Xtampza ER for Chronic Pain User Reviews (Page 2)

• Sle...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 7, 2019

"In a word...awful. I've been on 2x18mg Xtampza ER for over a month now, after my sadistic insurance co refused to cover OxyContin, which I've been taking 2x20mg since 07 for severe pelvic floor pain. While Xtampza is designed to avert abuse, it most definitely is not designed for any credible chronic pain relief. First and foremost, it's doing very little for my pain. It takes FOREVER, like 2+ hours(!), to work, and lasts 3-4 hours, at best. I'm being generous saying it 'works', since it barely takes the edge off my pain. I still have to take breakthrough meds, even while this junk is supposed to be in full effect. I regularly experience strong side effects described by other reviews, including headaches, nausea, sleeplessness, and high anxiety. It's amusing to hear the claims of this med being 'exactly the same' as OxyContin - the one thing that actually worked."

• Pet...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 2, 2018

"Dangerous erratic medication. Package says to take with the same amount and same type of food every dose. How can you do that? I can tell you this for sure. Sometimes it works, sometimes you OD, sometimes it does nothing for the pain. You never know what you will get. This medication is going to OVERDOSE PEOPLE! You can tell the good reviews on here were written by the drug maker. The only truthful ones sound like this."

• Anonymous
• February 7, 2020

"I was forced off OxyContin by my insurance plan and placed on Xtampza, and it definitely does not work for my pain as well as OxyContin. I was told they are supposed to be the same medication except for one is a tablet and one is a capsule, but they are not as far as I (my body) am concerned. Also, because this drug is so expensive, the pharmacy does not even carry it. I am supposed to call a week or so in advance to make sure they can try to get it shipped in, so now I'm facing possible issues of not being able to get my meds when they are due to be filled. This is causing all types of issues and hoops for me to jump through just to get my prescriptions."

• Spa...
• May 8, 2019

"Until last weekend, I had three nights of good sleep. It takes 4 hours (zombie time) to come on. It then helps with pain for 5.5 hours. It is formulated using fatty acids from wax. It does not mix with water, you must eat some fat for it to work, which sucks at bedtime. If I take it just before falling asleep, I wake up to pee and then I lay awake for 3-4 hours. If I take it 4 hours before bedtime, then I have 4 hours to go to sleep. I have found a way to take it and get a good night's sleep! I get up at 5:00 AM, eat a Siggi's Triple Cream yogurt and a few tablespoons of heavy cream in a glass, take the dose, then back to sleep. I wake up at 8:30-9:00, and it's working. Second dose between 2:00-3:00 PM. FWIW (for what it's worth), coconut oil has 14g of fat per tablespoon. I talked to my pharmacist, and they take the coupon for generic OxyContin, and 60 will cost me about $110 a month."

• SoB...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 12, 2023

"I’ve been on high-level opioids for 23 years due to a debilitating and disabling accident. For 18 years: six 80 mg OC with six 30 mg Roxicodone for breakthrough pain. Then, it was six 60 mg MS Contin (morphine) with the six 30s. Then, the opioid crisis. From 540 mg daily down to 90 in a year!!! The docs and insurance companies are the criminals here. If 90 mg is “appropriate,” then why was I on 540 mg/day? And 660 mg of OxyContin and oxycodone before that?? So, now we have Xtampza. Completely worthless. That’s all I can say. It does nothing for pain. All of the poor souls like myself who have always followed the rules with narcotics contracts and pee tests are the ones who got completely screwed! Now, try getting a pain doctor to titrate! I’ve been on the same dose for 3 years; completely tolerant to it. God bless you all who continue to suffer."

• Sea...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 4, 2019

"At my request, due to daily soaking sweats, I went from 8 years of methadone for chronic spinal pain (add severe psoriatic AR + RA) to Xtampza 13.5 twice per day. The pharmaceutical company has played a joke on us with this one. They need to just trash the Xtampza and start all over. I never knew just how well the methadone was working (despite sweats) to lessen my pain until I switched to this garbage."

• Mos...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 8, 2020

"So, my doctor thinks Xtampza ER is the safest choice? Even though plasma levels are hugely dependent on high-fat food. I think this drug is dangerous. Give me plain old, cheap, generic oxycodone any day. Every day since being switched to Xtampza has been agonizing."

• Che...
• September 13, 2019

"I too was forced to use something other than MS Contin. Xtampza was chosen, and I suffered through it for 3 weeks before calling my physician in tears to let him know that I had no relief whatsoever from the pain, and as well, I was experiencing headaches, diarrhea, and deeper depression. I was then given a prescription for Belbuca film. Would have liked to try it, but insurance doesn't cover it, and it costs $475 a month! What are we to do???"

