I've always gotten the Watson 853 YELLOW tablet for my Norco. Just this last time I received the Watson 853 WHITE tablet. I've just never seen the 10/325 in White. Is there a difference? If not, then why the White & Yellow?
Norco-10/325 Watson. Is there a difference in White & Yellow?
Question posted by kbaldwin on 17 April 2013
Last updated on 3 September 2019 by Martha Joy
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
25 Answers
Martha Joy
3 Sep 2019
With Norco take 2 Tylenol with them to help them work better., I take 2 Bayer back and body to help them work better. However, I am not allergic to aspirin.
Jodonna728
30 Aug 2018
Yes there is a huge difference I’ve been taking yellow Norco for a few years I’ve tried the white ones and received no relief even made me itch. In 2015 I had 4 surgeries (Spine and Cervical) the hospital gave me one white Norco OH MY it was awful they don’t work and being in hospital for 5-7 days with no pain control was per hell. So now when I pick up my Norco I always open the bottle at the counter to make sure there not White- Yellow ones are very hard to find. This last ones are a light yellow and I’ve had a bad headache and itching. How can these pharmacies let people in chronic pain suffer so badly knowingly they don’t work. There’s a lot of reviews on how the white ones don’t work. Also a pharmist told me if it was up to him he wouldn’t buy them there Junk- I am scheduled for the pain pump. I wish you luck and hope you feel better soon.
SLS60
1 Aug 2018
I feel no difference taking the yellow or the white, I believe what Watson/Actavis did is take the color out of most of their narcotics because it was cost effective for them!!
Annette m
28 June 2018
I have I have no response I want to know the answer to the question what is the difference between white and yellow Norco 10 325
Backpainwarrior
29 Nov 2018
The difference is they have the same active ingredients but can vary within a certain percent the amount of active ingredient. They also differ in formulation and fillers. These differences in formulation can lead to very different relief from person to person. If the generic makers were forced to use the same exact formulation as the original manufacturers there would not be all these variables.
william reece1984
23 Feb 2018
i find the white norco upset my tummy i told my pharmacy. i never want white norco they said no prob they give me the yellow norco and have for the past 2 years some pharmacys will tell you they dont make them any more ' they lie i just got mine filled 3/19/18 and they where yellow
Skauge34
14 March 2018
I am also having horrible side effects from the white Watson 853 hydrocodones, not only do they not relief my pain, they make me nauseous and very very tired. I have been on hydrocodone 10/325 for 2 years so for chronic migraine pain and endometriosis pain. I was getting the yellow ones up until a few months ago and they worked great for my pain and lasted longer than the white ones. I’ve found the white ones to be very ineffective in managing my pain and find myself having to take more to get even the slightest relief. I’m trying to find a pharmacy that has the yellow ones but am having a hard time doing so. Could you let me know what pharmacy you’re getting these from and if they had to order them. If so, what information do I need to give to the pharmacist? From what I’ve read is Qualitest is the manufacturer.
If you could give me any insight as to what pharmacies carry these, if I need to call ahead to see if they have them and if not, do I ask them to order them? How long does it take if ordered? Any information or help would be so very much appreciated. Thanks
JimC55
18 Feb 2018
There is a difference between the yellow and white pills. The white isn't as strong and it's noticeable. You can't get even a pharmacist to admit that generics have less active medicine in them than the brand. The government allows the generic drug producers leeway in how much active ingredient they have to put in each pill up to 25%. So it isn't so strange when people notice the differences. Everyone I've ever talked to says the yellow is the strongest and by the way the yellow pill is generic too. No pharmacy I've ever called had the brand and I called a number of them. Nobody seems to have an answer as to why the brand isn't available.
SDChan
18 Feb 2018
My problem is a little different in that I was taking a different brand (M367). I switched pharmacies when I moved. After taking the Watson brand for a few weeks, I am going into withdrawal in a fairly short time (less than 4 hours). That makes me take a dose sooner than I would have otherwise (still taking less than I could per the prescription). I asked my doctor if I could change my pharmacy again. Will find one with my old brand! My pain has been in a better place recently, so I want to take less med, not more!! And this withdrawal is the pits!!
