Watson Is Now Actavis - Norco

My pharmacist that I have known for years due to chronic pain from cancer/severe spinal injuries and a totaled knee, told me last week that it is the DEA that has created the change in ALL pain meds. I have been on Watson Norco for 10 years and now I am in severe withdrawal with actavis buying out Watson. It is unbearable and my pharmacist said that people will DIE because of not being forewarned or informed ahead of time. This is all due to the people that use the drugs recreationally; and whatever else they do has ruined it for us real patients. We all know the DEA is like God and they don't even care about us real patients that have medical records, etc. I have been suffering for over a month now and my pain doc is on an extended vacation. Thank goodness for my pharmacist at least being honest about what is going on. If you Wikipedia Watson you will see Actavis and they are putting the Watson name on a pill that according to my pharmacist is now a regulated/time released pill with binders so it may not be abused. I personally have never felt "euphoria" on these after 10 years but DO have serious/severe pain and now have nerve pain like crazy. Does anyone know if this is part of withdrawing? Watson always worked best for me. My pharmacist also said that the binders can prevent the drug from being absorbed into the gut if you have any issues there. That is where my cancer is and they are not being absorbed. You cannot even bite them barely as they are very hard. They really think we are stupid sheeple. Why does one associate illness and/or pain with being non intelligent? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am also going through a horrible divorce after 28 years with a narcissistic/psychopath. The pain wears the body down even more. Hope everyone that is a real patient is okay and I hope this info clears things up because Walgreens and CVS won't tell you what is going on....

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REPORT

Sorry to hear about your experience with these new pain meds. From what I understand, unusual pain (including nerve pain) can be associated with part of the withdrawal process. This may be because your body could be in somewhat of a state of shock as you taper down. But a pinched or irritated nerve could also be directly related to any past spinal injuries resurfacing.

It's important to know that these pain medications don't treat the actual condition. All they do is cover up the feelings associated with pain for a few hours. So whatever spinal condition you have, it's always going to be there until you can find a way actually heal it as opposed to "putting a temporary bandage on it", per say.

In my opinion, the only things that are truly healing and rejuvenating to our bodies are things that are of this planet (where our bodies came from) and not this man-made lab crap (excuse my french). Things that fall into this category are: fresh raw fruits, vegetables, herbs, roots, seeds, and nuts. Heck, even placebo pills with nothing in them have been proven to be somewhat effective compared to many of these drugs, if that says anything. Another thing is, mind over matter. There's an article I read a while back talking about a man who "thought" his cancer away through prayer and meditation. The human body is capable of doing much more than we we're originally led to believe. We're floating on a rock in the middle of space....If that's not far fetched, I think anything is possible to the extent that you believe it is. So don't give up hope! :)

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I am sorry but you must have never experienced "nerve" pain - it is totally different than a muscle pain. It is excruciating pain. So sorry to say but no amount of grains, nuts, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables is going to help "nerve" pain. Ridiculous.

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This comment is just wrong. I would ask steve jobs what he thinks after treating his pancreatic cancer natually .... but you cant because it killed him. There is a place for natural treatments, but its not everywhere and it does not sound like it's here

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I just have to state this......there is NO hydrocodone product EXCEPT zohydro, the pure form of and long acting hydrocodone, on the market that contains an abuse deterrent! Only pure oxycodone short acting and for a limited time otherwise there are 5 long acting meds that contain the deterrent.
People.....read up on this please before you state the DEA or whoever is doing this to ALL narcotics. Now, I am against the process because we real patients deserve our meds that worked. But, it is worse for our pain and health to get worked up about something that doesn't exist. That being said, I believe Actavis, former Watson, HAS done something to the ingredients because their meds do not work and are crap!

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actavis is useless for pain relief, ii have had chronic back pain for years their pills should not be watson imprinted.I was on watson with good relief Actavis is not Watson. Calling DR today to change them Qualitest works well but cvs has a high copay so went with walgreens to save sorry I made that mistake This co is ripping off people who suffer with pain definately need to be investigated or shut down.

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Why don't the pharmacies and Dr's see this? It's not fair to us people in chronic pain. That company should be sued due to people not getting relief, or making them sick. Something has to give. Bring back the yellow Norco's!!!

