Watson Is Now Actavis Generic Percocet 5/325 What Is Up With This (Page 12)

I had been taking 5/325 generic Watson percocet for 4 years. Suddenly I get notified by Walgreens which I have insurance that there is no more Watson brand and I was given generic percocet 5/325 by Actavis. It is not the same at all. It has no pain relief for me. I used to break the watsons in half sometimes and never had a funny taste. I just broke one of the actavis white tablets in half and it immediately tasted like salt or alka seltzer? Has anyone had any issues with this drug too. Also, along with it not working right it has made my GI tract and stomach so ill feeling and cramping. This is not right how can they take away a medicine that someone has been on for 4 years without any problems and tell them to suddenly switch. Would a peson who has been on a certain heart medication for years be told to suddenly switch that he can't get that medicine anymore? I don't think so. I don't know what I am going to do but when it comes time to have my rx re-filled it will not be with Actavis and I will have to pharmacy shop I guess to see if I can find Watson. I am very depressed now and so unhappy I can't believe it.

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They also have qualitest which I believe makes endocet now. If you find a small pharmacy and not a chain, they are more open to order you something you want to try because he said he can also order the qualitest brand if I ever want to try that. When I was on lortab, they ordered the qualitest brand for me because I had no side effects and I reacted to other brands.

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Hi Martin good to see your posting again. May I ask where you got the roxicet filled at? I have been calling pharmacies and can't locate it. I wanted to try it when I get my rx filled in a few weeks and nothing is helping me and this is probably my last chance/choice. Thanks so much.

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I am sorry, I got that wrong, endocet is made by percocet, it is generic version. Lola if you read about it, people seem to tolerate it really well in comparison to watson and some say its even better. One girl said it doesn't upset her stomach and all meds do, she said even the watson upset her stomach. She also said it is better then brand name, quite a few people did.

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Hi Lisa,

I have tried Endocet before, and had to take it to the doctors office so I could get something else. It made me really jittery. I will say that later i had a few left, and I took one or two without that happening. I don't know what the difference was. I know Sam's club has Endocet and I may give it another try next time. I'm stuck with the strength, as I dare not complain to my doctor.

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Jan, you know what I think happens to us. I think sometimes one pill will have more oxycodone then others. I actually had that happen with watson a few times. A few times it made me jittery and also gave me some anxiety. I wonder if that has to do with the amount of oxy in the actual pill? Something has to cause that. I notice that even with the mallinckrodt the other day it made me anxious and since then I been fine. It's so bizarre. It's very random. I have a friend who had a month of anxiety from percocet and she was on the same brand all along but that batch she said was definitely different. It made her feel weird and she got bad headaches. How can they get away with that? Ugh!

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Hi Lisa,

I think you are right. I guess I'll just keep trying the various brands, until I get one that works. I came across this information a few minutes ago:

As it turns out, brand name and generic medications aren't necessarily exactly the same. The differences and the reason we're often told they are equilivant are tied up in the definitions of three terms – bioequivalence, therapeutic equivalence and bioavailability.

Bioequivalence means that two drugs given to the same patient in the same dosage regimen will result in equivalent concentrations of the drug in plasma and tissues. Generic drugs are required to be bioequivalent to the original brand name drug.

Therapeutic equivalence means that two drugs given to the same patient in the same dosage regimen will have the same therapeutic and adverse effects. Bioequivalent medications are expected to be therapeutically equivalent, however, sometimes they are not. Often this is only discovered after long-term treatment when patients who have done well on one forumlation are switched to another.

Bioavailability is the rate at which a drug is absorbed or becomes available to the body at its site of action. This is where the differences can occur. Current regulations permit the bioavailability of a generic drug to be plus or minus 20% of the original brand name drug.

A 20% difference in bioavailability may or may not be significant depending upon the medication. For drugs that have a wide index of tolerence, 20% may not be particularly significant; however, for drugs that have a very narrow therapeutic band, it can make a big difference. And what if a patient taking a generic medication that is plus 20% bioavailability is switched to another generic of the same drug that happens to be minus 20% bioavailability? That's a huge difference mathematically, and I would think it could make a noticeable difference therapeutically as well.

