Oxycodone Shortage Information

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A higly intelligent, highly pissed-off college graduate with a lot of free time on her hands, now advocating for change to current pain laws and policies, who suffers with TMJ, Cervical Displacement, Scoliosis, Degenerative Disk Disease, Hip Bursitis, Herniated Lumbar Disks, a Pinched Nerve with associated neuropathy, and depression related to the chronic pain.

target was out of a214 mg oxycodone today. the pills i got from them say 187 on them. has anyone seen these?

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37 year old male living in AZ. Diagnosed with Crohns at age of 15.
Currently on 20 mg prednisone. still taking Asacol. Done with Remicade- antibody level was over 8! Waiting for scope results to see about Humira or Cimzia.
In the middle of a bad flare now for 2 years...it's been one heck of a ride!

If it is green, round and imprinted with 187 then it is a 15mg Oxycodone manufactured by Caraco Pharmaceutical Labs in Detroit, Michigan.

When pharmacies have difficulty getting orders from their regular suppliers, they will often order than from a different manufacturer.

Wow, Target carries Oxycodone? I will try them tomorrow as I begin Day 8 of my quest to get my prescription filled here in Florida. The Ultram the ER prescribed is not doing a good job of keeping the withdrawl symptoms at bay. I am already having fever and chills, but thankfully no stomach distress, as of yet.

I did find a pharmacy that could fill my prescription, but they wanted almost $700 for 168 of the 30mg Oxycodone, which I got filled last month at Walgreens for $193!

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A higly intelligent, highly pissed-off college graduate with a lot of free time on her hands, now advocating for change to current pain laws and policies, who suffers with TMJ, Cervical Displacement, Scoliosis, Degenerative Disk Disease, Hip Bursitis, Herniated Lumbar Disks, a Pinched Nerve with associated neuropathy, and depression related to the chronic pain.

My husband went to his pain mgmt doctor today. He was given a script for his usual oxycodone. Last month we travelled an additional 60 miles to another town in order to get his oxy script filled. Today we were told that CVS pharmacy is no longer going to carry oxy pills everyone is having difficulty obtaining. I called all other pharmacies in our tri-state area (CA, AZ, NV) only to be told they did not have any. I went back to the pain mgmt facility and told them about the problem. I was told they would have to prescribe a different medication; not as effective any oxy, but the only alternative at this time. This is so frustrating!

Hello Bunny!

Welcome to the CP forum! I'm at a loss about these pharmacies not carrying the Oxycodone products. I live here in the center of the midwest, and so far have not had a problem acquiring Oxycontin's 20mg x3 and or Percocet's. Also…I don't understand them scripting another med not as effective as Oxycodone, as there are other med's more effective than Oxycodone by a long shot. Fentanyl would be one of them. There is morphine as well (MsContin)…and if scripted correctly can be very effective as well. What med did they script to replace his Oxycodone and the dose? What is his current dose? Methadone is another very effective med, but should be used as a last resort in my opinion.

I'm sorry you are running into this problem where you live….and I believe it is part of the DEA crackdown on the Oxycodone products. It's a shame they are taking this sort of action, as so many of us CP patients need this to have some sort of quality of life. There is a better way to deal with those that are not honest and scripting these med's illegally and or on the sly. In the meantime we all suffer for it.

Hopefully they can script a med that will do his pain justice. I did talk to my PCD about pharmacies refusing to fill orders….and he said they can do that…at least here in KS. However, we have not had this problem yet. Currently, I'm trying very hard to get off the Oxycodone products and have had some success. What may I ask is your husbands health issue? If it is nerve related….maybe he can try some of the med's made for it…like Cymbalta, Lyrica…Gabapentin and so forth. I myself, am trying the Gabapentin….but do not have any good news on it at this time….my Dr just upped my dose to a strength that is supposed to be effective for nerve related back pain. It will take another 30 days or so before I will know if it is working. He started me on a low dose to start with, to see if there were any side effects that may show up early on, but now that I seem to be able to tolerate it…we are moving forward to the higher dose 600mg x4.

Take care, and I wish your husband the best!

SE

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Moderator Chronic Pain Forum

Weekly Quote!

"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."