JimC55
19 Feb 2018
For me I have chronic nerve pain but with the drug atmosphere lately doctors won't prescribe because they don't want government scrutiny. I just take what I can get because I'm afraid my doc might decide not to give it to me if I push for anything else or god forbid something stronger. Terrible when we live in a world where people with valid pain problems can't get relief because of the fools who abuse the system. Llike gun control, the government makes laws that restrict honest law abiding people and don't implement laws that would punish or control the criminals.
desert57
5 Feb 2018
There absolutely is a difference. The white ones are in a word, fake. I've been taking hydrocodone for years. These came from a W*******S pharmacy in southern California. My experience was after my regular dose I felt odd, kinda went to sleep, then some 4-5 hours later was overcome with shortness of breath, confusion/pinpoint pupils, racing heart rate, weakness. Basically what one would experience with an extended release dose of Fentanyl. What happened then is I could not talk or move, called 911 and had an ambulance pick me up. 20mg of hydro does not do that. Also the next day I put them in water and the whole thing more or less dissolved, no acetaminophen chalk one could cold water extract from. I looked into it and sure enough a lot of people have got these from this pharmaceutical outfit and had similar issues. So it's not that they are counterfeit in an illicit manner, but in the actual legitimate labs!
S Eaglin
27 June 2018
I have been taking this medication for about 10 years now and there is definitely a difference in the quality of the ingredients The company that makes the yellow hydrocodone uses much better ingredients. If I take the medication in the morning within 25 to 30 minutes it starts working the white pills might work in about an hour but the effectiveness is totally different. I can take less of the yellow pills because they last longer I can usually last up to 6 hours the other ones only last about 4 hours. The bottom line is that these companies (pharmacies) can make a better profit on the cheaper drugs. It is my opinion that the reason we have such a problem in our country is these substandard drugs and they do not work so people are taking them because they are not as effective and helping with their pain. If these companies took care of there customers and put the quality first and NOT their bottom line it would be better for all.
timf
23 Jan 2018
DO NOT TAKE THE WHITE PILLS. They will put you to sleep! They will not help pain. Yellow pills are real White pills worse than placebos as they will put you to sleep and make you feel like crap. Beautiful Day wasted taking these pills pharmacist slipped me without telling me CVS had changed.Pills cost $9 for 90. paid $35 to overnight them to doctor explaining they are dangerous taken in am.
Oklahomanotstupid
8 Dec 2017
It's not the same something has been changed does not work
Leithal59
2 Dec 2016
I have suffered with chronic pain for over 20 years I have been on the yellow norcos 10/325 I too have noticed a difference in the white ones that have replaced the yellow ones. I just recently had my new script filled at the Osco Pharmacy they were filled with white ones scored on the back marked with number U03. They are very good have helped tremendously with the pain I hope this helps you out.
Unicorn714
28 Jan 2017
Who is the manufacturer?
Cminix
15 July 2017
No no help at all. Because it's not the brand in question.
Trump12016
3 Oct 2016
Hi everyone. I am a chronic pain patient and I have been on pain pills for around 8 years. I have noticed this problem since 2013. There is a difference in the white and yellow pills that is more then just the dye. I have tried to stay away from the white ones since 2013 because they make me sick. I get Headaches, nausea ,sore stomach, acid reflex, dizziness and fatigue from them. I was Functioning on the yellow pills no side effects like the above for 8 years until they changed. I was told today by Walmart and Walgreens that they have completely stopped making the yellow ones. The only option it seems is I have to take these white ones now. Today I took one pill and and in a hour I was in bed asleep with a stomach ache woke up to the worst headache now I'm feeling just out of it. I can't function on these. I am going back to my doctor to see if I can take something else but these white pills are just awful.
mecaretaker
3 Oct 2016
I had the same issue when they switch to the white ones but not as severe. Make sure they are manufactured here in the US and not from India as that was my problem when purchased at Sam's Club. I'm now taking Tramadol 50-MG which seems to manage my pain. Good luck.
johnny65
6 Nov 2016
I am still getting the yellow ones from the VA, they seem to work better than the white ones. The drug companies are substituting some of the Hydrocodone for an inactive ingredient making them less effective. They have an agenda and it isn't good for us! Biggest crooks besides the oil companies.
Zz9
31 Dec 2016
There is no difference between the white ones and the yellow ones it is all in your head some people just can't be satisfied
Automesky
26 Sep 2016
Yes, there is a difference. The chemical make up is the same, but I believe the manufacturer is different. My PERSONAL experience with the yellow norco, is that I didn't have as many side effects as I did with the white norco. I had alot of swelling in my hands and feet from fluid retention while taking the white norco. So, I PERSONALLY prefer the yellow norco. But, everyone is different and may or may not have similar or even worse side effects. It is always best to talk to your dr. if this is the case.
jreed96
18 Sep 2016
Everyone must be crazy or I must be crazy. I have to have the white Watson 10mg hydrcodones. My mom like the yellow ones with the V on them. Call me psycho on this one as will, im sure many will the hydrocodone white watson 853 over a 5mg percocet. Im only 20 years old,been taking them since late into my late 17. I have sever chronic pain caused by 100% flat feet. Its thrown my spine out of wack, and major sever pain in my hips which also have arthritis in but white watsons 853 are better then perc 5mg let alone any other hydrocodone.
