White Watson 3203 Versus Yellow 10mg/3.75mg

Updated

Hi I have a serious question to ask. I have been on Norco 10mg/3.25mg for a while now because I have chronic pain in my back. These pills that I take are yellow in color, and they help a great deal. However, I got my meds filled, and this time I got a white pill that reads on one side Watson 3203, and on the other side a straight line down the middle. This pill has the same mg as my yellow Norco do. Here is the question. Why does this pill not help my pain? What ingredient has been took out. of the white watson 10mg/3.25mg pill? I have read were other people are having the same issue as me. Plus this is not the first time I have got this watson 3203 white pill, and each time I do it does not help my pain and others pain! I hope after reading this people at the watson company may read my story, and check in also on other people's story, and put back in the ingredients that has been removed. Please take this to heart because a lot of people are not happy with the watson 3203 white pill. Plus people are in pain, and expect relief of that pain when they take their meds. Also on a final thought if no ingredients has been removed then someone needs to analyze this med real closely, and find out why the white watson 10mg/3.25mg pill is no where as good as a yellow 10mg/3.25mg pills are. They are as different as night and day! Please look into your customer's story because something is really wrong with all the white watson pills.

32 Replies (2 Pages)

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1

I'm sorry for your pain too. I have chronic back & neck pain & it is horrible! I was taking the WATSON 10/325 for years & it helped greatly until Activas bought Watson. Now I would ask your pharmacy what Manufacturer is is & believe me if they say anything but Watson especially activas~you do NOT want it! Activas is "pretending to be" Watson saying they have the same ingredients & Walgreens & all the other Pharmacies are not stupid~they KNOW they are NOT the same. If they say they are Watson~they are not, because they no longer make Hydrocodone or Percocet! Activas MAY have 10/325, BUT the damn IN-ACTIVE ingredients from (china) or God knows where are what give people miserable side affects & do NOT help with pain, so make sure you get the NDC number & find out who is the Manufacturer. If Walgreens or whoever you are dealing with says their buyer does not order from that Mft., then ask for the Manager & if he/she is caring at all & professional, they can ORDER IT! Good luck to you.

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2

I called Actavis about the Norco 10/325 not working and they tell me that Watson still makes them. I told them that they do not work so they said they would report it to the FDA. Here is the number for other people to call about them to put in a complaint 1-800-432-8534

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3

Hello Karen~I put in a complaint to the FDA & also spoke to many different departments that they Activas kept shifting me to only to find out it went nowhere but an I am sorry you are having problems kind of thing! I hope you have better luck on Norco (hydrocodone). Did you ask them for an inactive ingredient list compared to the one they USED TO USE when they DID work~they have to give you that! I cannot see it going anywhere with Activas~people have written to the FDA, called the FDA & Activas still gets away with it, & so many people are still in PAIN! Good luck to you anyway.

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4

Not all generics are created equal..... I don't care what anyone says. Manufacturers of generic meds are LEGALLY allowed to have an up to 25% margin more or less of the active ingredient. This is very troubling since a 10mg pill can contain as low as 6.7mgs of the active ingredient or 12.5mgs on the other end. THIS is a big reason certain generics don't work as well as others. I have discussed this with my pharmacist and he is as appalled as I am over this! Now, how many companies do you KNOW would actually add more active ingredient for the same price than less? I don't believe they should be allowed to do this at all! And, because of the, in this case, lack of narcotic pain reliever in the pill it is creating a "drug seeking" behavior as seen by doctors and nurses. That is totally unfair!

OK.....on to particular manufacturers.....ACTAVIS bought Watson but SUPPOSEDLY still use the Watson formula for the hydrocodone ( Norco). I think that is bs! Their percocet made me so sick it was unbelievable as did their hydrocodone. Actavis is an India-based pharmaceutical company and I have never had any good results in ANY of my meds produced via Indias pharmas vs anyone else. The yellow hydrocodone (gen norco) you have received is from Qualitest pharmaceuticals which are fairly decent at relieving pain although not for everyone. The FDA does not seem to care nor stand by its rulings on overseas pharma companies they have said could not sell their products to the U.S. nor could they open any mnfctg companies in the US. This they told to Sun pharmaceuticals 1 year ago, they are based out of India, they have not fixed their quality problems and yet we are STILL receiving their meds! This is completely ridiculous! Sun pharmaceuticals provide the U.S. with 40+% of our generics and they also make me extremely ill! Who is there to stand up for the patients? NO ONE! Something needs to be done and NOW!

