the pain is worse than I could ever imagine. I hate it when these people treat him like he is an on-the street drug addict and have more than once gotten into many, many arguments.
Whe he was younger he had a sledding accident and then a motorcycle accident which aggravated and rehurt the same lower spine area.

After finally deciding on back surgery (cages, rods, and screws) the outcome is worse than ever. He now has a condition called mechanical back, which means he will always and forever be in horrible pain.

Unfortunately, this is a Catch22. To be off the oxy would probably be worse, BUT being on them is just as bad if not worse.

He has also had nerves that come out of the spinal cord cut trying to alleviate the pain, but that did not help. He has done acupuncture, tried deep tissue massage and it lessens the pain for a couple of hours but that is not long enough to go off the meds.

Want to talk about teeth - his is rotting away...seriously...from the inside out. It is incredible. I was always jealous of his teeth. They were always straight and white and just perfect. Now they are blackened, chipped, missing, OH you name it. It is truly incredible...and of course, all the doctors and dentists say it is not from the meds. I have done alot of research because I would LOVE for him to get off them although I know that it is not possible. Site after site said that this would happen to his teeth.

I have also noticed in the past 3+ years that he is really starting to hunch and his walk is getting very weird.

He has had heart problems and sometype of gastro problem (which cannot be figured out) and a few times when he was taken to the ER and asks if you he is on any meds & he says yes, oxy - automatically they have a change of heart and say well, we are not giving you any of that here. NEVER once has he ever said that's what he wanted. He was in for heart problems and gastro problems. That's when I get in there faces. They actually treat him differently and get an attitude. It is amazing!

As for these pain management doctors, you put them on these drugs knowing the side effects and that these drigs are addictive and then when this happens you either say go find another doctor, or I'm not giving you these anymore or are just complete a**holes to your patient(s).

As for some of the postings about the president and making things better, he has already said that the one thing he is going to cut back on is pain management and chronic back pain. OMG, this is not going to be good!

As for selling your pain meds, if you are like my husband, you are lucky enough to have them last until your next refill. When you are in pain and this will help to alleviate it just a bit you will take an extra. Anything to get through your day. (That is if you can get out of bed!)
You will not be selling...You would be buying!

Have any of you had the pharmacist problem? They can all kiss my ass for how judgemental they are. If they are all so worried about losing their licenses for a PRESCRIBED medicine from a doctor (this is one of the most watched drug out there by the feds) then find a new job and get out of this profession.

Our quality of life is always jeopardized. If he is on his feet for too long or we are somewhere with our kids and do alot of walking, his back goes into spasms and on the ground he goes. We always need to worry about him.

I am very lucky and thank GOD everyday that I don't have chronic pain. I see what my husband goes through and feel horrible because there is absolutely nothing I can do to help.

For all of you out there who had nasty things to say, you better pray that you are never in a position such as this....you will not survive! It is easy to sit back and judge, try living it every single moment and day of your life.

To all with chronic pain, you are all in my prayers.

EG

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Dear Angela, I am very sorry for what you have gone thru and continue to go thru. I too have had the same thing happen to me with my teeth and I too am going thru the not being able to find a dentist to help due to very little or no money but I am looking around the internet trying to find dentists in your area that may be willing to help you, if you'd like feel free to email me and stay in touch! I am on your side! my email address is to_hot_mandy [at] hotmail [dot] com email me anytime... God Bless, Amanda

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Ginny, I am so happy for you I know it must have been very hard to do but you should be very proud of yourself. I am sorry to hear you are yet another victim of this med & it caused you to lose your teeth like many of us have. May God bless you & continue to give you strength !

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Able, I think you are being paranoid.A Federal agent would not be in the least bit interested with our discussions & as far as people ordering it illegally the agents handling those type of things do that directly through the person ordering it & the place that sells it. We are not here to obtain meds illegal, we are all just chatting with others that have the same problem as we do. About you saying people that are talking about selling it, we all know to ignore those posts as only idiots would give that kind of advice.

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I've been reading several links regarding this drug and I've noticed that in each discussion someone has entered postings which are suggesting illegal buying or selling of this medication. I think these entries are being made by Federal Agents who are trying to entrap people who are online discussing this drug.