Deuces
3 Nov 2016
I COULD NOT AGREE MORE!! LAST MONTH THREW ME INTO A SPIRAL OF NOTHING GOOD BECAUSE I WAS ON THE YELLOW 10-325s. JUST PICKED UP MY NEW RX AND ITS THE WHITE. THANK THE LORD!
Cy H Smith
8 Jan 2018
I was getting Watson (120 white oval pills) Hydrocodone/apap 10-325 for chronic back pain from Walgreens for 2 years when the RX was supposed to be Norco. I was O.K. with that but then the bottle didn't say Norco any more. Fine. This time they slipped in Amneal and not Watson without inquiring of me after already giving them the RX and that hacked me off. I called them about that and they said they changed warehouses but charged me the same for the cheaper ones. That's deceptive. Where can you get Watson (brand name) at a pharmacy in Macon, Georgia? If not I'll inquire about getting Oxycodones instead for chronic back pain and migraines.
Cy H Smith
8 Jan 2018
This isn't about friends per se. This is about anyone kind person answering my questions from Cy Smith about getting Watson hydrocodone instead of cheaper Amneal and paying the same price. I can't even find a pharmacy in Macon , Georgia now, after 2 years, where I can get brand name Watson hydrocodone/apap 10-325 mg. The RX said Norco. Now they give you anything they want and the hell with the doctor's RX. I want the Norco or Watson brand name again. Looks like this opioid crap has thrown a wrench into legitimate chronic pain users!
Automesky
29 June 2018
No, you are NOT crazy. I promise. Everyone is different and has different responses and preferences. I have been on both Norco( hydrocodone/ tylenol), and Percocet (oxycodone/tylenol) and I do ok on both, but I PREFER the Percocet. So no, you aren't crazy, you just know what works best for YOU. Good luck and God bless.
iamtim
22 Oct 2018
I agree, white ones work best. Been 15 years on whatever they give me including Vicodin brand and White Watson always works fast and longer. Don't like the M-354's or whatever. Since the quanity cutbacks just been getting the M ones and started smoking pot for breakthrough pain.
WarlockLA
31 July 2013
I have tried to answer this question previously and now have become even more suspicious as to why my comments are not posted. I will try again. Sometimes you begin to feel the drug companies actually monitor certain things being said about them and spend a drop in the bucket to do damage repair... anyhow, I have taken Norco 10/325 for the past couple of years, never really paying much attention to the drug company or color of my pills, it just never occurred to me there is a difference but I have truly come to pay attention to these changes in my prescriptions as IT DOES make a huge difference and this being what has recently happened with Norco's yellow Watson pills strangely becoming white worthless pieces of chalk. When I recently got my new refill from Walgreens I saw the color change and thought I was given the wrong meds so I googled this new little mystery and I began reading all the negatives about it.
I did not really take this into account much thinking its mainly in a persons head when a medicine is no longer working because the color changed or the manufacturer has changed. I noticed over the past couple of years that there is a small if any difference in the potency of Norco if the MFG is different and discussed it with my doctor who said yes the concentration of hydrocodone may be different but all in all its the same meds, NOT TRUE WITH THESE WHITE THINGS. Again, I did not pay much attention to the negatives, I just thought it was in everyones head and it would be fine. I took my dose and waited, nothing, I took another, nothing, I took two at once, nothing, I repeated this for several days and began doing extensive research online about this change and what I discovered was truly convincing. The removal of the yellow dye is not the only thing that changed with Watsons NORCO. The entire compounding of the medicine is altered. A Walgreens pharmacist said these new white ones are designed to release smaller bits of hydrocodone over a course of time and therefore a sudden relief of pain is not to be expected. It really explained a lot. They are junk. Truly worthless for what they are intended for. I thought it was in MY HEAD, I thought this cant be true, everyone else is the one who is imagining this. Nope, its true, if your getting these white WATSON 10/325, they have not just lost their lovely yellow color, they lost their lovely pain relieving potency as well. I transferred the remainder of my prescription to Rite Aid making sure they DID NOT carry WATSON as the vendor. Shop around and make sure your not getting a WATSON distributing pharmacy, its worth the effort. Good luck
Allergytoyellow
1 Aug 2013
Last month I posted a question and some additional comments to other people's postings, but I'm not seeing my post anywhere on here. I wasn't saying anything negative about the drug manufacturers of Hydrocodone. So maybe we have done something wrong and our comments are not showing up. All I was asking was if it was possible to be allergic to the yellow 10 mg/325 mg hydrocodone and not the white 10 mg/325 mg ones. I've been on Hydrocodone for almost 2 years and on average, I'm prescribed 4, 10/325 mg a day PRN. I have never been given the Watson ones white or yellow. Up until this past month, I have always been given the white pills labeled "M367" and have had fairly good luck with them but for me, they do onset fast as well as wear off fast lasting on average about 2 hours. This past July, I started seeing a new pain mgmt doctor and for now he has continued me on the 10 mg/325 mg hydrocodone, 4 per day.
