Watson Is Now Actavis Generic Percocet 5/325 What Is Up With This (Page 5)
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I had been taking 5/325 generic Watson percocet for 4 years. Suddenly I get notified by Walgreens which I have insurance that there is no more Watson brand and I was given generic percocet 5/325 by Actavis. It is not the same at all. It has no pain relief for me. I used to break the watsons in half sometimes and never had a funny taste. I just broke one of the actavis white tablets in half and it immediately tasted like salt or alka seltzer? Has anyone had any issues with this drug too. Also, along with it not working right it has made my GI tract and stomach so ill feeling and cramping. This is not right how can they take away a medicine that someone has been on for 4 years without any problems and tell them to suddenly switch. Would a peson who has been on a certain heart medication for years be told to suddenly switch that he can't get that medicine anymore? I don't think so. I don't know what I am going to do but when it comes time to have my rx re-filled it will not be with Actavis and I will have to pharmacy shop I guess to see if I can find Watson. I am very depressed now and so unhappy I can't believe it.

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Omg, I love reading all these posts! We are not confused. They have deliberately changed pain medications to stop drug abuse on the streets!! Those we truly need pain relief are screwed! I don't know how this can be legal. Someone needs to take a serious evaluation of this nightmare!! I complained to Endocet manufacturer, Qualitest. The Endocet 10/325's in Colorado are AWFUL!! They don't work for pain, and make you deathly tired! I will never get them again!

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Ive read some things on the peoples pharmacy site a few times as it came up in my searches. .....just like I wrote below in my "Munch" moment.....theyre not gonna do anything. .....we're a small crumb in their bakery. U seem to hv a pharmacist that builds relationships with his patients. ...my actual pharmacist is a miserable bastard who would rather not b bothered....but the firmer pharmacist who worked at my pharmacy was transferred to another location in my town and promoted to manager of the pharmacy there, well, he was awesome! Is awesome! Friendly, upbeat, helpful....blah blah, blah. ...hes the one who helped me originally with the endocet and every time I hv questions ir need to know something. ..I go to him and know hes gonna help.....but alot of the people here hv pharmacists that are aholes and not easy to talk to and if u try to talk to them, they treat u like an abuser instead of a pain patient trying to manage your pain in the best way possible. So sometimes, it best some of these people dont ask too many questions. ...and those who can and cant know who they are.

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Hmmm.....I think it turned into the Jennifer and Tracy show! Lol. I hear ya.....I have very little patience for stupidity. Misunderstanding or not understanding is one thing but, plain old stupidity.....drives me nuts. I'm talking more of what you see come out of someone with no common sense! Of course, no one would ever think I thought that if they were on the phone with me or standing in front of me......well, I guess it depends on who it is...LOL. But, I would never do it to a patient/patients family and THAT can be extremely difficult!

Hey, my pharmacist called me last night and he told me, over the phone of course, what they carried in generics, etc, etc. You know, everything we all have been talking about. Anyway, I had him put in my chart, my husbands and my 70 year old mothers' chart ABSOLUTELY NO ACTAVIS BRAND MEDS! I don't care what the med is. He also said Actavis is charging, his cost, 3 times more than anyone else that he stocks and something does not seem right at all there! Next, and I'm saying this for everyone's benefit, he wished people would ask questions like I do. And that I always ask damn good questions. Well, I research and read a lot! Nursing is what I enjoy and pharmaceuticals are a part of that. It interests me like a fictional novel interests most! I posted, on another thread, to everyone & I will say it here.....YOU HAVE TO BE IN CONTROL/BE THE HEAD OF YOUR OWN MEDICAL CARE. ASK QUESTIONS....TRULY ASK. IMHO, THE ONLY STUPID QUESTION IS THE ONE NOT ASKED. IE: WHEN A DOC CHANGES A PRESCRIPTION HE/SHE IS NOT ALWAYS GOOD AT TELLING PATIENTS TO STOP THE MED THE NEW ONE IS SUPPOSE TO REPLACE. I HAVE HAD MANY, ESPECIALLY ELDERLY, PATIENTS HAVE SEVERE ADVERSE REACTIONS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T STOP A MED...JUST ADDED ONE. QUESTIONS MUST BE ASKED AND DON'T LET ANYONES ATTITUDE DETER YOU FROM ASKING! IT IS THEIR JOB.....WE CANNOT READ YOUR MIND!