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I have recently detoxed myself off of Oxycontin and I can't believe what changes I've seen in myself. First I want to say that it took a full two months to pull myself out of bed or even desire to speak to my family members. Yet, after the first week I noticed that the severe spasms I had in my hands, feet and back have decreased by 50%. I thought they were due to my back problems getting worse in the last five years. Not so. I too have lost all my upper teeth and didn't know that it was caused by the drugs I was prescribed until I read your postings today. No one mentioned that cause and effect issue to me all through that nightmare. I also had almost daily migraines which have dropped 80% since I got off this drug. My memory was getting so poor that I thought I was getting an early case of Alztimers. Now, I'm seeing it getting stronger every day. I had lost all of my motivation in life, my humor, my personality and my desire to do anything productive. All of this part of me is just now beginning to return a bit more every day. I just can't believe all this drug has done to me and the issues it caused. I am so thankful that I have an understanding husband who endured all the changes that he saw in me, and then cared for me while I detoxed myself. My pain Dr. said she was so proud of me, but that I was never really addicted to this medication after being on it for five years. Yeah, tell that to the woman that was afraid to detox and spent the last two months sleeping and behaving like a sloth. I can tell that I still have a long way towards my full recovery but I'm looking forward to getting off many other meds that I started using to counteract the pain the Oxycontin created for me. Never again!

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To Tomsmom, I also found out from this comment post that oxycontin can cause your teeth to rot. I am mad as hell about it. I no longer take it anymore but I am on another med now. I just can't understand why a doctor or a pharmacist would not give patients a list of possible side affects such as this.I know doctors are very busy but when you get a med filled you always usually get a insert about possible side affects, I never got anything about it causing problems with your teeth. I had beautiful teeth, when I was young my parents spent a lot of money getting me braces but in the time frame when I was on oxycontin it was about 2 years or so into being on oxy that I started having problems with my teeth, it is truly awful that the news about these meds don't come out as everything else seems to, everyday we always read about different foods etc that may cause cancer or other things, why not make this a story after reading Angela's story & others that have had the same problem, we need to bring attention to the public about this. I have no clue about how to go public & bring it to someones attention if anyone reading this does please come forward & help. Thank you.

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63

Ellie Zarrabian, Ph.D. Says:
Mon, March 16, 2009

Dear Tomsmom,
I am a health care professional. I live in Los Angeles. I deal with pain using alternative approaches to medication. I would be happy to talk to you and advise you about options to meds. Please feel free to contact me directly.
Ellie Zarrabian

Ellie Zarrabian, Ph.D.
California, United States
http://www.centeronpeace.com

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Hello All! I found this discussion while looking up side affects, I am currenly on two 80 mg and four 15 mg a day. As a result of 3 not at fault car accidents in a year and a half and falling down a flight of stairs . So you can imagine my list of pains.... Oh I am 30 years old, all I keep thinking about is what I can I do NOW to prevent bigger issues in the future addiction, teeth..ect . I have been on pain meds for a few years now, but only the 80 mg for 2 months. I'm lost on what to do????? Continue relieving the pain or ???
Also I just wanted to wish everyone the best !! I am open to suggestions!
Thanks for reading.....

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Hi Angela- I am so sorry to read about all that you have been through. I also was on oxycontin from 2000 till 2004 & I had almost the same problem as you did with your teeth. I have had no clue that the oxycontin could have caused it till I read your story. It is not right for a doctor to put us on these meds & not provide a list of possible side affects that are caused by these meds. I read through all of the comments that people replied to about your teeth & I wish all of us affected by this should stick together & go after the makers of this awful drug. I will go on your myspace this weekend & leave you my name & e-mail so you can contact me if you want to. My heart goes out to you & your children & maybe we can research & find someone that can help you get your implants. Also maybe we can locate a lawyer that can help all of us affected. Just like you I am disabled but I no longer take the oxys but another med just like it. Hope to chat with you soon.

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I agree about the holistic i was doing that working with herbs and teas and such before i was put on the meds, but my doctor talked me into trying them, i was on vicodin but it started to damage my liver they said so when i finally agreed to try the oxycontin it was a miracle for me but soon turned into the biggest devastation with regards to my teeth, but i do agree those that are considering trying it dont let your doctor talk you into it unless you have absolutely no other resorts and you have as many surgeries and pain as i have had, but i wanted others to know that they will destroy your teeth even if your doctor tells you it wont , they are lying to you, it does destroy your teeth but every attorney i contact they tell me they have never heard of oxycontin destroying teeth, they say that all doctors tell them that it doesnt damage teeth that i had to be doing something else to destroy my teeth at least the ones in my area say that, and i have contacted lots of them, but then they want to talk to my doctor and i dont want to get cut off either seeing its the only thing that is working to keep my pain down too. so i feel horrible for your husband too that he has to resort to the streets, i do thank god everyday that my doctor at least doesnt fight to much with me over this, but my medicaid does, they fight with me every month about them not feeling i need it, but my doctor has stood up for me everytime on this matter. thank god

