Hydrocodone - Impossible To Get In The Uk...? (Top voted first)
UpdatedI am currently on an oxycodone m/r script, and find that it certainly does not last for the claimed twelve hours per tablet. No matter what, my doctor refuses to prescribe anything for this 'breakthrough' pain, not even a 20mg OxyNorm to carry me over. I have heard, however that a DIFFERENT analgesic is best in this situation. Since most drug information sites and forums are American, the drug which keeps cropping up and is most highly recommended to me is hydrocodone. This is NOT available in the UK, and despite many attempts, I can find no place to access it. The only other country which uses hydrocodone, in a much better pure form, is Germany, where it is available under the brand DICODID by Knoll, 10mg per tablet. Unfortunately I have had just as little success in tracing a source for this as for the US version, which is ALWAYS adulterated with paracetamol, usually 325mg/tab.
Does anyone have any idea where I could obtain a supply for these dreadful times when the OxyContin doesn't work? Dicodod would obviously be the preference but I HAVE tried the US hydro a few times and found that by far the best I have tried is Mallinckrodt's 'M367' 10mg/325mg tablet, in a dosage of 30-40mg.
This is a matter of access though, so if anybody can suggest any way that I can manage to get a stock of this most useful drug, then please post. There is a gap between dihydrocodeine and morphine in the UK which has nothing of in-between strength to fill it. In he US you have hydro and meperidine and hydromorphone in 4mg and 8mg strengths, instant release. All I want is relief from those bad times. Under-prescribing and refusal to prescribe for such occasions is becoming almost an obsession with me, and I really need something of this order to help.
Thanks for any replies.
Dorotheen,no offence but those people were asking for help,not a sermon.
As Mrsnoodle says, we are looking for some help to alleviate the pain we are in, not a sermon! We dont have sympathetic doctors so sometimes need a sympathetic ear! Im very sorry that your friends son passed because he was an addict, truly I am, but i think most people on here, especially myself, are just looking for a bit of help, not an easy way to score! Sorry, just had to be said.
First, oxycodone is not the strongest at all. There are Diconaland Fentanyl which are both stronger. Hydromorphone is also stronger.
Secondly, there is no such thing as a generic OxyContin, as the patent does not expire until 2016.
Thirdly, of course I want drugs. The whole point is that I require something for breakthrough and tail-ending.
Finally, it is the law that generic medicines MUST contain exactly the correct amount of the active ingredient; the only difference betwee the original and a generic should be the fillers and binders. 2mg alprazolam is 2mg alprazolam whoever makes it. The reasn that some people find certain generics feel weaker or stronger is that the additional ingredients may affect the body chemistry. But they MUST contain that 2mg alprazolam.
Morphine sulphate is a relatively weak opiate and makes me sick; I also know that it is no good for my condition which involves inflammation, hence the diclofenac combo, Arthrotec.
Finally, dependence matters not one jot when one must take a drug of that type for the rest of one's life. So doc's woory does not come into the matter at all. It is their job to relieve the pain as best they can, and that is precisely what they are NOT doing in this case.
Hope that's straightforward enough for you.