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Actavis is a horrible manufacturer. It has to be taken off the market because I know it is not selling like watson did and my pharmacist actually told me that the actavis junk. It's not flying off the shelves like watsons did and some customers have gone elsewhere however, if you ask Walgreens to order you the yellow ones which I believe you mean the ones made by Qualitest, they will order them for you. I just had my rx switched by my dr. and they ordered the yellow ones which the manufacturer is Qualitest and I didn't have any issues getting it filled. Everyone needs to let their pm doctors know what is going on at the pharmacies because a lot of these pm doctors just don't know what is going on out here with the hoops we have to jump through. So everyone please get the word out to your doctor and maybe we can get things to change.

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Stawin,

A few things have happend to the pain pills in the last 6 months. For one, the generic form of Norco 10-325 is made by the company Malinkrodt. Those were the yellow ones that worked so good you could ignore pain and clean the house if the urge came over you. They worked great and actually gave me energy. But, along comes the Feds to mess it all up by nagging these pill companies to lower the strength to try to cut down on illegal pills being slung on street corners, across America. Great idea right? Probably, some i**** Senator's daughter got high and crashed her car, so instead of blaming her, he blames the pusher, and the pill maker. This has happened many times over the years. Any time a medication gets popular, and actually works, someone will abuse it, and then it gets pulled or changed. Yea, I remember LSD when it was still legal. Then some actors daughter thought she could fly on it. She was mistaken. She died, and it became illegal not long after.

But, anyway, this compnay Malinkrodt changed their formula big time. The are now making the useless white Norco, which nobody wants. They claim, the only difference is the yellow dye they took out. Now, why would they do that do you think? They say it's because some people are allergic to food color?! hahaha what-a-crock. They took a lot more than dye out, and they know it, and they refuse to admit it. But, if you had the yellow, and are now trying to kill pain with the white ones, good luck. Your better off taking Tylenol.

I have been taking Norco10-325 for about 7 years now. Same dose every month. I am not addicted to them at all. I never run out too soon as I keep tabs on them. But, when they tried giving me the white turds, I took them, then got angry, when after eating 3 of them, I felt nothing! So, what this company is doing is completely ripping off the taxpayers in this country for billions dollars.

The other company that makes the yellow Norco and is still making them and keeping them yellow, is Qualitest. They make the yellow generic Norco that you used to get from Watson. Now, the only problem is finding them, because all the big chain stores are switching to the cheaper white Norco that don't do anything for pain. Until everyone gets mad enough, and in enough pain to rise up and push back, these white bunk pills will be what your given.

Do like many other people have done already, and simply tell the pharmacist you don't want the white ones. And, if they say they no longer have the yellow ones, then take your rx and leave. Do not allow them to sell you these white things or you will be in alot of pain for nothing.

It's a huge scam thats being pulled on the American public, and it's being done in the name, and with the blessing of the DEA. Somehow, this pill swap from one that works to one that does not is somehow supposed to help with the medication problem in America! What a joke. Just get on the phone and call around to your local pharmacies. Start with the smaller ones first as the big stores won't have the yellow Norco anymore. And, as Norco has now been upgraded to be a schedule 2 med, like morphine, you'd be better off getting MS Contin if you can no longer get the real Norco-good luck.

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Most real patients are also addicts themselves

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"Most real patients are also addicts themselves"
No, not most, but some. Most people that take legal pain medication every month are taking it as prescribed and not abusing it. Most people have learned to live with some degree of pain, because we all know that there is no medictaion in the world that will completely remove all pain from a persons body. The only way to be completely pain free is to be in a hospital bed with a morphine drip tube running in you, and then even that's not always enough. As for pharmacy addicts, most people learn to control the urge to overdo the rx and get themselves thrown off the pain contract.