Btw, you can read all about the problems with Sun pharma on FDA.gov.

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5

Hi! The Watson 3203 is NOT 10MGs. It is only 7.5 MGs. That is why it isn't helping you--it contains 25% less hydrocodone than the 10/325 that you were on previously. Watson 10/325 generics are labeled "Watson 853".

That said, there is a huge difference between generic brands. In addition to the fact that "non-active ingredients" can be completely different--generic drugs can also contain from +20% to -20% of the active ingredient as the name brand drug. This means that the difference in the amount of hydrocodone can legally vary by as much as 40% from one generic brand of Norco to another generic brand of Norco.

Of course, since fillers are cheaper than active ingredients, you can be fairly sure that all generic drugs will contain as little of the active ingredient as legally allowed by the FDA. This means that pretty much all generics will contain ~80% as much of the active ingredient that is contained in a name brand drug.

Besides being a "rip off" to patients, this practice is extremely dangerous, particularly for drugs such as blood thinners (where a 20% variation could be fatal) or for opiates (where a patient could become extremely over-intoxicated should they get the brand name drug, or get no pain relief at all with a generic and eventually commit suicide as the only escape from pain).

I've had shouting matches with FDA reps over this policy. They don't care. The U.S. government has been bought and paid for by greedy corporations. FDA policies clearly display the corruption inherent in taking kick-backs (and cushy jobs, post-FDA) from giant pharmaceutical corporations. Our healthcare system has been devastated by the insurance companies, big pharma, and a congress who is constantly taking bribes and perks from industries that they are supposed to regulate. We're pretty much screwed here in the U.S. when it comes to food and drug regulation. We get the worse possible care and drugs for the highest possible cost.

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6

I have had four back surgeries and am on Norco 10/325 Watson 853 worked extremely well for me with little difference when they switched to white. I recently found that Costco was less than half the price of walgreens so I filled it there. they are white and oblongwith ip 110 on one side and a line on the other. heres my problem I might as well be taking a sugar pill they don't help the pain and they make me dizzy. does anyone know what the difference in these as opposed to Watson is? the manufacturer is interpharm inc.

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7

I know! This is a totally a mess and a sham,I've been going back and forth for two weeks now trying to get my hydrocodone, they can't get the Watson, for me and I suffered for a month with some off the wall brand from Germany, so the pharmacist is trying to get the comperable Activas in for me, is this company any good? What a mess I'm so sick of this crap, and these companies getting away with crap ingredients, and from other counties no less

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8

Right on!! they don't care, and we all suffer let their family members take this crap there giving us and I bet things would change.

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9

One way two solve the generic problem is to ask your doctor to write your script brand name only despence as written so then you get norco or what ever the brand name is of course your prob gonna pay more but its worth my peace of mind : )

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10

actavis is no good they took over Watson and the pills do not work they claim they only took the dye out of the Norco which is a lie cause they don't help my pain so don't get your pills if actavis is the one who makes them

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11

Yes you are right the watson 3203 is norco 7.325. Seems like everyone on here uses the higher dose. Do you or anyone else know which brand is best for the 7.325 norco? These are not working for me. I have arthritis, fibromyalgia & chronic pain.I don't want to take a higher dose just find a brand that will give me pain relief. Thank you in advance

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12

Soon it won't matter who makes what and which pill should have which markings. We are all being cut down or completely off. Now, we will see a rise in illicit drug use, overdose and death. They want to cut us off, then go to rehab where the government will profit more than they did making and prescribing pills.