anyway, I never heard back from Actavis after the lady told me another department would be calling me about refunding my $218 I spent on the actacrap! Oh my, WHY would they want to discuss that, right? Some people! I do not foresee a quick fix to the med problem. It took them b/t 5-7 years to fix the Wellbutrin XL 300 MG that some BiPolar and severely depressed people commit suicide because the meds "no longer worked" and they had had enough. The FDA approved the Wellbutrin XL300 based SOLELY on the analysis of the 150mg XL saying that since the 150's worked so would the 300's. EVERY med is suppose to be tested against the brand...doesn't matter if it's just a different MG! Oh, what did the FDA say about this, you ask? "We don't know how we approved that without it being tested!" Something to that effect. UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE!!! I read all this on The People's Pharmacy website.

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Tracy....I understood ya! Im a new yorker so I get it! Bold, straight forward, no sugar coating here. .....and I dont open my mouth unless im aware of what im talking about! And my patience for stupidy or trying to get one by me was lost long ago! Its funny, there were 2 other tracys on this site looong ago and at the time, they were regular checkins.....if either r u are reading this, hope ur doing well! Let us know! anyway.....have u checked out the link I posted? Is anyone still here besides myself n tracy? Lol

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Jennifer, I was being very conservative when I mentioned 50 people. I know it is far more than that, those are just the ones I've read complaints from!

Hey, I would have loved to have been a fly on their wall when you told them to send you their pay checks! You should have heard the deafening silence when I told her, " guess what? I AM A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL!" Freaking priceless! You must find out who you are talking to before saying something that could ( and did ) backfire! Lol

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Lol, Jennifer! Oh, they asked for the lot number alright but I didn't have it so they asked for my pharmacy phone number....I gave it completely willingly! I am so sick right now...literally not just sick of their BS...LOL.....anyway, have appt with my doc on the 19th but I need to call tomorrow. My stomach and intestines feel like they are going to blow out mt throat! ( sorry anyone who doesn't like that talk.....I'm a nurse, gruesome doesn't bother me!) I will NEVER EVER take another drug from this company! I don't freaking care if it's a sugar pill! Something will be wrong with that too! I haven't taken that Percocet in a few days and it is still causing problems! I feel like I have a boulder in my stomach and it keeps expanding! I can't lay down cuz things seem to find their way back up! I'm worried about a blockage caused by this crap! ( no pun intended.....lol). I already told 2 people at Actavis that this is not a batch problem but a formula problem because at least 50 people scattered across the US are having the same problems. She ACTUALLY said to me, well, I'm not a medical professional so I can't say. I said, "guess what! I AM a medical professional and I CAN say!!!" They can try play with me but they don't know me.....I'm freaking relentless and I'm not stupid like they like to think! None of us are! Hey, I have been fighting work comp for over 13 years and haven't quit yet!! Lol......I'm not easily intimidated or brushed off. I CAN be someone's nightmare! Oh, I'm not threatening either......that is a solid promise! :) how do you like me now, right??? Lol. PS.....not how do YOU like me now.....I meant them....haha. I have to start laughing or I'll just cry I hurt so bad! De ja vu is right.....I will remember you! Jennifer! Lol

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At the bottom of the article, click on the citings tab n see where u can find so much more info on the topics.....check out #21.... interesting huh? I only read the citings titles but intend on reading the articles that apply in the citings!

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Tracy.....the pills can still b broken....split in half when takin the med but the way it breaks down in our bodies n absorbed is where the deterrent comes into play. Here is the link to an article talking about the results of the deterrent added to meds n how it led users to H... nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1204141 .....its quite interesting!

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Hi tracy....told ya! They want a lot number...ur gonna gets lots of calls from them....n godforbid u ask a legit question about the med, theyll tell u another dept will have to answer that question n theyll have em call u....someone will call u, but they wont have an answer, they probably wont b from the dept u were told ur question would go to, and when u ask what dept will have an answer for u, theyll tell u the dept n theyll have them call u...and around n around u will go...each one acting like this is new news to them n how sorry they are that ur experiencing these problems. Then u will get a letter from Actavis telling u without the lot number, there isnt more they can do and maybe it was only the bottle u had and how they strive to deliver quality. ..remember everything I just wrote so u can tell me ur having deajhavough with every call from them, then when u receive the letter...lol. telling ur dr is one I haven't heard from them but then again, our dr's have nothing to do with the formula these companies use. They just wanna pass the buck in hopes to avoid a legal suit. Only one person from Actavis told me they were getting alot of the same calls.....but she had no answers.....I had to tell her what the company she works for had up on their website under their news n reports. Told her she should know whats on their site especially since she deals with customer service n didnt have one answer to the many questions I asked her that I already knew the answers for cause I read them on the actavis web page n she should forward her paycheck n call backs to me since I knew more than she could handle. I was pissed with all the I dont know replies n it set me off on them.