I decided to change pharmacies since I changed doctors (I did let my doctor know of the change in pharmacies just to CMA) because my former pharmacy was insanely slow and the pharmacist had to "bag the prescription" and give it to me before I could leave it and this became ridiculous as this is not required by the DEA. Anyway, my new pharmacy is soo fast and will only ask you if you have questions for the pharmacist. I've worked in the medical field for almost 20 years and pharmacology is one of my strongest areas but I don't know everything and I'm not afraid to ask. I found this pharmacy dispenses the darker yellow pills, but they are not Watson. They have a V on one side and a 4 digit number on the other. Some say the "V" means this pill is actually Vicodin and not the generic, Hydrocodone. This is NOT true. The "V" is the first letter in the manufacturer for this particular pill. I have taken these in the past but only a few of them here and there, never 4 a day everyday. About 3 days into them I started noticing a bilateral raised rash to my forearms that did indeed itch like hell especially when sweating. I've never had this with the white ones. I had no other signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction so I'm not to concerned about it but I am curious for learning purposes. Last week when I picked up my refill, I told the pharmacist about this and she said that it is very possible to be allergic to the yellow dye. I had also taken a single dose pill of another medicine that I haven't taken in about 5 years the next day after I had gotten the first month of the yellows so that could've been the reason for my rashes. I told the pharmacist that I will try these again this month since the other single dose medicine should now be completely out of my system and monitor myself for any skin reactions. I was just wanting to know if anyone else has gone through a similar situation developing signs/symptoms of an allergic reaction due to changing over to the yellow hydros of any manufacturer and if so, what if anything did you find out about why it might be occurring. I prefer the white M367 still because the yellow "V" ones make me a bit sleepy after taking them several days in a row and when I go to bed, it is extra hard for me to wake up and get my ass up out of bed where as the white ones don't do that at all. They actually wake me up and make me somewhat hyper but I am treated for ADHD. But most importantly, they do take away my pain as do the yellow ones.
UZAARAH
30 July 2016
I NORMlly get the yellow oxycodone 10 325 of oxycodone.. this time I received the white round..i cannot tell any difference between these pills... they both help my back pain
in the same way..very good
Automesky
26 Sep 2016
I TOTALLY AGREE. The white norco is junk. I always get the yellow norco if I can find it. But am having trouble doing so. It is also a matter of how much they cost, for me, because I have lost my insurance.
Gizmozoey
17 July 2018
So Rite Aid has the yellow?
waitnbleed
27 July 2013
These new white pills are garbage. I have been taking the yellow watson 853 for 5+ years. I've filled 2 scripts with the new white pills and I started getting MAJOR Constipation and feeling really unwell , went to my doctor and i've had a ton of tests done and they can't find anything wrong with me. I had a stash of the old yellow pills left over so I went back to them for a few days , and I feel like my old self again and Constipation gone. Called the pharm about it all they said was to call watson and complain. Next pain doc visit switching to something else unless watson brings the yellow ones back.
mecaretaker
27 July 2013
" I have been taking the yellow watson 853 for 5+ years. I've filled 2 scripts with the new white pills and I started getting MAJOR Constipation and feeling really unwell "
Imagine if you will that the yellow "is" a narcotic and the white is just crap. That said it appears that you're experiencing withdraw symptoms. Sounds like everyone taking the white pills are having similar issues but it depends on what their dosage is, i.e., those taking 2 pills a day (like me) would barely notice a difference while a person popping 6 to 8 daily would suffer more serious symptoms. Before my next refill I'm going to contact the pharmacy and request the yellow, we'll see what they say.
waitnbleed
27 July 2013
I only take 2-3 pills per day.(i'm not House) The white pills do help with the pain but also they seem to stop helping sooner than the yellow ones did. When I called the pharm they told me all they can get is the white ones. I did some digging on the net and some people have had luck getting yellow narcos made by Qualitest. Also watson has been bought by Actavis. So watson is no longer watson but this Actavis.
waitnbleed
29 July 2013
*UPDATE* I found a different pharm that has yellow narcos made by qualitest.
I'll update when I get my next script filled with the new pills.
BTW I feel so much better now that i've stopped taking the watson whites.
WarlockLA
31 July 2013
Try RITE AID, they seem to maintain the Qualitest yellows while Walgreens stays with WATSON. CVS was completely out of everything.
Related topics
Further information
- Norco uses and safety info
- Norco prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Norco (detailed)
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