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To Jessica- what your husband dr did was wrong by all means- drs have a responsibility to their patients & to cut someone off like that is criminal. I really feel bad for what your husband went through & still is-drs are suppose to lower the dosage of the med & not just cut them off for no reason- I hope you sue the pants off of this dr & turn him in. He should not even be able to practice medicine. Best of luck to you both as it is just as hard on you to have to care for him & watch him suffer. God bless

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My husband became disabled due to an auto accident. His doctor put him on narcotic prescriptions. Five years had passed. His doctor had cut him without reason. My husband was not abuseing or selling his medications. My husband later found the doctors in our area were cutting patients for fear of lawsuits. It was stated that he no longer needed medication, but was permantly disabled. How is this possible? My husband had never done drugs and only every few years (new years eve) would have a drink. I would feel comfortable in saying that he is now a drug addict. Doctors like to prescribe medications to help keep you as a patient. They also tell you that withdrawl only lasts five days. My husband suffered for weeks and felt withdrawls for months before he went to the streets for dope. I do not blame him for what he has to do. He now has to take a chance everyday to find a drug just to maintain what the doctors had done to him. What is worse...Take a medication to replace the drug? Or take the original drug? We both have sympathy for people that were pushed to this extreme! As far as the teeth...FIND AN ATTORNEY! My husband had recieved a different card off of his doctor (he specialised in it) on the last visit......REHABILITATIVE MEDICINE. We found out what that meant. We also found out that all doctors are required to study this to some degree. We also found an attorney who showed us of examples of this happening all over the country. You will be suprised what your doctor (?friend?) put in your medical files. And if he specializes in auto injuries, you are going to be suprised! I would start cutting the dose of the pain medication. If you continue to ask about your teeth, you will be cut off by your doctor. They do know eachother and you will have no luck doctor shopping.' You just might be out on the street looking for a substitue drug to keep you from being sick and possibly commiting suicide!

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57

Ellie Zarrabian, Ph.D. Says:
Sun, March 8, 2009

Hi all,
I had a chance to read all the discussions posted and wanted to say that I really appreciate how honest people are and how supportive of one another. It's great knowing that we can reach out to each other with out ever even having met each other.
I am a therapist and a holistic healer. I've been asked to join this listserve to offer support to people who are dealing with pain (physical or emotional) and to help out if I can. In reading many of these posts for the past couple of weeks I can tell you that there are many things in common with what people are saying about these meds, whether they are used for dealing with physical pain or emotional pain like anxiety and depression. Many of these meds can be of help at times, sometimes these meds can help bring people back from the dead, but other times, they cause tremendous amounts of pain and suffering because of the side effects. Most of you are right that these side effects are either not properly disclosed to the public or they are not tested long enough and the makers don't know the side effects themselves and unfortunately innocent people end up becoming guniea pigs.
Because of these terrible and at times life altering side effects, I always encourage people to do a lot of investigating and research before taking these meds and get second and third opinions before choosing to take them. But more so, I always advocate looking into alternative routes first when dealing with pain. Someone else also mentioned it...look into acupuncture, herbs, and an amazing technique called MBSR (minfulness based stress reduction). It's a meditation program (NOT medication) that was taught by this guy called Kabat Zinn to patients suffering from severe chronic pain and results over the years have shown to be very positive. These are all natural ways to deal with pain without having to resort of meds. It is also important to take care of the emotional and psychological pain that is inflicted after a trauma like car accident, surgeries, abuse, rape, death of a loved one, etc. Dealing with the emotional and psychological pain can help release the mental anguish and allow more joy and happiness to come into your life so that you can enjoy life as well. But many people try to do that with meds as well and again the vicious cycle of becoming dependent on these drugs and the side effects kick in. Psychotherapy and holistic healing are wasy to work with releasing mental trauma without resorting to drugs. Please feel free to respond to my post. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Ellie Zarrabian, Ph.D.
California, United States
http://www.centeronpeace.com

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I read your letter last night and I understand, I recently went off all addictive prescription medication 4 to be exact it was hell, and I went to a new dentist that understood all the problems and my teeth are terrible I have to have some major work on them due to the dry mouth I am glad I have insurance but recently I found out that if you do not have insurance the local county hospital provides services but they just pull teeth,so I research more and found out that if you find a dental school where people r in training they can help so look for a dental school I heard they provide good service let me know

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Yes,I'm on 80mg 4 times a day for the last 2 years.I've lost 3 molers so far,when I ask the doctors if this is from the drug,they all play dumb.My teeth are very hard,and I didn't have any of these problems before taking this poison.If I stop,I can't sleep for days because of the pain,it's a catch22,sorry about your health and your teeth,Darren.

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Angela,

I came across your postings as a result of searching for user comments by users of Oxycontin. The more I read, the more incredulous I became. This can't be happening to one person in one lifetime, I thought.