What ive come to see is these pharmaceutical companies are billion dollar companies n in order for them to b concerned n make a move, u would have to hit them with a loss in the triple digit millions or even billions. And that would have to be done throughout the world in all their markets cause its not just us here in North America that keeps the shareholders pockets full, we're just a small dent. Thats y in all this time, with all the calls n complaints. ...n its more than the 50 u posted.....its gotta b in the thousands....prob more! I know ive seen hundreds throughout this year on all diff sites....maybe more. Im definitely not a conspiracy theorist. ...never researched about anything in my life as much as I have since this crap hit the fan, but I must admit I feel like Munch from SVU in this post. These pharmaceuticals dont think about our issues cause one way or another, they know pm patients not only need, but depend on these meds to have a puny ounce of a normal life.....as far as the abuse deterrent. ....they dont care about the losers who abuse their meds n make it harder for us...think about it.....they make the deterrent to appease the ones advocating for something to b done because they lost loved ones due to pill abuse, to appease the FDA who has to deal with the bs of abuse all the while lining the big wigs pockets in the FDA n so forth with a hefty dollar amount cause either way, 1- we will still be using one pain med or another...2-the ones who abuse meds that now have deterrents, turn to H which is cheaper n easier to get ahold of n who makes, creates, distributes H in some form or another in one way or another?

The pharmaceuticals labs! They make their billions through the pharmaceutical distribution n the streets so they dont care about deterrents, abuse, side effects, or how effective these meds are.....theyre gonna get our money from one side or another! Think about it. And all these doctors play dumb cause what if we went n made our complaints everywhere n said, "my dr told me this n my doctor said that, my dr, my dr....", it would literally b us painting a target on their practice and the backlash could ruin them! I was so eager n gun hoe in the beginning like u....pushing everyone to call everywhere....but as time went by, it didnt make a difference and the more u push the subject to ur dr or pharmacy, the more risk u take being accused of drug seeking behavior n chance ur dr dismissing u cause he doesnt want to chance any reprecussions. ...soooo, needless to say, reality has set in with me almost a yr from the day it started! If this is not a "Munch" post, then I dont what is! Lol. I just hope I made sense to u all n the pieces put together bring the same clarity to u that i now have!

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Jennifer, what ever came of the addicts using the new OxyContin/condone formulas with the deterrent? What were their experiences? It would be interesting to find out. Even more interesting if none of them got good results and those results were ignored. As we know, there seems to be a lot of "turning a blind eye" to such things because they want their drug(s) approved! I don't have much faith in pharmaceutical companies or the FDA anymore! That is very sad but it is how I feel due to experiences! What can we do? Talk to our local politicians and see if we can get somewhere with them? Get an attorney for a legal suit? It just seems like we are stuck. I will wait and see what Actavis is going to do to remedy the situation but I am not going to wait around for years! We need access to decent medications that do the job they were created to do!!! Without that, we basically have nothing!

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Oh, Jennifer, I'm sorry I didn't really notice your post re: the articles. Now what you are saying makes sense but why would the FDA say only 2 drugs have a deterrent and they are both long acting meds? I know someone taking the plain oxycodone and he is able to break them up/chew them. No, he is not a drug addict.....he has a hard time swallowing any kind of pill so he either breaks it up or chews his oxycodone. They work great for him. Anyway, I thought you were meaning all oxycodone products including the combo products. Sorry I misunderstood. I did read that Actavis was allowed to sell a small supply of their oxycodone IR since either August or October, that contain a deterrent, but they do not have a rule that all of them have to contain a deterrent. In fact, they were not sure what was going to happen after this short run. Oh, the FDA is who "they" are. I don't see why that was allowed! Something smells fishy about this but what can we do? Nothing, I suppose!