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13

Half of it is in your mind..! I have thought the very same thing on many different companies that make this medicine- they all vary in colors and shapes-scored and un-scored.. depending on the code that the sub-company puts out for the mother company.. after you begin regular use of another one that is different from your original script, "especially" in the mornings you will be able to tell that you are feeling different within 20 minutes plus or minus - plus there is bound to be a variance in the mix- follow the does with a couple of regular OTC Ibuprofen .. also, sometimes hydrocodone will rebound or breakthrough and cause your pain to actually intensify- so again, use regular over the counter ibuprofen with the hydrocodone/acetaminophen - take at least 2 - 200 mg ibuprofen with it when they seem to fail or intensify you pain "especially" head and neck or back pain.. the Ibuprofen actually works better with hydrocodone than it does with Acetaminophen- thus this way you are hitting the pain and the way you think about the pain in 2-3 different channels..

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14

would that actually work? asking for name brand only? that's actually a simple and good idea (I guess when it's that obvious, the solution is overlooked). it is worth a shot. thanks

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15

The white pill with 3203 is not a 10/325 it is a 7/325

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16

I just Agree with the man. Or women about watsons ,they need to do something fix the pills they dont work

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17

Im sorry for your back pain i broke my hip and have a rod and 3 screws so im going thru a deal of pain myself but the 3203 watsons r 7.5/3.25 not like the yellow 10/3.25 i get the yellow ones and they do help i also have gotten the 3203 watsons to and they were always 750's u need to talk to your dr about that.

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18

Watson 3203 white are 7.5 hydrocodone as opposed to the 10/325. They have lowered your dosage or perhaps made a mistake. Sorry for your pain. I live in chronic pain from donating a kidney to a stranger..No Good Deed Goes Unpunished..lol.

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19

Your doctor needs to also write medically necessary for name brand on the script as well, so insurance will have to cover it. That's what my Doctor has done for me for many years, since all these inferior generic pain medications emerged on the scene. This has solved my problem, I have to pay much more for my meds; but it's totally worth it to have pain meds that actually work to control my pain!

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20

They cut down on the amount of Tylenol in them. Take an extra Tylenol with it see if that helps

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32

Re: scott (# 6) Expand Referenced Message

Costco has the worst generic pills. Complete rip off if you have to pay for your prescriptions.

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31

Re: Martha (# 30) Expand Referenced Message

Hi Martha. Sorry to hear about your situation. Over the years pharmacies have started phasing out the yellow Norco tablets and began replacing them with white ones. Despite countless complaints concerning their efficacy it seems as though nothing has been done within the manufacturer's role to produce a better quality product. As far as what can be done (?) I would probably ask my doctor to specify a particular manufacturer's product on the prescription itself. This way pharmacies will be more adept to fill your script accordingly. We as patients shouldn't have to tolerate the cheapest thing drug companies are willing to purchase, but we do vote with our money and an honest doctor should help steer their patient in the right direction.

Hope you're doing well!

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30

I agree the white 10/325s don't work as well as the yellow Norco. I have severe crippling arthritis and have bone on bone in my knees and the pharmacies up here in West Branch, MI. are starting to give me the white ones. I am 69 and I get no relief with the white 10/325s. What can be done about this?

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29

The 3203 is a 7.5/ 325 norco, if this is what they gave you then you got "screwed", so to speak. You lose 2.5 mg of the pain meds per pill. That is one of the many, many reason why I will not deal with Walgreens.

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28

That's because they are 7.5 and ur others were 10mg

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27

The white Watson 3203 is a 7.5/325 the yellow norco is 10/325

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26

Watson 3203 is a 7.5 not a 10mg hydrocodone tablet it will not help pain as much as the stronger one

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25

That's because the white ones are 7.5 325 and not tens

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24

Hello Missy. The reason the white meds are not working is because it is a 7.5 mg and the yellow ones are 10 mgs. There is a major difference n 7.5's verses 10 mg's.

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23

Well that is because the Watson 3203 white pill with the line down the middle on the other side is only 7.5 mgs of hydrocodone 325 of acetaminophen. Which is just the generic version of this drug and can be used as as a substitute for norco.Clearly they don't work for you because your taking a lower dose than what your used to.

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