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Hi Stawin,

Your "NOT ALONE". I have been on 10Mg. hydro combo's last 15 years, and know how they work as well. I know where my tolerance starts and stops, and I can guarantee You we are getting placebo's. Maybe 2.5 Mg., and that is being VERY GENEROUS. I had to switch to 15 Mg. Oxycodones for awhile because of elevated blood enzymes coming back in my lab results due to the APAP. Last month everything was back to normal, so I decided to switch back to the Norco's {10/325; yellow Qualitest with the slanted "V" which always worked well 3 times a day}. When I got home from my pharmacy with the new Norco's, they were white WATSON 853's made by "ACTAVIS", the new owner of WATSON. Needless to say after 1/2 hour, I felt NOTHING WHATSOEVER. Confused, I {against my better judgement} took a 2nd one, a half hour later, still NOTHING. Called the Rx to see if they made a mistake? The Pharmacist {a fill in for the owner whom I have known since they opened 5 years ago} tried to convince me it was because I "drew down" from the Oxy's. I informed her that NO, I have taken the 10Mg. hydro's for 15-20 years, and know how they work in "MY SYSTEM". She insisted on an argument, so I hung up and called the Quality Control Manager at Actavis and asked her why her company {based in Dublin, Ireland}, was trying to sell us "CRAPPY WHITE CHALK", AND CALLING IT 10 Mg. Norco? I finally got her to admit that the DEA was forcing the manufacturers to change the formula so that street pill poppers couldn't abuse them. This is total B.S., and all of us legitimate pain management patients are paying the price. I even tried taking 3 {THREE} of these crappy generics, and got a very slight level of relief. After realizing that I could not risk my health taking 3 at a time, I took the rest back to my Doc, and went back on the Oxycodones {15Mg.} 3 times a day, and I function just fine, with excellent PAIN RELIEF. I have no plans to trust my pain care to these corporate CROOKS, and plan on staying on the Oxycodone. If You can't get Oxycodone, You might try the new "straight hydrocodone" called ZOHYDRO. There is currently no generic, and they are quite pricey, but I hear they work VERY GOOD. Same as Norco, without the extra fillers, binders, and most Importantly, NO APAP. So in summary, don't let them B.S. You, WE all can't be wrong. Good Luck and Good Health.

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There is so much misinformation on here it's just sad. Actavis bought out watson and now controls all their meds and patents. The only change to the yellow watson 853's is they took out the yellow die. That is it! All these people complaining about how they suck just are complaining due to placebo effect. They think it's not the same yet it still is. The Dea did not change anything in the pill to make it abuse proof. If u go online and actually use ur brains u can find the active and inactive ingredients lists for both the yellow 853's and white ones... And surprise surprise they have the exact same ingredients in each of them. Also mallinckrodt does not make yellow norco, theirs are the white m367 imprint ones. Also zohydro is extremely expensive and does have abuse proof ingredients making it hard to abuse and digest for some and yes if u were taking oxycodone 15mg all month and then switch back to 10mg norco it will not feel the same since oxy is 2x as strong as hydrocodone and therefore it was like taking 25-30mg hydro when u were taking the 15mg oxy so ur not going to "feel" them the same after if only taking 1-2 of them. And the point of pain meds is to help dull the pain not make u high everytime....

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OMG I AM IN SO MUCH F***ING PAIN. I HAVE CHRONIC PAIN AND I CANT HANDLE IT ANYMORE. I WAS ON WATSON 5-325 THE MILDEST HYDROCODONE YOU CAN GET. ALONG WITH OTHER DRUGS AND MEDITATION, IT DIDN'T TAKE MY PAIN AWAY BUT MADE IT EASIER TO DEAL WITH. NOW ACTAVIS IS GENERIC FOR NORCO AND I MIGHT AS WELL BE TAKING ASPIRIN.

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Cant they just figure out who the dope heads are and make them take this drug? I have been injured for 3 years and the watson norco helped me, now i have to take this fake drug! Actavis is a FAKE drug. Its not Hydrocodone that is killing people it is their drug addiction killing them. Or something much much stronger like the drug that killed Michele Jackson and Prince. This is unfair.

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I just started my second month on these terrible Actavis 5/325s. They're useless. I had been taking those speckled Watsons for over a year with great success. My doctor dismissed me completely when I told her that these pills are not working. What are we supposed to do?

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Same here Always took the white watson for years worked great.Now I get the white norco 10/325 made by Malin croft and doesn't help me at all.I am in severe pain all the time.Also got some Yellow made by Qaulite st and they r just as the white ones.Doesn't help my pain at all.I have degenerative disk desease and from yal Gia and authritis.Something has to change to help people from having terrible pain.

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does anyone know if the Mallinckrodt brand is closer to the Norco yellow pills as far as relieving pain? The white Actavis I am now getting from Walgrens is not working.

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I found you smaller Pharmacies have smaller Co-Pays. And you don't have to wait hours like you do with CVS. They have their own polices, by law you can refill within three day of the date of your last refill. FYI

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Hi Sorry for what your going though Withdraws I get Ressless Leg, cry like a new born baby. You can't call around they won't tell you what they have. I sometimes take 1-1/2 instead one one pill. I hate refilling my Norco they look at you like your a junky. I want to say some people take it because they have pain and can't stay home.