• Chi...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 2, 2025

"I have been taking Xtampza for a couple of years now along with my 15 mg oxycodone, and I would be in big trouble if I didn’t have the Xtampza. This medication has helped me a lot. I can sleep the whole night through with this medication."

• Blo...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 12, 2020

"I’ve been on Xtampza since January 2019. I have post-laminectomy syndrome, spinal stenosis, levoscoliosis, rheumatoid arthritis, facet joint arthrosis, DDD, and a few herniated discs in my C-spine and L-spine, and I’m only 35. As with all medications, everyone’s body works differently in regards to medicine. For me, Xtampza works great, and I find that it covers my pain most of the time for a full 24 hours. Granted, my pain does change with the weather. However, I have found that Xtampza works better than OxyContin for me."

• Der...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 2, 2020

"I was on Fentanyl 50 mcg per hr, changing the patch every 48 hrs, before asking to be switched to MS Contin 60 mgs TID, and that stopped working after over 3 years of being on the same dosage. Finally, my doctor suggested I switch to Xtampza ER 36 mg BID. Once I switched to Xtampza ER, my pain not only increased, but my breakthrough medications had to be increased to Roxicodone 30 mg every 4-6 hrs PRN. Finally, after 3 months on Xtampza, my doctor put me back on Exalgo 16 mg/24 hr and left me on the Roxicodone 30 mg every 4-6 hrs PRN, but I hardly have to use more than 3 of those per day and am no longer suffering any pain."

• Ski...
• July 13, 2018

"I have taken all the usual prescription opiates over the past 14 years almost daily. Xtampza is very inconsistent and dangerous and therefore ineffective. My experience is that it is not time-released. The withdrawal is the worst, yet I paid a lot of money for these fancy capsules, which are just a marketing scheme. I would not recommend this so-called pain med to anyone. Big pharma guinea pig!!"

• Pat...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 17, 2023

"I have been taking this medication for over a year, hoping it would help, but finally gave up. It just makes me tired and sometimes upsets my stomach. It’s so insulting, the way we chronic pain patients are treated in the USA. I’m wondering if this is a political thing and if people are treated with more dignity and compassion elsewhere. It’s very isolating to have a progressive illness for which there is no cure, and having to fight with varying success for proper relief just makes it worse. Believe me, I used to be super optimistic and never thought my life would come to this. I still have short-acting oxycodone, which does help, but it’s not enough. There is nothing for extended relief and no recourse when an emergency situation arises that causes me to need more help than usual, e.g., my husband was in the ICU with respiratory failure, and I had to be there for him, causing more nerve damage, etc. But no extra medication, so I ran out a few days early that month and oh well, too bad."

• Roc...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 21, 2020

"I was started on Xtampza ER in Jan 2020. CMS removed OxyContin ER from the formulary in 2020 and switched to Xtampza ER mfg by Collegium. My pain group started me on 18 mg Xtampza vs. the 20 mg OxyContin ER. After three months, I told PM it was not working. She upped it to 27 mg Xtampza. I hit the coverage gap in May. I refuse to pay over $100+ for a drug that does very little, so when I had my telehealth appt on Friday, I told her it really was doing little to help me, and I refused to have it filled. It's just shy of being a worthless pain medication. I have heard from several the same thing."

• Mia...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 8, 2018

"I was put on this medication for chronic back pain and primary progressive MS. I had been on OxyContin and oxycodone. The medication simply doesn’t work for me. My insurance company finally approved my old medications for me. I understand the abuse that goes along with the opiate medications. However, I don’t abuse it. I never will, either. I hate taking pain medications, but I have no choice. Good luck with the pain for all of you."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 17, 2021

"I was just forced to this Xtampza after having been on OxyContin ER 40 mg x 3 a day for over 10 years. I never had any issues with Purdue Pharmaceuticals OxyContin. This Xtampza is a joke. Dr. is force tapering & switched me to 36 mg Xtampza ER 2 x a day. My dose was lowered by 40 mg a day in one go. I'm experiencing horrific withdrawals, and this medication is NOT working at all. Twice a day is not enough. The bioavailability is all over the board and way too inconsistent, depending on high-fat food. This medication should be pulled off the market. Does NOT last anywhere near a 12-hour period. The 'studies' showing it does are a damn LIE. It's all about the addicts now. Guess what? Those addicts will keep using & move on. However, chronic pain patients are being force tapered, thrown to the streets, and left to fend for themselves. Many are paying for this with their lives. Something needs to change here. We need to get louder or nothing will change this suffering."

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 18, 2018

"Moved and had to change doctor. Was given Xtampza twice daily. I have found this medication horrible. It does not work on a consistent level, any relief that it gives quickly fades. Twelve-hour relief is a joke, maybe six to seven hours. Blood pressure has gone up, needed to increase my atenolol 25 mg. Nausea soon becomes a constant companion, with headaches to add to the original chronic pain. This has been my experience, I also see many others have issues with this medication."