If I may update on my situation regarding my pain issues; it is now well into the season of 'mists and mellow fruitfulness' which to us arthritics means the season of increased pain and misery. I STILL have not found a source to replace my 'lost' source of Dicodid. I admit to being wrong about the analgesic gap - there is tramadol in between. Unfortunately that particular drug does not agree with me, as they once tried it with me and I suffered terrible side effects. Which brings us back to hydrocodone. Why I have to seek a prescription from another country is easily answered. Money. The British NHS has, since the time of that bloody woman Thatcher, turned from its original point and philosophy into something quite different and the range of medicines available has been decimated. Wrong word. That means divided by ten. It's a lot worse than that. Take benzodiazepines, another class of drug I require. There are 42 of them and now only around ten are available for prescription here. When you consider that each has a specific action which is useful for different types of condition, then look through our BNF, you'll see that many of the most useful have been deleted. Indeed, in 2002 I was on a bromazepam (Lexilium) script when it was taken off the market. The official explanation was that the BZDs that remained should cover any eventuality. WRONG. Lexilium (or Lexotan, Lexaurin, whatever, there is not much difference) is the fastest-acting and produces the most wonderful calm and serenity for those of us who suffer thanatophobic panic attacks. NOTHING left for prescription here now comes close to the usefulness of bromazepam in those situations. I can, however, get Lexotan and an excellent generic from Belgium. They even make a 12mg tablet there, twice the strength of what was the highest (6mg) available in the UK. As I mentioned, we are allowed to import up to 90 days' supply of medicines for personal use. My hypnotic (or one of them, since I used to rotate, and still do, to avoid the build-up of tolerance), flunitrazepam (Rohypnol, Rohydorm, Hypnodorm) was deleted about 3 years ago. That was particularly useful since unusually for an hypnotic, it has a half-life of 200 hours. After a Rohypnol night, i NEVER needed a morning anxiolytic, managing to get right through to the afternoon, often late afternoon, before requiring a Xanax, which is the brand of anxiolytic I have been prescribed now for several years, though my dosage is down from 6mg/day to 2.25mg. There is only one generic alprazolam here, and no pharmacy I know stocks it, so I am always dispensed the brand. The onlt thing I find wrong with it is that it requires frequent dosing because of its short half-life, so I take four 500mcg and one 250mcg tablet daily, usually leaving the smallest dose to take with a 500mcg in the evening. So a trip to Belgium for Rohypnol, Lysanxia and Lexotan is on the cards every three months, and the medicines are extremely cheap there. It's less than £20 ($42) for 180 x 1mg Roche Rohypnol, and the 2mg generic is only £15 for 90 tablets. And because i hold a European health Insurance Card, I end up being remunerated for 80% of even that low cost. If I have a Xanax script dispensed iin Belgium, 50 x 2mg tablets (long white bars marked Upjohn 94) cost less than a US$ each so I end up paying the equivalent of around 40 cents per bar.
I do NOT pay for my OxyContin, which is a boon because a box (containing a month's supply, 56 tablets) costs almost £100. Thank the Lord it's available on the NHS at no cost. Pregabalin is another extremely expensive drug, but, as I said, is not suitable for me.
'Fibromyalgia' is a diagnosis which i have never heard in the UK. I have read up on it though, and many of the symptoms described in the Wikipedia article of that name actually DO apply for me, though I do not suffer peripheral neuropathy. I haven't got around to discussing that particular thing with my doctor yet, but it's uncanny that many of what I considered to be relatively minor symptoms of the disease I suffer could in fact be indicators of some form of this Fibromyalgia. Thanks for mentioning that word!
So legally, so long as a drug is for personal use and covered by a doctor, I am able to import 90 days' worth of it. I may have to find somebody in th USA who can access those Mallinckrodt M367s after all, since Dicodid is only available in Germany. A pharmacist may order it but the cost for the importation would be prohibitive to me, so I have to find my own source of supply. Ah, the joys of being ridden with illness and disease, what?
If I have missed out on any point that anybody has made which required a reply from me, I'm sorry - let me know and I'll answer.
The final shot is that US Law will not allow a website to send hydrocodone products to the UK, and I have tried a few. Only private individuals have helped. And may God bless them that understand and have gone out of their way to help me in the past.
This is a good point to mention that Nick Day, a musician from California who helped me out on many occasions, sadly died of cancer in June. If you get the chance, listen to his final work, 'The Journey' which is excellent. Actually I am not sure that he lived to release it... his name on the boards was 'daybreak' and his own record label was 'Daybreak Records'. So sad that he has left us so soon, so young. And so talented and so sympathetic and generous.
'Requiescat in Pace'. R.I.P. Nick.