So what should you do if you receive a generic medication that doesn't seem to be as effective as the brand name? Talk to your pharmacist and ask whether other generics of that drug are available from different manufacturers. There's usually a major price difference between brand name and generic medications, so it's beneficial to try to find a generic that works for you. If you're not able to find a generic of a particular drug that is effective for you, you'll need to discuss it with your doctor and request that she specify no generic substitutions on your prescription.
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Sources:

Mossinghoff, Gerald J. (1999).Overview of the Hatch-Waxman Act and Its Impact on the Drug Developement Process. Food and Drug Law Journal, Vol. 54, 187-194.

Food and Drug Administration, (March, 2003). Bioavailability and Bioequivalence Studies for Orally Administered Drug Products — General Considerations . Guide for Industry, 1-23.

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Hi Lisa, please let me know how you do on the Endocet. I did get the brand name they are blue pills like I think the endocet is also a blue pill. I don't like the brand name at all it was a waste of money thank goodness my insurance picked up most of the cost but I won't be getting it next time. It upset my stomach way too much and left me anxious as all get out so another one scratched off the list. My pharmacist said he thinks Watson still makes Percodan which is percocet except with aspirin and not tylenol. He said they have a bottle of a 100. Might give it a try if I can get my doctor to change me but he is not willing to do too much so that may be another dead end. But I thought if the Watson Percocet was so great maybe the Watson Percodan will be the same. Let us know how you make out on the endocet - I am sure you will know after just one pill as we all did after taking one pill of those Actavis crap.

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Martin, I had BP of 205/103 and muscle spasms from Actavis. YES ASK FOR STRAIGHT GENERIC OXYCODONE THAT IS NOT MADE BY ACTAVIS!! I took the rest of my bottle ( over 100) and gave it to my spine doc. That shows them that you aren't selling it or really taking it. I was in the ER after taking Actavis and I almost had a stroke. I have never been so scared in my life. I got generic oxycodone ( not OxyContin !!!) and took it today. I was a bit tired but the pain was better and no shakes or feeling hot or muscle spasms. That stuff was pure poison to my body.

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Lola, I am in the same predicament as you! I have not been able to get Watson and just have called over 20 pharmacies with no luck!! It's so unfair for pts like us to suffer at the hand of these drug companies. What has happened with you? I pray that you have something effective to take.

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Lola I will definitely keep you posted. I seen so many people preferred it over watson and over name brand. When I took lortab I could only use qualitest brand. He ordered it for me and had it every month. At the time watson vicodin was bright yellow and norco was awful side effects! I would of been willing to try qualitest percocet but no one has them. Everyone has actavis. Amneal vicodin made me so sick! So I don't want to even try that brand. I'm going to try it today so I will keep you posted. My doctor didn't want to lower my dose. She said I can take half if I need to but if this brand doesn't work I'm going to go back on vicodin because watson still makes that and qualitest does also and they can order that one for me. The mallinckrodt is to strong. I weaned myself off. It's like I take half and I am ok and then the next time I take a half and it's so strong. That makes me think each pill has different amounts of active ingredients and that's making me nuts. I really just wanted a lower dose.

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I am starting to get anxiety from this mess. I'm scared to try name brand in fear it will be to strong. I have the 10/325. Then I read the endocet is way better so I am hopeful. I am 100% positive my Mallinckrodt brand is strong! This last bottle is so strong! Even half is a lot for me! This is aggravating to say the least. The last bottle I had was great. So something is really screwed up in how they make these.

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Lola, my friend who is my pharmacist and he is very smart, he said many many people call asking if he can order endocet because they don't have the side effects. He gets more calls for endocet then anything even over watson and name brand. I didn't want to try mine yet since I had a large coffee but I am going to try it this afternoon. If I can't take this that's it's for me! I'm going back to vicodin by watson or qualitest.

