Watson Is Now Actavis - Norco (Top voted first)

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Re: Theresa (# 14)

They already KNOW who the drug addicts are, their computer system cross-references nationwide. This is a WITCH hunt brought about by the Obama admin. I could care less about presidents, but obviously he felt a need to terrorize disabled people as well. I am hoping that this admin backs the DEA off. If not, this will go on, EVERYONE needs to write to TRUMP about this issue. He is a different president, so hopefully not willing to attack the disabled.

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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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"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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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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Anyone with nerve damage would love to just wish it away. Some people know nothing of pain.

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