Gina sorry it took so long. My Belgian pharmacy is prescription only. I hope you get a notification that I have replied here because yes of course there are places you can get Oxycontin (not the pretendy stuff Purdue make, half strength and full of nasty side effects - easily recognised because instead of 'OC' they are marked 'OP'. KEEP WELL AWAY FROM THOSE. THEY ARE A TOTAL RIPOFF AND FAR FROM HELPING THEY ACTUALLY MAKE YOU FEEL WORSE!!! IF I said that I can be contacted by email through a company website or direct then I could put you onto places that will send you the real thing 100% guaranteed prescription free. Of course there is a hell of a financial premium to pay for such a service but I too have found myself willing to pay high just to get a bit of relief. Subject line - {edited for privacy} will get me. It will also get you to one of only two online counselling/therapy sites I know of. Conducted by email, they use a form of CBT and Moodjuice methods. Cheaper than US therapy as well! I am nearing the end of my training as a counsellor in chronic pain and also addictions but there are several specialists working for HKK who are superb. They also recommend medication therapy and have vast knowledge of acquisition from Europe. I believe you can import a 90 day supply of meds to the US for personal use. I look forward to seeing your mail arrive. I have every sympathy for his plight and he could use HKK as a means to his ends. Pity nothing works (original post by me was 5 yrs ago nearly!) from the US over this way. I would send myself if I had spare oxy!
Love Michael
thanks for trying to help I figured it out what company you were talking about and they wont deliver to usa.
Michael, it's so hard to live with so much pain. Your cries for help are heard, maybe someone will send you the medicine; exactly what you're asking for?
My comments seem so insignificant because you've tried everything. Certainly you've tried ALL of the NERVE BLOCKS (INJECTIONS) ie HYALGAN, SYNVISC; EPIIDURALs, CORTISONE, FACET BLOCKS ETC. What about PREDNISONE a steroid? SKELAXIN (800mg 4 times a day) is a good muscle relaxer with fewer side effects. LYRICA, a newer drug, has also been a good drug for me recently to help treat the nerve pain and migraines. Is your pain correctly diagnosed? I suffered with a burning pain for almost 6 years and thought it was just my nervous energy, until recently, a Nurse Practitioner, partnered with my Rheumatologist, diagnosed my cries, of some of the pain, as Nerve Damage. She was able to substantiate my need for appropriate pain medicine. . . and surely you've tried PHYSICAL THERAPY and ACUPUNCTURE. iT WOULD HELP IF YOU HAD SOMEONE TO HELP KEEP YOU CALM. I just saw an advertisement for Canadian, online drugs? God Bless Michael. Some of us are chronic pain sufferers; not drug abusers. We are penalized in the US for trying to get cheaper cigarettes online. Why In the UK you can't get what you need? DOESN'T TRUST WORK THERE EITHER. A DOCTOR WHO ISN'T AFRAID OF LOSING THEIR LICENSE. Moral support during this time of crisis is important and I pray we have been a good ear. This is a wonderful forum. Love.
Michael, perhaps your problems have been solved, as your post was a year old, but if not then take the following suggestions to your doctor.
As for mid level pain killers in the UK, doctors are *supposed* to use the lower strength Oramorph [morphine sulphate] solution. It is NOT a controlled drug, as its concentration is below the limit set by the law, precisely so that it CAN be used for pain relief when good analgesia is needed, but a doctor doesn't feel a controlled drug is needed.
Alternatively you could look at changing the main painkiller you are getting. Oxycontin is notorious for not lasting the claimed 12 hours. Many people have said this. A good alternative to Oxy is either the Durogesic [fentanyl] patches, or Physeptone, [methadone].
Methadone is not just for detoxing heroin addicts. It is a very good painkiller, with a very long half-life, so its analgesic effect lasts for a good while.