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Jennifer.....talk about odd, but right after I got done posting to you Cindy, from Actavis, called me and wanted more info of what happened to me. She then wanted lot # and stuff so I told her to contact my pharmacy for that. I also told her that I don't believe the problem lies within a certain batch of "percocets" but in the formula itself. I said, " it is quite strange to have more than 50 people across the US having the same exact side effects and the ineffectiveness of pain relief. If it was an allergy to the med, I could see having the same adverse reactions, but it's not. They just do not work and something needs to be done ASAP!" She wasn't from overseas like the first person I talked to, she was from New Jersey and she really seemed to care and wants to help us! Well, we will see how far that goes! I just had to get on here and tell you this. Btw, they talk to you like it's their first time hearing anything like this! Lol. She did tell me, however, so I am telling everyone this......EVERYONE, PAY ATTENTION....ACTAVIS TOLD ME TO CONTACT MY DOCTOR AND GET THIS ALL DOCUMENTED, I thought that was a decent thing for her to tell me.....maybe they are trying to do something to resolve the issue. One thing they could do is use Watsons formula for hydrocodone and oxycodone. Although, these aren't the only 2 meds with problems from them. But, it's a start!

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Yes, neurologists, pain drs, epidurals. We are going to try to get an appt at Jefferson hospital in philly. They recently built a specialty hospital. Jeff is the best neurological hospitals in the tri state area n perhaps in the country. Can't believe nobody ever heard of this
Its so sad to see someone u love in this
Pain for 3 yrs n it has gotten worse.

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Hey all, I am wondering if Lola knew how big a can of crap she would open when she made the first post in February 2014. Hopefully she knows how much she has helped fellow pain patients and I want to thank her for that.

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Hi luv.....ive contacted walgreens headquarters and the pharmaceutical dept n they didnt change anything....they purshed it back to my local pharmacist n I called the hq back and told them it made no sense to call my pharmacist when he's not in charge of ordering for the company. They still didnt do anything! What I do know is if one location wont special order ur meds, doesnt mean another wont. There r 5 walgreens in my town and only two will special order my endocet. My usual location thats closest to me ive used for 5 years...they wont...so I go to the second closest to get em cause they will. Makes no sense but it is what it is n so long as im able to get em, im fine with it. I truly hope ur husband is able to find answers n get the help he needs....its disgusting of them to treat a mature man in that manner. I dont recall if I saw it in ur post....I know u said 5 drs but were any of them a podiatrist?

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Luv.....I already called my pharmacy and spoke directly to the pharmacist.....the only response I got was, " That's interesting." So far, my pharmacy has never carried Watson or Actavis brand oxycodone. I got mine (the Actavis brand) a week and a half ago from a different pharmacy. Now, they couldn't tell me that they would never sell the Actavis brand but I can always request a different mnfctr and they can probably get them. Well, I will take anything over the Actavis brand even though Endocet didn't work well for my pain. Qualitest did, however, and I just read that Endocet was made by qualitest. They must have 2 different formulas then because quali works for me.

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Hi Jennifer.....I really appreciate you posting all this to me, and, honestly, I wasn't trying to argue with you about the abuse deterrent.....all I know is what I read and what the FDA said about which meds contain the, or any kind of, deterrent. Now, and this I find interesting.....they talked about using naloxone/naltrexone as a deterrent in immediate release/fast acting narcotics. There is one major problem that I see with this....naltrexone is used as an opiate replacement, sort of, when coming off opiates. A lot of addicts use this in the form of suboxone for withdrawing off opiates because it fills the narcotic receptors and supposedly stops cravings. This is used for H withdrawl as well.....since H is a narcotic, schedule 1. Now, if you take naltrexone before being in moderate to severe withdrawl, it causes precipitated Withdrawl which is way more severe than normal withdrawl. Also, while on naltrexone, opiates do not work for the pain nor will they make you feel "high." Hence the reason they use it! Supposedly, the naltrexone would be released from a narcotic if it is broken up, chewed or melted to a form for intravenous use (understandable). But, it is also released if someone takes too many at one time to try and feel a high. Now, my question is, why wouldn't the naltrexone be released when the narcotic is being processed in the stomach before reaching the liver, etc if it is released if taking too many at once? This would definitely cause precipitated withdrawl! The body, while metabolizing medications, does not know if you are taking one or ten pills! I'm not asking as if you know how this works although it would be great if you did! Lol. Common sense tells me that it would be impossible to stop the release of this drug when ingested normally. Does this even make sense to you? Also, regarding abuse deterrents in other meds, OxyContin for instance, people are complaining that it gives minimal, if any, pain relief. That makes sense since the active ingredient is inside the gel-like plastic deterrent and the body does not metabolize plastics...nor cellulose. I am all for lessening abuse potential of narcotics but, IMHO, they are going about it all wrong! Especially when the deterrent is changing the efficacy of the drug. It's also changing the availability to the body! Addicts, I heard, have found ways around this deterrent so they are able...with a lot of work, to achieve the high they did with the original formula! The deterrents are not working in the way they had hoped. They are only making people suffer more. How long has it been since they changed the formula in OxyContin, 4 years or so? And yet it has not deterred the addicts one bit! How long is it going to take these people, who have probably never had to use a pain med for any length of time if at all, to realize their "answer to abuse" just is not working? I recently read that the original OxyContin formula is available in Australia, for sure, and if think Canada as well. But, the US will not allow it to be sold here as it is a generic form that has no deterrent. The patent on it is not up for another 10 years! How many suicides or even suicide attempts is it going to take for the FDA and such to listen to the patients? Sorry for the rant......