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You are exactly right!! Actavis is Not any good for pain!! I got my pm's filled @ Walgreens 2 weeks ago & my bottle said "mfg Actavis". The reason I even looked at the label on my bottle is bc I knew something was wrong with this prescription I got. Ever since I took the first dosage from this prescription, my pain has gone from a 3 to an 8 after taking this Actavis!! Plus Ive been itching severely on my lower legs & ringing in my ears!! This stuff does NOT work as well as the other generic brand Walgreens used to get!!

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Walgreens still sells the garbage they call a pain killer. What a joke this is. FDA should investigate Walgreens.

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I am very sorry to hear about what you are going through! I also have had my share of problems but its always sad to see someone else going through a similar experience. I guess because it reminds you of things you thought you'd forgot. The formulation of "Allergan" Norco I found kind of works a little bit better. They have a component that seems to be a little more effective when it comes to nerve damage! I discovered pretty quickly that I am unable to take any of the generic forms of Norco! A doctor said there's no difference between the generic and the brand... What a jacka**! Another doctor said that a lot of doctors just repeat the things they are told my the manufacturers! But they are all aware that the generic forms are allowed by law, to get away with only putting in 8% of the pain killing opioid. The rest are fillers! This is how they are able to make the pills affordable, while still making money off the sales! But that doesn't always work for those of us who live in severe pain! I myself have gone through 3 surgeries. Twice, I nearly bled to death because they had failed to take into consideration that they had been prescribing a pain medication that contained a great deal of Aspirin, which causes a person to bleed more than normal. But I already have a blood clotting disorder! And when they perform surgery... cut into our spines.. it tends to bleed more than any other portion of the body!! More than knee or foot or hand surgery! The surgeon who worked on me last, was so full of himself, because he had just performed surgery on Joe Montana. When he walked into the room, for the first time, he didn't introduce himself, as a normal doctor would have.

He walked into the room and says, "I'm an arrogant son of a so and so, and I hope that doesn't bother you?" I was like, what the heck is that all about? I said, "I didn't come here to become your best buddy for life! I came here to procure your talent to help me from living in this overwhelming amount of pain!" After surgery was scheduled, during the moment you are told, start counting backwards, before you are put under anesthesia, that vicky arrogant doctor says, "This surgery will going to pay for my wife's new fur coat and our trip to the Italian Alps!" I guess he didn't realize I wasn't under yet? And if it had been said a few seconds earlier... I would have screamed out, to please stop the surgery!! That doctor did take off, right after the surgery to the Italian Alps, leaving me there without any after care!!! The incision is about 2 1/2 feet long and 2 inches wide! I woke up in Intensive Care Unit... where I lost over 7 1/2 pints of blood!! The problem we face is that they very rarely care what happens to us, as patients! They get paid whether we live or die... or however we turn out from whatever they do to us!! They use our bodies for experimentations, while getting paid for the experience that they've learned... And to go through something similar to that and then go through a divorce! Nobody needs that kind of stressful torture!! But think of it this way, maybe God is getting rid of the bad marriage, in order for you to be free for a better marriage! Someone who has a big enough heart to help you get through this difficult time! If you have not tried the Allergan brand of Norco.... see if you get better results? Good luck to you! And please try not to lose faith that there is a God who loves us all and doesn't want us to suffer!

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Walgreens continues to sell the lowest grade painkiller Triss instead on Watson Actistris the good one that works. Their lazy HQ knows what is going on but refuses to change their Supplier or tell them to get Watson back in supply. Their memo is Screw the public but what we sell or go somewhere else. Which I have changed my meds store. Costco and Rite Aid are good. It all about money and don’t care about their customers. I will watch their Stocks. It will go down. I hope. Greedy jerks. Unhappy customers we are.

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Walgreens refuses to bring it back. They don’t care about their customers it’s all about money and greed. I will keep posting this so people know what they are getting. The junk is triss. It has no pain killer in it. I reported it to FDA. I will keep calling HQ until they bring back Watson Actavis, the pain killer that works. The FDA should be looking into this by now. I hoped they are fined for selling phony drugs. I am very unhappy with Walgreens.

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Re: Lucy (# 20)

I have been on Actavis oxycodone 10/325 for 6yrs they worked fine for me. I was getting them at Walgreens. They now sell camber brand, hardly any relief from them, I think if you are used to one brand they are good. Now since I take camber they do not work for me. The Gov't should do their job to keep meds the same. Hope you all get better including me.