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I know what you mean Lisa, The strong ones are good but they do give me anxiety but also heart skips. But I have to take something to survive work. I thought some people had said Endocet was bad. Way back in the thread. Endocet is the generic for Percocoet? I am confused girls.
Lola I am taking the pure form of Oxycodone. It is called Oxycodone IR. It is also called Roxicet. They are the same. It says Roxicet on my bottle. You may want to ask for just pure Oxycodone. It is good becasue it has no fillers or Tylenol. you can just take a extra Tylenol if you need to. I think it is better for your body. Lola I got it from my local hospital pharmacy. I am mad at Walgreens for lying to me and sticking me for 30 days. But my Walgreens did say they carry the Roxicet.
Jennifer, my online support group for pain is ok. There are just a few know it all's who say that generics are ALL the same. They are just ignorant, I pay them no mind. I did post this link but nobody read or responded. What are you on Jennifer? Lola, what are you gonna take. Jan, I know the feeling about our doctors. Dont dare rock the boat or they will try to dismiss you. Its kind of take it or leave. This is at the clininc.Lisa let us know how the Endocet works.

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Martin have you ever tried brand name? I get the anxiety and heart skips from strong ones also! It's is maddening. This is so frustrating! I also need the Tylenol mix. I got sick from plain oxy and felt like I couldn't breath. It was awful. I had it after surgery. Dilaudid did the same thing. Awful stuff!

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Lola I am with you!! I'm scared to death to try brand name! My luck it will make me feel all weird and give me anxiety. What exactly did it do to you? People preferred watson over name also!

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Ok, I just took half of an endocet about 30 minutes ago. They are DEFINITELY made better!!!!!!! They do not crumble and they are sold like watson. I was already all worked up in such a tizzy of fear. But so far I feel NORMAL!!!!! I can tell the medicine is working, but I feel normal, it even calmed my pounding heart rate that I have from anxiety with these meds! I will keep you posted. No jitters yet at all. I do feel pain relief so far!

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My post needs reviewed. So I am reposting. Took half endocet 30 minutes ago. They are made better, like Watson, more solid. I was already having anxiety over this mess but no jitters and I feel normal so far. I do feel pain relief. A more even toned relief like watson so far. It is calming my anxiety down also which is good. I will keep you posted as some time goes by.

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Martin, I just seen where you said watson made it hard to do to the bathroom. Thats the truth. lol I thought I was the only one. I am feeling great at the moment. I am extremely happy so far I feel like I could do cart wheels. These feel just like the watson to me right now. half and complete pain relief, no upset stomach, no anxiety, no jitters. The only thing is the pharmacist let me know to call ahead next time because he said these are much harder to get and often what people ask for. Lola, let me try another day, I really think this is going to be a great choice for you. But I need to give it more time and try one first thing in the morning. So far this is the best one I have tried. It is making my anxiety way better and I was in full blown panic mode which I never get that way.

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My heart was palpitating before I took this. That has stopped. Just for everyones info, I once had bright yellow vicodin that made me so sick and I broke out in a rash, these are light yellow and I am fine. They are very solid unlike mallinckrodt brand. They crumble. Half of a 10/325 gave me relief. Which leads me to believe she needs to lower my dose. I would love these in 5/325. Its been about an hour, so far so good!! I also cannot have norco, they made me so sick, all GI stuff. Amneal was the absolute worst as far as stomach issues. Of course that was vicodin but I am sure they probably use the same fillers. They also didn't work. I am loving these so far, it tells you how sensitive I am. The only other brand I had success with was qualitest lortab. They were pink but 10/500 and I didn't like regular vicodin because all the brands made me sick. That just shows you how sensitive I am and that it is a fact these brands are all different. Some gave me headaches to. I have heard the quality control on these is better then other generics so that could make a big difference. Watson was the same way. I do believe qualitest is also a top brand because my friend takes qualitest vicodin and said they are way better then watson vicodin. The latest bottle of mallinckrodt was awful. So that tells me the quality control can't be very good. Each pill I reacted differently to, some made my heart pound. Maybe that is why they fall apart when break them.

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It's been a few hours now and I absolutely love it. My anxiety is completely gone! I'm having no trouble breathing and I feel completely normal and no side effects! This feels exactly like Watson did. I feel better today than I have in a month.

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