Other choices are to try and access an pain clinic in your area, and get specialist help with your pain needs. Many GP's are opiophobic. They have been so conditioned with the rhetoric of opiates = addict, that they are loathe to prescribe, and when they do they do so in a mean and stingy way, which if you think about it is totally illogical, since once they have realised that you are in need of an opiate for pain relief they should give you the amount that YOU need. Since opiates are more effective on some than others, there is no standard dose for controlling chronic pain. One person may get relief from 30mgs, while another needs 100mgs to control the same symptoms. If you keep on gently explaining that you are getting no relief you will eventually get the dose you need I think. Try keeping a diary of your pain, noting down the times you use various drugs, how long they take to work, and how effective they are. This will help show the doctor that [a] you aren't just blagging for a dose increase, and [b] that you are using you medicine responsibly.
A final alternative if you can afford it is to go to a private doctor, where, considering that you are paying for the service, you will get a far better treatment.
....and still.no contact, company name, email address, name, etc.....where to get it if you don't have a prescription? In the US it is becoming unbearable, ISTOP laws, patient contracts, same pharmacy, no refills, everyone's "pill searching", doctors prescribe at a panicked twing, patients are made to feel like junkies.....a sad state of health and being pain free. You have to beg for a muscle relaxer and almost die for anything stronger ....they're making a bad situation worse. If they had done their jobs in checking databases before prescribing, the junkies would have slimmed down and true suffers would not have to be made to act and feel so pathetic and like criminals.
I'm on oxycodone in the UK it's generic name is longtec, I'm on 40mg twice a day for ostio arthritis sorry can't spell it, after reading everything here i would have to agree it does not last 12hrs but it's so much better than the 50mg tramadol i was on, what worried me is in America all i her on the program COPS Is people abusing oxicodone,i only got it's not as dangerous as they say
Yes, the reason BEHIND the pain. Been through this with a pain specialist God knows how many times; have used and not used a waliking-stick; have tried meditative techniques; name it. It is spondylo-arthritis. I was told just the other week that my L knee is showing signs of the increase in OSTEOarthritis as well. Not pleasant and extremely painful indeed. Both my doctor and myslf have agreed that the treatment of symptoms with drugs is the best way forward. I use OxyContin as my primary analgesic and also diclofenac and mist.... what the hell is it called again?... anyway, it's a stomach protector for those who use diclofenac regularly. It is a dreadful drug for the stomach, and with that 'm' drug is known by the brand name 'ARTHROTEC'. Sometimes I use the muscle-relaxant CARISOMA (carisoprodol) which is often of great help because for some reason this spondyloarthritis can give me cramps in the leg muscles - carisoprodol is a great drug for preventing this when one knows it's coming, as one often does through knowing the early signs of these events.
Anyway, that's the REASON for the pain. We are agreed that it's a case of 'keep taking the medicine'. I wouldn't mind an increase in OxyContin dosage but my doc is totally against this; I wish I didn't have to take diclofenac at all, since it is a much more dangerous drug than normally portrayed, but I am glad of the 'Arthrotec' combo which prevents me fcuking up my stomach. So it's back to the original question - what to take to cope with 'breakthrough' and 'tail-ending' of my primary PK. Hydrocodone I mentioned specifically because it is two to three times stronger than dihydrocodeine and the kind of strength which would help immensely. As would hydromorphone and Diconal (dipipanone, a most efficacious painkiller which for some reason, my doctor is not very keen to prescribe, even though it's about the same strength as an instant release oxycodone.)
I return to my original plea; if anybody can point me in the direction of where I can be prescribed (EU) DICODID 10mg, I'd be very grateful indeed. Similarly, should I fail, then the adulterated US version, with at least 325mg paracetamol per tablet, would do. There don't appear to be many clinics or Pharmacies on the web that will ship hydrocodone products over here though. I am stuck there unless anyone has any bright ideas.
Love
Michael
First of all, there is a generic version of oxycotin. I know this for a fact! I feel that a break through pain agent as you wish for should be giving if the patient does have a serious need for such. I often wonder if the Doctor themselves are choosing who should and should not need these medicine's out of personal feelings about the patient (looks like he/she might be a drug addict, past matters, or for what ever). This is wrong if it i so. I can tell you if you were to chew the tablet (half at a time) it would release faster and give you a fast relief, although it is very dangerous this way. I am not a doctor so what do I know?
