A good person on here asked me to post a question as I and so many others seem to be having terrible side effects from the new OP formulation that Purdue Pharma put out to make tamper proof so that abusers couldn't cut them open anymore.
I started the new OP on 9/6 feeling as good as I ever can with RSD in chronic pain with this being the only long acting opiate that not only ever helped my pain but also that I wasn't severely allergic to.
A few days before Tuesday, 9/14 I felt constipated attributing it to the new OP formula. On 9/14 I began vomiting knowing it was the medication/constipation problem. I stopped vomiting but the next day woke up feeling flu like symptoms with a fever of 100.9 and what is medically called; malaise which means a general feeling of being ill also with my stomach still out of sorts.
It is now day 17 on this new OP formula and I'm not as bad as I was on 9/14 through 9/18 but I'm still daily feeling ill, having a low grade fever, and my stomach just isn't right and I feel it gets worse after the usual time that it always took for the old formulation of OC to kick in; about 1 1/2 hours.
I feel I could have the same pain relief personally if I could take the amount I'm prescribed but my stomach won't allow it along with not being able to take the Percocet for breakthrough pain; usually 3 to 4 a day but with the stomach problems, I've only been able to take one most days; maybe a 2nd.
I called my pharmacist who has had other complaints of very similar symptoms that I reported. He didn't say how many but it didn't sound good.
I've had the same pharmacist for over 11yrs and he knows me well and does talk to me.
I have thought that maybe we are having withdrawals from the old formulation and it could take time for our bodies to adjust to the new OP formulation as the compounds have changed.
I am trying to not just psych myself out due to these side effects knowing that the compound change could be the problem and give it time to see if my stomach can handle this and start feeling better in general.
My doctor knows that ALL other long acting opiates that I have been prescribed have given me serious allergic reactions so I must have an extremely sensitive system. Last year I was even put on Opana and I couldn't breathe after taking only the 1st pill.
I would have already gone off of this entirely if there were other options for me but feel I have to give it a try.
I would like anyone who is taking this new OP kind and was on the old OC formulation to post here on this question and keep up to date with any side effects or symptoms they may be having as we just need to try to help each other here.
Maybe we can figure this out together. I was only able to take the dose I'm supposed to for the 1st 8 days so I also don't know if this is going to relieve my own chronic pain the way the OC did along with my breakthrough meds.
I see my doctor soon and will have to tell her what is going on after I figured out this was not a flu bug or virus but this new OP itself.
I was extremely upset as I tried to do an online search today only to find the drug abusers trying to figure out how to cut it open to abuse it more.
The people I've met here are usually genuine and together we can help each other.
I also promise to keep you up to date on my own issues and hopefully we can start feeling better soon.
Oxycontin side effects on new OP?
- Posted:
- 23 Sep 2010 by RSDHurtzme
- Topics:
- oxycontin, pain, side effect
Added 30 Oct 2010:
Please read: If you have called Purdue Pharma and they are sending you a form to fill out over the side effects of the new OP Oxycontin, please get the lot # from your pharmacy if it's not on your prescription bottle (which usually it isn't) or they won't be able to process your claim. I just received my form after calling them before September 20th and without the lot # they refuse to make it apart of the ongoing investigation.
Call your pharmacist as soon as possible if you are going to be part of Purdue's investigation so they can help us all.
Added 29 Nov 2010:
After taking the generic Ethex version of Oxycontin made in the same way as the old formula, I've found that in only 2mos none are now available for my prescription due this week. My pharmacist said that there is NO form of generic Oxycontin available now and only had some left overs in the 80mg dose only when I'm on the 40mg dose.
I took my script for November in and was only able to get 88 of the 90 pills prescribed to me. Due to my pharmacist's fear due to severe allergic reactions to ALL other long acting opiates, my pharmacist said he feels there is NO long acting formulation of any pain medicine that I could tolerate and could only recommend the 10mgs of Oxy IR in a generic version. That is breakthrough dosage for me as I'm on 10/325 of generic Percocet for that up to 6 times a day PRN.
I have refused any increases when the original Oxycontin was out for at least 8yrs and offered to me at least 7 times due to my own fear of any medication along with the age I was injured and my age now; 43 knowing this pain is for life as I see it now.
I would give ANYTHING to not have to need a medication like this. I have put a call to my doctor in and hope to get an answer by today or early tomorrow as she mentioned a medication that starts with an "N" and I've researched everything online I can even asking my pharmacist about other meds.
I fear now that if I have to go on another med that if I'm not allergic to it, I will go through euphoria again after not having this problem for around 5 or 6yrs.