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Pls read my post as well from about a week ago. CALL the HQ of ur pharmacy n in no uncertain terms tell them about this actavis that does NOT
Work. Be polite but firm when explaining. Our HQ district mgr called n got out local pharmacy to order in qualitest & r keeping it on hand just for my husband. My husband also filed a complaint against the pharmacist. 3 yrs ago. Boom my husband started with severe pain in his feet n has gotten progressively worse. 5 drs n nobody can explain it. My husband is 70, the prescriptions say sudden onset idiopathic pain. When he went to talk to pharmacist, he tried to make it like my husband is an addict. He can barely walk n 15 mg of generic percocette barely put a dent in his pain. Maybe both complaints worked, so it is worth the effort to call H Q & more then once if need be.

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Jennifer....what made me question my percocets from Actavis and look it up on here was my horrible experience a year and a half ago to their hydrocodone. I did realize when ya'all started complaining and I did tell Actavis and the FDA this! As well as telling them about the hydrocodone. A med has never mad me as sick as these have! I do believe people should still be complaining to Actavis and the FDA since absolutely nothing is being done! I have read some pretty scary stuff regarding an antidepressant from Actavis and the FDA looking the other way when people were committing suicide due to the bad effects of the drug. Not only did they look the other way, but they approved the use of this generic 300mg dose drug due to the fact that the 150mg dose worked well. I guess they are trying to stop this from ever happening again but I have my doubts! Especially when going through what we are/have been going through on other meds. It is total lack of responsibility on the fda's part! Can you imagine how many chronic pain patients have either turned to a less expensive street drug ( H ) or commit suicide due to no pain control? I know there were many times I wish I didn't have to live anymore if this is what my life will be! We cannot, IMHO, trust the people in charge of our food and drug safety! THAT is irresponsible and even criminal!

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Tracy...uve unfortunately been hit with the actacrap change at the tail end of it all....everything ur doing, researching, going through, spoke to, complained to, called....many of us old timers have already done n been through starting early this year when it hit a majority of the pharmacies close to the same time. We've all called, pharmacies, actavis, and the fda. Ive schooled actavis reps, went off on them, etc etc everytime they called my phone following up....they arent changing anything and I know they were bombarded with calls early this year. ..the fda too! The only ones who haven't made a complaint to all areas youve spoken of are people whose meds have newly changed or for the first time looking online to see whats up......ALL who are new to these threads should start from post number one n keep reading to the end, but nobody does. Now I know its alot of reading, but its filled with info and research. If everyone would have read this thread through, they wouldve known they should call these depts and agencies, medication info, links to articles, etc instead of saying theyre going to do this or that now, or saying they didnt know about one or the other. Please, ALL who r new here, you must read these threads from the very first post through in order to be informed. ..if you arent diligent, your not doing urself justice or being truly responsible with pain control management.
Tracy...I havnt read that article u mentioned but I will n report bk to u after. Also, didnt know if u knew but qualitest makes endocet. I know theyre from the same company but I dont know if theyre made with the same formula. Someone way back listed the antidote to a bunch of different meds.....might want to look back n see if u can find it to use as a comparison so not to get another med that makes u ill.
I dont know what its gonna take, if anything, for Actavis n the fda to get their feet wet n help us...I just know thry haven't done anything yet n they were hit hard by patients earlier this year.

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