Chewing Oxycontin is NOT a good idea, it is very dangerous and you could end up getting to much of the medication at once and killing yourself.
As to the generic, as I said, it is no longer allowed to be manufactured in the US, so if you are taking it, you will eventually have to take the name brand, or if your insurance doesn't cover it, you will have to switch to something else.
Cherie, Oxynorm is a UK brand name for a short acting version of Oxycodone. It is used to treat severe pain in people who are already tolerant to other narcotic pain medications.
Some of the most common side effects include: drowsiness, nausea, constipation and dry mouth.
Oxynorm Information Click Here
A lo to reply to and explain more of here. Myra; pregabalin, which has a US brand LYRICA, is unsuitable. This from the doc's mouth. It is of greatest use in peripheral neuropathy, and that is what our BNF (your PDR) indicates it for. The lumbar problem is not really significant; more of a bloody awful discomfor, a distraction I could do without and which is taken care of by the OxyContin. The problem which MATTERS is the spondylo- and osteo- arthritis in the knees. As you are aware, spondyloarthritis involves the calcification of bone and is one of the most painful things; hence my pleas for a raise in dosage. I have even discussed a method used sometimes whereby for one month out of each four, i am given an alternative which would reduce tolerance to OC. Oxycodone is made from thebaine, not morphine or codeine. An analgesic such as hydroorphone, NOT based on thebaine would do that job. But it still does not address the breakthrough and tail-ending problm. You are now aware that we here have a dreadful analgesic 'gap' which means there is nothing between dihydrocodeine and morphine in strength; this is where hydrocodone coes in. It is licenced only as an antitussive in Europe and is almost impossible to find. Hence my plea for a way of accessing the US version, which is unfortunately not pure hydrocodone. As to the law, I am allowed to import a 90-day supply of medicine for personal use. Yes, I've tried the alternative therapies as well, except hypno, which is beyond somebody living purely on disability benefits.
Robyn - perhaps in the USA that is true. OxyContin was introduced in 1996, therefore the patent runs out in 2016. Basic pharmaceutical patent law, 20 years. The US have shorter patents. Yes, chewing or halving OxyContin is an option i use on bad days; and at the low dosage of 40mg is not dangerous in the least to an opiate-tolerant individual. OxyNorm is instant-release oxycodone; there is a US brand called ROXICODONE. The highest dosage capsule though is 20mg, not 40mg.
If I have missed anything out then I'll rectify later. In the meanwhile, the issue remains - how do I access the 'in-between', relatively weak narcotic analgesic hydrocodone now that I have lost my source for Dicodid? The only alternative is that combination with 10mg of hydrocodone mixed with paracetamol you have in the US, but not available here. As I said, there is NO website which will ship to the UK, and must therefore find somebody who is able to access the cheap ($56/120) Mallinckrodt M367 10mg/325mg tablet. Mallinckrodt produce the highest quality hydrocodone in the US, a fact confirmed by the American Pharmaceutical Association, and in my limited experience of US combos, is definitely true, it is so much better than the versions made by Watson and Vintage/Qualitest, the others I have tried. The crux of the matter is that it is THE CORRECT STRENGTH for the purpose intended.
Further discussion required perhaps, but there is no getting away from my need forthat strength of analgesic for the breakthrough and tail-end pain. Hoping this makes things slightly clearer.
Love to all from Scotland, Michael x
Designer:
I moved from the UK to the US 4 years ago, at that point with no health problems. If you are moving here, you need GOOD medical insurance or the medications will cost you tremendously. Unlike the UK prescription of £6 odd, the price without prescription would be far more. With it, I end up paying between $4 and $20 depending on the medication. I have seen some people without insurance at the chemists / pharmacies and having bills over $300 for certain drugs- that's a month's supply.
When I moved here, I did think the US was a much cheaper place to live. I was wrong. They are very similar when all is totaled at the end of the year.