• Med...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2023

"I was recently put on this medication Xtampza ER and am not very happy. I have been on Percocet 10 mg 4 a day for about 10 years. It wasn’t helpful much anymore. My new primary care doctor decided to do a time-release medication. I had read so many bad reviews about this medicine I wasn’t sure if I should try it. I had to get insurance to approve a PA to get it because it cost $600.00. This medication doesn’t touch my pain. I hate it. It’s like taking baby aspirin."

• Spa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 13, 2019

"I was just switched to Xtampza ER, took my first dose this morning. My doctor did not mention food at all, but I always read about the meds I take. In BOLD, they say to take this med with food. If you take it in the morning before eating, you will get maybe half the dose. The oral bioavailability goes up by as much as 150% with a high-fat/high-calorie meal. I called the manufacturer, but they were unable to tell me exactly what is a “high-fat/high-calorie meal.” I ate some walnuts, two slices of Ezekiel bread toasted with butter, and about a cup of Promised Land chocolate milk. They also say that you should eat the same amount of food with each dose to maintain even blood serum levels. My guess is it is this lack of knowledge that is causing some patients to find this drug ineffective or erratic. I’ll probably settle on 1/4 cup walnuts, a couple of eggs (boiled), and maybe a Boost Plus (or chocolate milk). In any case, it seems to be working."

• Ret...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 8, 2020

"Started this medicine three weeks ago, and it doesn’t help much at all for pain. Don’t do well with capsules, so open it up and put contents on yogurt to consume. For breakthrough pain, dropped from 30 mg oxycodone to a smaller quantity of 15 mg, and that hasn’t worked either. Now, constant pain level worse than ever. Worse, three of the capsules were empty."

• Deb...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2018

"Our county is one of several that is suing the drug manufacturers, so in order to look good, the doctors at my pain clinic have totally messed me up. I was on 2 Oxycontin 30 mg ER, plus my breakthrough pain medication. They have replaced the Oxycontin with the Xtampza ER 27 mg. I am in so much pain that I often can't get out of bed. My blood pressure has gone up since taking this, so they have upped my BP medication."

• Rlz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 7, 2022

"This is a horrible medication, it's tearing my stomach up, and I already recently was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer a few months back. I had been recovering, and now my stomach hurts again, plus I'm having several gallbladder attacks every day due to having to eat high-fat food trying to get it to work, which it doesn't anyway. I'm tired of being treated like an addict by insurance companies, etc. In 16 years, I have NEVER abused my medicine, and these insurance companies just assume pain patients all abuse pain meds. This Xtampza causes constant headache, general malaise, dizziness sometimes, nervousness sometimes, and I have body aches in places I haven't hurt before, like severe cramps in my toes. I feel withdrawn, like it takes all I have to have a conversation. They need to worry about the fentanyl coming across the border and leave us pain patients that have no red flags of abusing their medicine alone!!!"

• CJa...
• February 16, 2020

"Just started Xtampza because of insurance demands. I’d been on OxyContin 20 years for chronic back pain and fractures. Xtampza is not doing the job. I’m having horrific nightmares and a racing heart. The pain relief is minimal. I’m going back to OxyContin even if I have to pay the total price without insurance."

• Zyk...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 10, 2019

"I have been on Xtampza ER 18 mg 2x a day, also on oxycodone 10/325 3x daily. This morning I thought I would try something different. Acetaminophen boosts oxycodone, so I said to myself that Tylenol probably would boost an extended release form of oxycodone, and guess what, 0% pain. I take 1.5 oxycodone and 1 Xtampza ER and another Tylenol capsule, extremely loopy, but wow does it help. I take for broken disc, herniated disc, torn ACL, torn rotator cuff, and vascular problems as well. Just take 1 or 1.5 oxycodone and one 500 mg Tylenol with the Xtampza."

• Pai...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 14, 2019

"I have 4 herniated discs in my neck, two failed right shoulder rotator cuff surgeries, back surgery on L5, and esophageal cancer that has not spread (thank God). I'm starting on Xtampza ER in a few days for this chronic pain and was very nervous, however, it's time. I was taking four 15 mg oxy IR. Down to four 10/325 Percocet and will now be trying two x 18 Xtampza plus one breakthrough. After reading some of the real comments from people switching to Xtampza, that the drug actually works, I feel more confident. I will report back once I'm taking to give a full and honest report. I will give an honest report back as I'm not looking to get high - I just want to manage the pain so I can live a subpar but somewhat normal life, what I have left. Good luck to all of you with your pain management issues."