At this point, I PRAY that the new Oxycontin OP is taken off the market completely as it's their 1.5 BILLION dollar a year baby that they've held a patent on for way too long and only because of their power of keeping this patent are we left with NO generic.
IF one is made eventually, it will probably be formulated like the OP.
I see a HUGE lawsuit against Purdue for doing what they have to the people I've read about on this site/post along with how many others not on this site who must have gotten ill due to this reformulation also.
I am a responsible pain patient who has never abused my medications as are so many of you here and why do we have to pay for abusers and junkies? So far there are NO widespread news reports about so many getting sick from OP version and we need a voice; our own and together we are strong.
I can hope for us that we can pull together to get a major network to do a story about what Purdue has done to us.
Added 19 Dec 2010:
UPDATE: My doctor finally got me off of any form of Oxycontin and now taking Kadian; it's working so much better than the OC ever did.
I began taking this in early December after going without any long acting opiate for a while and ending up in a wheelchair vs on a cane.
Even though I've always been honest telling any of my doctors that I am allergic to Morphine, I explained to my Int Med Doctor that the way I found this out was at least 6yrs or more before RSD/Chronic pain during an outpatient surgical procedure and only had IV Morphine and never took a synthetic Morphine pill since becoming "opiate tolerant".
She was brave enough to give me Kadian; a Morphine pill like MS Contin but better, and I was brave enough to begin to take it finding the best pain control I've ever had in my 11 1/2yrs in chronic pain.
This all worked out for the absolute best and now able to take less medication a day bc of it.
I hope others too are finding an even better medication for chronic/severe pain.
Added 23 Dec 2010:
Before being put on Kadian, she was afraid of my allergic reactions to some of these meds and only gave me Oxy IR 30mg 6 a day. That is closer to Percocet than a strong long acting pain med. That is how I ended up on a walker before seeing her again and realizing I had to have a long acting med, she gave me Kadian capsules 100mgs which equals about 80mg of OC.
60mgs equals 30 to 40mgs of OC.
I hope this helps as I know way too many who are/have suffered from this change.
Responses (37) Page 3
DzooBaby14 Jan 2011
Wow! I wish I had read this post before I posted my question! There are a lot of us saying this medication doesn't work the same. I asked the pharmacist about whether they had any others saying the new formulation doesn't work as well and she looked at me funny and said "No. Not really complaints but a lot of people calling to see if we carry the old formulation. She said they changed the formula so people couldn't remove the coating any longer to get the medicine to release all at once and so it couldn't be injected because it gels up" I looked her straight in the eye and told her that I NEVER have altered my meds in any way and I dont think they work as well. I used to be able to take my OC in the morning and within 30-45 min I could feel the pain ease and my back start to relax. With the OP's this doesn't occur. It is sometimes 1-2 hours before I start feeling any relief.
caringsonbj19 Jan 2011
after having 4 fractures and in horrid pain my doctor refused to prescribe Oxycontin she told me the story about it was new and a formulation part was removed to prevent some individuals unlike Chronic pain people from abusing and shooting it up (I guess they melt it down and the component they removed if shot up made you rreally high now that they reformulated this that will not happen she said the serious thing the folks that needed it it was no effective and causing lots of problems and to add to the mix the pharmaceutical company got their original patent back she is going to update me if she hears more I am not on this but I am interested in hearing about this, I care about what happens to others who are in severe pain and I want to help in any way that I can I wish you only the very best
25 Jan 2011
I just wanted to add that I thank you for your updates. Who would have guessed there was a silver lining in all this, with Kadien working so much better for you than Oxycontin ever did.
But because of your success, maybe I won't be so afraid to try it if my doctor ever feels ready to prescribe it.
Could you please tell me in what way Oxycontin OP is a completely different medication? I thought it was the same but with different fillers. Do you know how can I find information about this to give to my doctor?
Cheers,
Sunrise
RSDHurtzme
2 Feb 2011
Sunrise,
My doctor only recently explained all of this to me about how this med is so different in compound and delivery.
Oxycontin is a pill. Kadian is a Capsule with pellets inside to start. With the new OP the coating has more polymers in it (glue) that make it dissolve so slowly into your system and the inside gel is very gummy compared to the once OC pill so it digests much slower and is causing very bad gastrointestinal side effects. Kadian enclosed in the capsule has a time release in the capsule itself and also the pellets inside are time released which for me personally has given me a med that actually works better, lasts longer in my system (over 12 hours), and has not caused me any stomach problems except initial constipation which has since gone away naturally.