Post Edited (Screaming Eagle) : 4/12/2012 1:01:15 AM (GMT-6)

Wow 14 PALLETS of Oxy going missing? That's a tad bit worse than "I spilled my month supply of OxyContin down the drain" :O :O lord knows where that Oxycodone is going now jesus...I didn't here anything about a shortage as opioids seam to be as abundant as water...though my last script for Percocet my dad had to go to 3 different CVS pharmacies...luckily they were all close by (we have allot of pharmacies in my small town...no clue why, theres allot of physicians around here too, small town outside of Syracuse, NY).

@Pharm Girl, sorry to hear that :/ Oxymorphone is the active metabolite of Oxycodone, its really what does all the action, it doesn't have to go through first pass liver metabolization like Oxycodone to strip off the metabolite either. If you were to switch another opioid I would have to say Oxymorphone would be the closest thing to Oxycodone and it might be even better. Opana ER is the brand name but I believe its a new product but if you could find the equal analgesic dosage of your previous OxyContin dose to Opana ER (total daily dose really) I bet you could get the same or similar pain relief so bring that up with your physician! I am the same way with Oxy though, Oxycodone is simply the best for me (big difference between hydrocodone for me at least) and I recently switched to Fentanyl and I feel like crap. I have no idea if its just stigma up here or what but my doctors are eager to put me on something else.

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C6 Herniation/Buldge (my docs debate), gen. nerve pain, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohns disease, Anxiety, Aspergers, and Mild Insomnia.
-Adderall 10mg am, Oxycodone 5-7.5mg 3-4x day,Lyrica 50mg 3x day, Klonopin 1mg night, Zoloft 200mg night. It could be worse :)

 

       ...Good Morning Bunny!

     I'm sorry to hear of the shortage....and from what I'm reading I don't think it is a shortage at all....but that the Pharmacy's are just refusing to order it. I have read more than one report on this.

     Methadone?....I have heard good things about it....however, I also hear that it may be difficult to get on...and can be extremely hard to get off of if needed. Many here seem to think it is a last resort of med's to try...before considering the pump.

    If your hubby has tried all other med's and they are no longer effective...then if it were me, I may consider it. However this is something he should visit with his PM about.

   I will ask my pharmacist about the so called shortage...maybe she can shed some light on it. Also I'm wondering if the lower dosage is hard to get filled too?

    I wish your hubby well....and thank you for the update....please continue to keep us informed if you may.

    SE      

HI SMILINGBUNNY,
I think it's terrible that having to find supplies yourself, can no pharmacies order any stock at all, even from a different manufactor/ or different supplier? I myself suffer with severe pain on Fentanyl patches, so I know what long standing pain is like. I realise how lucky I am, as medication available. I hope your okay to, as very distressing to witness your husband experiencing terrible pain, then have ADDED stress of trying to find medication. Have you tried contacting your primary care Dr practice, and seeing if they can assist possibly, as the time/ cost in travelling must ALSO be a burden that I feel shouldn't have to go though.
Take care
KATE
HI PHARM GIRL,
I too am on Fentanyl patches, and When hot they do not adhere well at all, I use micropore tape but advised by my GP. So it's best to check with primary care practice by phoning, and advising having difficulties with your patches adhering, and if very hot will absorb quicker if body temperature very risen. So need to be very careful in the full sun, ESPECIALLY middle part of the day. When at its hottest temperature. Hope that helps.

Hi Mayflower7 and welcome to the chronic pain forum. I see you have posted on a thread that does not have much traffic on it. We ask that our new CP members to write a brief intro post so that all of our members will see it and be able to give you a proper hello and welcome aboard. Otherwise, not many people will see your post here and get to welcome you to the CP forum.

We are a friendly group of people here and love to have new people jump on board. Take care...Susie

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Moderator, Chronic Pain Forum & Psoriasis Forum

For those of you who don't know, "Dependency is totally different from AND IS NOT addiction." Any valid medical authority will tell you that. Too many replies here erroneously refer to opiate dependency as 'addiction.' It is not an addictio, it is a Therapeutic Dependency. That means, your paining body needs the medication for you to function normally at an acceptable 'quality of life' level. Please advise your participants. Love, Terry.

Hello Terry!

Welcome to the CCP forum! We do preach this all the time…and the information is right here on the Chronic Pain 101 at the top of our page.

However, as new members are added to the forum….we do miss getting this information across in a timely fashion. Thanks for the reminder!

SE

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Moderator Chronic Pain Forum

Weekly Quote!

"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."

 

    ...I think the last two replies here are good for a bump!

      Have a great day!

     SE

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Moderator Chronic Pain Forum

Weekly Quote!

"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."