Sandoz Pharmacy

ded 23 2012, my pharmacy told me they were unable to get all my fentanyl patches, i take 100mcg, 25mcg and 12 mcg.
they were only able to get the 25s. ive looked all over the net to see if anyone else is talking about it, only saw one mention.
but dont know if this is a permansnt thing or what.
anybody else knoww what else is going on?
i have sever chemical sensitivty and so this is the only i can tolerate.
i was using the Mylan brand, for about 9 mo.
then I noticed that i was getting really shaky, super fast heart rate from some of them, but not all.
one box of the 100 would be ok, but then then next box, in the same batch and lot number, I couldnt tolerate.
i ve sever neuroapthy, and cryoglobulinemia, so cant do with out.
Im now allergic to all pills even antibitotics
bad headache and they actually made my shoulders ache

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REPORT

It is most likely just temporary. There are two issues that can create such shortages towards the end of the year.

One is due to mandatory manufacturing limits, so the manufacturer that you can use may have hit their limit for the year and won't be able to produce more until after the new year.

Learn more Fentanyl details here.

And/or the pharmacy may have hit their monthly limit on the amount they can order in and have in stock, so it will most likely change once we are into the new year.

Is there anything else I can help with?

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I certainly hope that it is temporary but --- I went to every pharmacy by car in the buzy city of ny and then I called across the region and even the govt mail order services on west coast -- even canada ! -- I then made the call I should have made first ! The call to the sandoz cust serv # -- the 1st prompt is "if you are calling about fentanyl patches press 1 " --uh ohhhh ..
Sandoz has been the only brand that works well with me compared to all the others which either wont stick or simply wearing a 100mcg is like weaing a 50mcg at tops ! the delivery system or adhesives r just horrible on some -- I got a skin colored new brand the other day and had to bring them back after withdrawal started !
but back to Sandoz the week b4 xmas !
well finally a sweet voice on the other line .. so kind and ready to help -- saying she is getting so many of these calls ? she confirms by asking for the ndc # of 100 mcg and then says sorry but all she can say is they are on back order with no date set in 2013 for them to start manufacturing .. she went on to say she is not able to give out any other info -- the phone # is on the box of 5 they come in ,, maybe more information can be pulled out ! -- now im scared since im being switchedto opana er 40 mg 2x a day n wonder what will happen after almost 8 plus years on the patch ? any advice is welcomed thk u n best of luck to us ! :)

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hi skippy, thanks for the info, yes its so difficult when you have only certain things that work well for you.
you know, we want to feel our best so we can function our best. last month, i had to switch to the watson gel patches, same strength as before, but what a huge BAD difference it was for pain treatment.
I kept sweating, they owrked for about 36 hours, if that, and the first 24 hours was like going thru off and on withdralws, horrible! , becasue of the chemical sensitivies i have, I can only tolerate sandoz and watson. haveyou tried DURAGESIC brand ?
they are made by Jensson as is Sandoz I think, sandoz is their generic version.
hope you see this, thanks again for your foot work!! :)

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I have no problem getting the patches at the dose I need. If you talk to your pharmacy about this they can order them and have them them ready every month at least the watered will.

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I have no problem getting the patches at the dose I need. If you talk to your pharmacy about this they can order them and have them them ready every month at least the Walgreens will.

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i court, yes my pharmacy WAS special ordering them for me, but now they say they are unable to get them anymore.
ive called several different pharmacyies.
ive always had better luck with the small stores, not chain store, they carry malincrodt and mylan, they are the cheapest, and thats it.
a pharachist today told me it had somthing to do with the DEA. thet THEY were the ones, that had control of who could make WHAT now.
its terrible.
My pharmacy was able to get the 24, by sandoz, but not the 100s.
hes called everywhere.
HOWEVER< that being said, heres what we found, both sandoz AND janssen are made by the ALAZA corporation, so this month because Im so reactive to everything to everything, i did have order the 100 by watson, I hate them cuz they are huge, BUt i can tolorate them, the 25 he ordered by Janssen, they are exactly the same as sandoz, they have the same high strangth.
for instance, mylans 100 MCG patch has only 10 mgs of fentanyl, sandoz and janssen have 16.8 mcgs in them
I was ok with the glue, and the fent.
I HOPING that my pharamsit will still be able to find the janseen brand next month, so I can order all of them by Janssen.
I never understood why the sandoz patch made me feel so much better, but now Iknow, there is in fact 6.8 MG MORE in the sandodz and the Jannsen,
the same with their smaller dose patches, they are high than the other brands.
so i wasnt imgagning it, it wasnt the weather, I really thought i was going crazy.
because when i would have to go to the watson, they were 6.8 mg less in the 100 mcg patch, so i would start going into with drawls.
everyone needs to start calling the ALZA corp in vacaville ca. and start bugging them, some one someday, is going to get an answere....i hope. lol
take are all