My dose in one pill is double that of the OC at 40mgs; Kadian 100mgs equals 70/80mgs of OC. I had stayed on the OC for 9 1/2yrs on the same dose/mgs on it total for over 11yrs.
Sunrise 1
2 Feb 2011
Thank you for your response. I will keep all of this in mind when I talk to my doctor. I know he does not feel comfortable prescribing Kadian because he is not familiar with it. But perhaps sometime in the future when I have a different doctor, he or she will be willing to let me try it.
I have been on Oxycontin for around 8 years, and stayed on the same dose until they changed the formula. I hate this new Oxy, but it's better than nothing I guess. At least in the short term.
I'm happy for you that your not under-medicated anymore. Most chronic pain patients in the USA are due to the war on drugs as you probably already know.
Thanks again,
Sunrise
dalebaker22 Feb 2012
I have been on oxycontin c.r for at least 10 years & found it worked great & I functioned well until I started this new formula I have felt sick very sick sleeping alot constipation was managable until this new formula was presented to me .I am know very depressed & at the end of my rope. It makes me angry & I feel its unfair... Dale Baker
7 Apr 2012
I have spoken with an attorney about suing PPharma over the new formula and its responsibility for esophageal and stomach problems that I and others suffer with and suspect could cause future esophageal cancers. In a cancer support group of about 30 people that I belong to there are NO patients taking OP/oxy that are not having throat and digestion issues. Its obvious PPharma is pandering to ignorant politicians who blame the "pencil" for incorrect spelling instead of the "person" writing the letter, I guess we need to outlaw pencils, but that is how a certain segment of this society thinks, lets make people who are in dire need of this drug to function and survive their pain pay the price for irresponsible fools who want to get high. PPharma, is in my opinion being intellectually dishonest with respect to their new drug delivery system, I believe this was as much a part of getting their patent extended as stopping abuse of the drug.
lynnjannet18 Jul 2012
I have been on the new one for 3 months now and I am having a lot of headaches. Ans stomack cramps off and on. And am not getting the same pain relief. I had been on the old one for 8 years now and I never had to go up in my dosage. I was wondering what that form was about you were talking about. I'm in canada is that for us too
Thank you
Lynnjannet
igpoliti
18 Jul 2012
the Purdue Pharma website has a phone number with which you can talk with someone about your side effects and lack of pain control and they will send you the form. As for stopping stomach problems I am taking zantac every time I take an oxy/op which you are not supposed to take for more than 2 weeks at a time(zantac). Then I lay off a couple days on the zantac and then start back up. As far as the pain relief, you are correct in thinking they are not working as before and PP knows it, so you will probably need to take a stronger amount at more cost, see how they do that money thing? In my humble opinion these pharmacutical companies are not motivated by the Hippocratic Oath, they are motivated by greed, period.
dhwilson5814 Feb 2013
There's a huge difference between the OD and the new OP! I noticed the difference between the two on the first dose of OP I took. Sick to my stomach, headache,( which I very seldom get) a light headed feeling, constipation and a wierd hollow feeling in my stomach. I noticed I was watching the clock for my next dose , something I've never done in the 9 years I've been on OxyContin. I've now have moderate to sever abdominal pain, been to the ER once already due to the pain, i have a very over active stomach due to the OP, always gurgerling and making all kinds of loud noise's. I asked my Pain Management Dr about the OP and I was told she has a lot of complaints over the OP, almost everyone if her clients. This new pill is a nasty drug and I'm just waiting for a class action suit, it's just a matter of time. I've been tossing around a suit myself already. I hope this experience helps you, good luck.
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I am the one who posted this back in September when after being on the same dose of the old OC for over 9yrs was doing fine until I had to begin ingesting the new OP.
I too got headaches and it did not work as well among many other horrible side effects that I never had to deal with before.
You need to discuss this with your doctor as you are not the only patient suffering. I believe there are more suffering and switching to other meds than remaining on the OP. The company ruined this once great medication for many of us as I too have very bad complications taking any other long acting opiate.
I have a great doctor now; one that was willing to listen to me even though I had always listed Morphine as something I was allergic to even though I had never been prescribed any type of morphine based pill for the over 11 plus years I was on OC (once even switching to Opana ER which I couldn't breathe on) a year prior to.
Expand this post...
My allergy to Morphine happened many years before my injury that caused RSD and was done in a hospital setting using straight liquid injection of morphine through an IV which also was way before I ever was on any pain meds or opiate tolerant.
Kadian has been more than just a replacement since early December.
She put me on a dose equivalent to close to double the dose of the old OC I was on for way too many years.
It not only worked better but also made me realize that I had been way under medicated for a few too many years. It was hard to adjust to only due to constipation problems but nothing else about this particular med has bothered me at all.