I'm very sorry that you've had to endure so much pain; I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it all go away for you. But I can't.

All I can offer you is some potentially useful information about dental restorations that would cost about one-third the price of what is typically charged. I live in Arizona and like a great many people here, my wife and I go to Nogales, Mexico to have our dental work done. We both have had some pretty involved dental work done, including root canals, gum surgery, crowns, implants, etc., with great results. The dentists in Mexico are all US-trained and their equipment is the same or better than anything I've seen in the US! They have patients from all over the US who fly into Tucson or Phoenix, stay for a few days or a week in a motel in Nogales, AZ, get their work done and go home. The husband of my ex-high school girlfriend from NJ needed a lot of work that they couldn't afford, so he finally came and had a whole mouth rebuilt in a week! And he got away from the snow as well.

If this is something that might work for you, let me know in a reply and we can figure out how to give you more details in a less public forum.

All the best.

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i completely agree i think that the makers of oxycontin dont want customers knowing that it can cause teeth loss or they would put that in their descriptions and side effects of the med which they dont do everyone says well they warn of the dry mouth but i think legally they should be required to spell it out clearely for all customers by stating that in their warnings to the med they should have to state that this may cause total tooth loss which they havent done that. i wish there was an attorney out there that could take my case for me and sue for my tooth loss as i was never warned by anyone not the hospital and not the 20 doctors i have been to since starting this med no one has ever said that it caused tooth loss , they all said that they didnt know of any pain that would cause tooth loss i think they are all covering it up and trying to keep it hush hush about how much damage it does do to teeth. had i known i could loose my teeth i would never agreed to go on it, and of course once i started it my body got addicted to it, now they say if i go off of it that it would cause me much worse problems than my being on it, as i have seizures and if i go off i could develop my seizures back again that i used to have too. so i think that the makers of oxycontin should have to pay for me to have dental implants as i had perfect teeth before is started this med with only like 2 small cavities in them, i have a beautiful photo of me holding my sons with nice teeth on my refrigrator i look at everyday that was only 6 yrs ago too, then in only 6 months of starting this med i my teeth where being destroyed from the inside out my dentist said he had never seen anything this bad except in persons who did street drugs like herion or cocaine he said that he only saw the rotting from the inside out in those type of persons and he asked me if i did street drugs and i told him NO i didnt do street drugs i was only taking the meds prescribed to me which was my oxycontin, he was shocked he said oh my gosh he didnt know that it would destroy teeth like that he himself said they should have some warning on there about that, and i told him i know they should cause i would have rather suffered in pain and tried something else for pain rather than to have lost all my teeth. now i cant eat properly my health is much worse cause i cant eat healty foods i have to eat everything that is soggy or extrememly soft and most times soft foods are fattening foods too. so i have gained some weight on my small frame and its hard for me to have any extra weight on me with my arthritus it wears my joints down and hurts. my doctor says i really do need the implants quickly before i end up dying from not eating properly but i cant find anyone out there to help me financialy to get the teeth i need. plus i havent smiled in 5 yrs now i am to ashamed to smile because i believed the doctors when they said that oxycontin was the safest pain medication out there i was lied to or they where misinformed by the makers of the drug. i think the drug company doesnt want everyone to know what type of damage this med can do to the enamel in teeth so they are trying to blame it on others environmental factors when in reality its all due to the medication completely, seeing i have nice teeth for years then in 6 months of taking this med my teeth where so weak that even in the process of eating a soft sandwich my front top teeth just broke in half from being so weak form the meds stripping the teeth of all their calcium and enamel was so weak too. this is not right that the drug company is not required to put that warning on their med and that they are not requiring the pharmasist to tell the patients this before they fill the med and they arent required to have the doctors to tell their patients that they may end up loosing their teeth if they take this med i think if there is any attorney out there that wants to take my case i am prepared to fight this thru all the way up until the law makes them change their warnings to keep the other patients from having to go thru what have theres got to be someone out there with lots of money willing to help me willing to help an honest, loving, kind and generous single mother ME in helping to get some teeth so i can chew foods again and my health wont keep deteorating so fast, my kids want to see me healty too.

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Hey, I was replying about the lose of teeth due to the use of oxycontin. I was shot in 1975, had spinal meningitis. Temp was very high, I also was on oxycontin for several years. 2 - 80mg a day from 2000 - 2006. My teeth also where in good shape but, have since had to have all but 2 lower teeth pulled. I got upper plate and lower bridge. I was told due to high temp in 1975 my teeth where cooked from the inside out. I am 51 and am in good shape but, the tooth lose was very tough to deal with. Maybe the meds had something to do with it. I feel this needs more study asap.

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