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hi, i cant get the sandoz anymore either, BUT! if your pharmacy can order the Janssen transdermal patch, its made by Alza, and its even more effective.
once again the debate or generic versus brand, my pharmacist was able to find and order th janssen brand
it is the BRAND name version of the sandoz, I was SHOCKED at how much more effective it was, blown away actually.
since i couldnt get the sandoz and more, and reactions to most medicine, we ordered the WATSON, becasue that has been safe for me in the past, I dont like the big bulkty patch, but it doesnt make my heart race, then instead of order the 25 i take in watson we tried Janssen.
I was SO strong!!!!! even a little bit stronger than the sandoz, which i never had issue with, but way stronger than the watson.
I could wear one 25mcg patch for 2 days, and it was stronger than the 100 mcg by watson.
you just cant convince me that the generic version are makers are going to put the same amount of ative ingreidients in their products and charge LESS, nope! I dont beleive it, my body doesnt beleive it either.
the bad new is, now that ive found the janssen brand and its safe for me, doesnt give me heart issues, (i have trouble with ALL medicines)
i just got a letter from my humana insurance saying they wont pay for it!! they want me to try MS contin instead, well I cant take pills of any kind because im allergic to all the binders. it makes me so angry, that insurance companies have control over what im going to take.
sadly these patches ARE very expensive, it would me about 1200 a month to get this filled with out my insurance, otherwise i would just pay out of pocket.
im in the processe of filling out a formulary exception with my insurcance company, say a little pray for me, that it goes thru.
I had to do the same with the sandoz co. too.
I dont even take anitbiotics, whn Ive been forced to take them,I can only nibble on them thru out the day, ( inknow bad idea) but its the only way i can take it and not end up in the hospital with atrial fibrulation.
anyway... good luck to you all, hoipe this info helps
I

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sandoz still on backorder or ???? im just not sure ?

the Jannsen is over 1300$ -- my insurance wont pay for either !

how can it be ok - that so many variations work soo different .. n it still drives me crazy when pharmasists n even some dr's dont believe it ! best of luck to all ! peace

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you will!

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I use the Sandoz Patch to, What I found is you can get the 50mgs but not the 100s......So I just switch to 50s with 1 extra box. Until they come in and I will just switch back. I will not take anything else, Why would I take something that I already know is fgoing to make me sick. I am already in a ton of pain I dont need to be sick to!!! This is soooooo sad that so many people are not able to get Medicine that they need and that works best for them...I hope you all do better in the months ahead!!! Go Sandoz...............

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you can request a formulary change, your doctor needs to send a lettert o your insrance co. stating you HAVE to have this brand, call your insurance co tell them you have to have this, they will fax a letter to you dr for him to fill out. he must state that you have to have this brand, that the thers dont stick, or cause a reactions to your skin.
i cant even tell you the strangth difference between sandoz, jennson, and watson.one 25 mcs of jennson is equilivent to 100 mcs of watson patch!!!!!! unbelievable
good luck. my doctor has done this for me, but I'm in arizona now and cant find any one to order it for me!!!!! go figure.i been calling little independent pharmacies but no go. i loke that we are keeping each other current on this sandoz situation, it helps a lot. but i iwll say this, my pharmacist is saying that sandoz is not going to be made ver again, I'm begining to beleive him

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Also still waiting for the Sandoz to come back. Same thing happened two years ago between same months (so far) Jan-March. The Pharm switched me to Duragesic. (same as Sandoz) The Sandoz became available somewhere in April. So hopefully history repeats itself and they will be showing back up on shelves quite soon.