Good luck though!
Weed?
Sorry if that's how you read me but I assure you I know about pain AS IT AFFECTS ME and meds WHICH I CAN BE SCRIPTED, HAVE USED, OR HAVE READ ABOUT MAINLY HERE. As for being rude I have gone through every single post I've made and can not find a single instance of being rude to or belittling anyone, and would not dream of so doing. This is for discussion, not for having snipes at others, a thing I consider morally reprehensible; so I dispute that I have EVER written in that way and I'm sure all other participants will agree. I have discussed many things with Verwon in many parts of the forum and he will no doubt confirm that I never state as fact anything I'm not sure of and most certainly would never put anyone else down. All I can think of is you've maybe misunderstood something I was trying to say, in a clumsy way perhaps? I like to write so there is no doubt about what I'm saying but we can all be clumsy from time to time.
It actually hurts to be accused of 'belittling' somebody; I repeat - that is a thing I would never, ever do intentionally. You can be sure that I THINK carefully before typing a word. I'm saddened.
I just want to add to what Michael has had to say... and others.... I came from South Africa over to the UK a good few years ago. Aghast to find out just how much medication you cannot get!!! I too, am on Oxycodone, had Tramadol, Co-codamol, Oramorph.... (makes me nauseas). Anyway, I have a bad Colon situation for 30 years now. IBS INCLUDED. The one tablet that ALWAYS helped was LIBRAX - the Doctors in UK nearly died when I asked them - they didn't know of Librax, but looked it up and was shocked at the contents. Pity, because that was the ONLY tablet that helped me for years and years, because IBS is stress that attacks your insides and LIBRAX® (chlordiazepoxide HCI clidinium bromide) Tablets / Capsules is the only drug that helps IBS because it helps to control emotional and somatic factors in GI disorders. In the U.S.A., Librax comes in the form of a Capsule. In Africa, it comes in the form of a round green sugar-coated tablet. It's great. I think they don't allow it in the UK, because then there won't be enough patients to experiment on!! The other thing is Hydrocodone - WHY can't we get it in the UK when you can get it in the U.S.A. Mind you, Codeine is a no-no in the U.S.A. But.... now, Syndol has been off the UK shelves for months now. Also, you can't get any DequaCAINE or any other sore throat lozenges that end in 'CAINE', as that is what deadens the pain in the back of your throat. Once again.... as soon as they discover how popular a drug is becoming - off it goes - taken off the market. Now, there's a shortage of proper DISPRIN,,,, so on and so on. I had a hip replacement in 2012 - now.... guess what they offered me for a pre-med?..... no... not pethadine..... a stupid plain paracetamol!!!! I burst out laughing and said 'save it' and took something of my own that was sent to me.
Luckily you can at least get Zopi's here - but I don't think you get the in the U.S.A.? Am I wrong? To take two Hydrocodone with a Celebrex antiflamatory or similar - works absolute wonders for any pain!!!!! LUCKILY I managed to get some Celebrex here. Coz I have always been on Voltaren (Diclofenac) - they stopped it and said it was bad for my heart and gave me Meloxicam (which I told them to keep - it made me feel awful and did not work) and also Naproxen (did not work). So I said I will remain in pain, unless they at least have Celebrex. Now, I just wish I could be on Hydrocodone rather than Oxycodone (same as Oxynorm) people. Good luck to Michael - I know this medication struggle!!! That's the one thing I did not have a problem with back in Africa. I believe Egypt is the same.....? dunno.
Yes please, Eddy.
What I can't understand is the U.S. is also so strict with medication, but they issue both Hydrocodone and Librax..... They, on the otherhand will not issue CODEINE?? Now you can't even get Syndol in the UK.... all the good stuff gets taken off the shelves. What's the point of overdosing in plain Paracetamol when it clearly doesn't work - wouldn't it be better for a patient to take 1 OR 2 GOOD TABLETS instead of a box of Paracetamol?? My opinion is YES.
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