I was taking less a day than prescribed until Jan 1st as I only had enough for one pill a day and was in Medicare Part D donut/gap hole not able to afford to get the refill when I should have but I was still doing much better than on the OC and not sick like on the OP.
I too have never altered my medications for any reasons; if anything taking less than I should or was given on days when my pain allowed me to with my breakthrough meds.
If you've had bad reactions to long acting opiates in the past in any way like I have, it was good to start at taking one a day, getting used to it WITH breakthrough meds, enabled me to get the constipation under control as only at the 1st of this year did I go to taking 2 a day and feel even better now also thinking that I did this the right way since my dose conversion was doubled.
I can't even begin to explain how one Kadian a day with a strong breakthrough med (Oxy IR 30mgs 2 a day) lasted as this is a 12 hour med also but it was a needed change even if the OC had never been changed but I would've never been given a different med and only a stronger dose not knowing there was a medication that was so different that worked better.
I feel Kadian is a much cleaner medication also.
Now with the double of the dose and my breakthrough meds, I am feeling better than I did on the OC and personally feel from speaking to a couple other people who went through what I am calling; Oxy Poison; they too were changed to MS Contin but at a much lower dose than the original OC while my Kadian was prescribed at a higher dose at one time, it comes in a capsule formula that I think works very well spreading out the lasting effects of pain relief vs taking a pill like MS Contin however if your doctor listens and is willing to give you a form of a long acting Morphine medication, try out whatever they are willing to prescribe knowing you probably may need some type of breakthrough med be it Hydrocodone or Percocet as I did have a one month's supply of Percocet which I was on for many years but realized that the Oxy IR which was a med given to me when she couldn't think of a long acting one with Percocet, I found it to be better and safer as I can take much less acetaminophen as the FDA has recently alerted doctors to only prescribe these pain meds that contain it in the 325mg strength.
My next appt with my doctor will be the discussion of hopefully keeping me on the Oxy IR even though there are days when I do still need the generic Percocet due to not taking more than 2 IR a day and the possibility that I do need some Percocet a month to use a a 3rd dose but I don't know how she will feel about that?
I will accept whatever she believes is best for me since I am doing so much better however I have been taking only one Percocet at a time maybe 3 times a week and I also was able to use both and switch to see what helped me the most.
It is so hard as our pain is different; stemming from different causes and also how we respond to different pain medications are also so different.
Before your appt, write down all the meds for pain you have ever been on, if and how they worked or didn't, list all the bad side effects on the OP (as some have said their doctor would only increase it making their side effects worse not realizing they needed to be on something different; not more of what is making you feel worse) and even include how different the original OC was. Go in with some education of meds you haven't tried; at least a couple to see if your doctor is not only willing to listen to you but also understand the need for a change is necessary as many doctors even my own will state how all these long acting meds have different compounds that could also make us sick however it's not just the compounds in the new OP, they switched it to a completely different medication and the explanation of how different it is can be very important.
I hope you can be able to explain this without feeling you are having to get defensive and only try to help your doctor help you.
I feel like we were made to be guinea pigs on OP and only recently did I hear that the VA is still giving their patients the real OC (not sure if it is true but if it is, more proof they know it was going to make so many so sick). If that is true, I know they know what a mess they've made of many chronic pain patients lives & now only the ones who served our country are getting what we should have been able to still get.
I wouldn't bring that up because I don't know if that is true and was told this by a person whose father works for the VA.
I hope you get something that also makes you feel better and hopefully a breakthrough med which does help us stay on less as I was also getting 3 a day of the old OC as it only lasted me for 8 hours tops but the Kadian actually did the job for the entire 12 hours and when I was only taking one a day with a strong breakthrough med, I honestly felt it lasted all day but the strength I needed wore off after around 14 hours or so.
100mg Kadian converts to 70 to 80mgs of OC; the next dose down is 60mgs Kadian which converts to 30 to 40mgs of OC. I say this because my pharmacist wasn't able to find a conversion chart when I had it filled but I found one 10mins after coming home on the PC.
Best wishes for understanding & a better medication(s)
I'm very happy for you that the Kadian is working for you. I tried Kadian several years ago and I'm afraid it did nothing for my pain, I mean absolutely nothing. I also tried Avinza, similar to Kadian, but, I had terrible side effects from the Avinza. Morphine of any kind does not agree with me. Different forms that it comes in gives me different side effects. For now I am sticking with the OP and bearing with the side effects. Also, my doctor told me it is the only medication for me because of my experiences with other opioids. Good luck to you and I am truly happy that you have found some relief.