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hi deecizzle,
yes i remember that happening too, but it didnt se4em like it went on for this long. i know different sotre use different pharmacutical warehouses that they order their stock from, for me, bartells in washington state, has exhausted their six other stores and the warehouse.
funny tho, even though sandoz and duragesic are bothy made from the ALZA corp in vacaville Ca., i couldnt get over how much stronger the same strength was between sandoz and Janssen duragesic.
Bothe durgesic and the sandoz brand are WAY MORE efeective for pain control than the watson gel patch.
unbelievable difference between these same makers!!
take care all! ALso Im pretty sure that my insurance will finally start to cover the duragesic patch, you just have to have your doctor write out a formulary exception form, stating that youve tried other medications,and or other generics of this type of med. and that NONE of the other medicines work for you and they will cover it.
its a pain in the BUTT!!! better than paying big bucks out out of pocket though.

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yay! my insurance co.FINALLY approved the JANSSEN 100MCG AND THE 25 MCG fentanyl patch.
I am so relieved and gratful, what i a nightmare trying to get it approved tho. some where it kept being sent thru to the approval baords that i was using one of EACH...EVERYDAY, meaning i changed a patch every 24 hours!!!!! i dont i never have my is 48 hours, that wa part of why it was being denied, the other im sure is the COST of this BRAND name version of the sandoz patch,
like ive said. Im allergic to EVERYTHING, when ever i have to try something new, if its a pill I can lick it and tell with in 10 minutes if its going to affect my heart or not.
anyway, for those of you tht cant get the sandoz patch, rewuest a formulary change, with your insurance co, they will send the info to your dr.
tell you doc to write out that you mUST have this brand,
honeslty the same co, ALZA, MAKES JANSSEN.
it is the same, in fact i think it may be just a touch more more affective at treating pain, and last a little longer to.
it should........it cost 1800 a month for 15 patches!
ok, ill quit harping on this, i KNOW ive repeated myself several times.
but its so hard for me to find any type of medication that i can tolorate, and whn is discontinued, it turns my world upsdie down trying to find a new one right away, so that i dont have to deal with nerve pain AND pain from with drawl/

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so im reading that the sandoz patch is BACK!!!!!
i finally had to switch to the brand name called duragesic, made by the same company, ALZA is who makes them, same amount, same pain relief. in fact i think its a tny bit stronger, doesnt say that, but sure seems moe effective and i was happy with sandoz.
i hadnt checked in to see of people were getting the sandoz or not for about 5 months, i jusr did and see a post from june and july 13 2013 saying they r back!
there r some relieved pain peeps out there.
also just got mine filled and noticed that PRIA CARE, also is made by the ALZA corp, thats who makes sandoz and the brand name.
the make it for ortho mchneil.
my 25s came in made from them, but my 100s were duragesic by Jennssen, but both made by ALZA.
I HOPE HOPE HOPE, the pria care are the same.
im So allrgic to things its absurd.
the whole reason i had to switch to patches was the methadone id been taking with NO problems changed something in the formula.
it made my heart race SO fast, I could nto sleep, it wasnt withdrawl, it even had a differnt taste a bitter taste to it, and it made my kidneys hurt.
methadone gave me the best releif of all and it was SO cheap!
i itreid several diff brands.
I still had some of the old ones left, even tho they were the same manufacturer, same sstrength, there was just something wrong with them!
Im grateful for the patches.
I have peripheral neuropathy, it is SO painful.
before I went on pain meds, I really was thinking about taking my life.
it was a dark and miserable time in my life.
I pray/chant everday, that they dont change the formula to the duragesic patches.
itried mallencrodt, and mylan, mylan was good, for about 7 months,
some would make my heart race and some would not.
it was a tuff tuff time.'well take care all, let me know if you guys are getting the sandoz back too

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Can i get the phone number from you please i need t o find somewhere local that has them in stock.

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