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See if your pain doctor will prescribe the fetanyl patch. It’s absorbed by your skin and doesn’t need to go through your gut. Shame on the DEA for messing up people’s lives by doing these unspeakable things to our medications and threatening doctors and legitimate pain patients who need these substances to have some semblance of a meaningful life
Advocate until you get what you need in order to be okay and are able to manage your pain. This burden is increasing your stress which increase your pain. Best to you and keep on keeping on!

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Thanks for informing everyone on here about what is really going on. It is a shame & a disgrace that people like us that really do take pain meds because we have a medical condition that warrants us to take them, can’t get any relief from the pain because of the drug addicts out there that abuse pain meds! It’s just not fair!! And I really do feel your pain about being with a Narcissist for 29 yrs!!! I too was with a Narcissist for 11 yrs (can’t even imagine 29 yrs!) & it is a Horrible thing to have to go through!!!

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I totally agree with your message. Withdrawal 4 real this brand donot word I believe they are fake tablets I have spinal issues

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Re: Lucy (# 20)

I have undergone 3 spine surgeries, along with other types of surgical procedures and treatment plans to help relieve the overwhelming nerve pain that is the result of a work related accident. I honestly believe if the large utility company I was working for had properly taken care of my injuries, instead of trying to figure a way out of their responsibilities towards their employees, I might never had a need to go through a surgery! It took me many years to learn how to walk again! And while I've been able to fight and accomplish learning to walk all over again, the specialists were never able to help take the pain away! I was told, "Learn to live with your situation, you'll never walk again!" Yet, against all the odds, I not only learned to walk again but I was able to run on the treadmill... loosing over 120 lbs! My husband and I decided to move to a newer home, to accommodate our younger daughter, her husband and beautiful grandson... in hopes that they would be able to save enough money to purchase their own home! Unfortunately, we hired a well known moving company that we paid thousands of dollars to bring all the packing materials and perform all of the heavy work! They didn't do much of what was agreed upon! We were under the gun because our house sold within 5 days on the market! And part of the agreement was, we had to move out before a particular day and time.

The moving company ran off with 1/3 of our valuables! We were forced into performing most of the work! I was suddenly attacked by one of the workers! My back was turned. There was no one inside the house. I was told to go in and quickly get something to clean up an area where they made a mess. My back was turned, I was bending over to grab the cleaning supplies, when the guy jumped on me, with all of his weight, pinned me down, grabbed me so hard in a way that I am sure those pole/lap dancing women would never be grabbed and hurt... He left bruising all over my private parts! I tried desperately to defend myself, that I tore my rotator cuff in two places and ripped my bicep! I was bedridden since! The weight pushed my vertebrae forward, where its nearly severing my spinal cord! I am in such severe pain, at times, it feels so overwhelming bad, I can barely sleep! Its caused my blood pressure to skyrocket! Since they took Vicodin off the market and replaced it with Norco... then removed the brand name of that, to only generic brands... I've not been able to get much help to relieve the pain! I've never been the sort of person who likes any type of drugs!!! But the amount of pain I experience, leaves me with no choice! I've never been a drinker... I never smoked! I've suffered from severe allergic reactions to so many medications!

I think that is the main reason why I've never been the kind of person who willingly takes any type of medications! I am super disciplined when it comes to medicines! Most of the time, my husband and family members are always scolding me, making sure I took the yucky stuff!! It's really unfair to allow government agencies and insurance companies to dictate how our physicians medically prescribe treatments for patients who have a long history and miles of documentation to back up why they are prescribing what they do! I've done a lot of research and found a lot of unsettling things going on... not just with the government agencies and insurance companies but between the pharmaceutical companies themselves!! Where they have invented problems and built tools of propaganda, in order to run their competition out of business!!! As the old saying says... A few bad apples doesn't spoil the whole bunch! I honestly believe someone is responsible for creating a media frenzy over the Opioid epidemic!! Opioids have existed for centuries!!! There's always been some idiots who attempt to abuse and exploit anything for the love of money!! It really isn't news! I think all of this really is a matter of politics and pharmaceutical companies themselves trying to do away with their competitors! After living around high profile politicians my entire life, I know for a fact, they pull all kinds of nonsense to get their way! I wished I were healthier... I wouldn't hesitate to fight for those who have trouble fighting for themselves! Like when I came up with the bright idea of how to get the Disabilities Act passed!!! But unfortunately, I am not strong enough to take on this issue alone!

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I tried Amneal pharmaceutical & they worked ok, it hard to find the one that work for you. I like qualitest parm. The yellow ones but can't find them anymore.

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