Watson Is Now Actavis Generic Percocet 5/325 What Is Up With This (Page 6)
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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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REPORT

My husband had words with the pharmacist over this n he acted like my
70 yr old hubby was a junkie or something. My hubby got the district rx
Mgr name n left msg. I was livid! 3 yrs n 5 drs & nobody can figure it out. I called the rx home office n pity the guy that answered the phone. Said sorry but.... He was going to turn the matter over to mgmt. i told them they should b ashamed n this was a matter of dollar n cents to them, they suck alpha pharma sucks etc. said my hubby can barely walk n all the problems associated. He said he would turn over to upper mgmt. he did, next day i get a call n it was a higher up then the district mgr. i nicely explained n then gave phone to hubby. She heard him out, told him she would have another pharmacist order in the qualitest n only keep for him. So, what to do about getting the rx filled before it was due? Somehow or another they filled it after the alpha pharma had only been filled about a week before. So, the squeaky wheel. Good luck

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Diane, off Qualitest Norco, no, but I have from Amneal Norco. And, not to mention, ACTAVIS! Norco is the first med I had had from Actavis, a year and a half ago, and they made me extremely sick. I have had Qualitest, Endo and Mallinkrodt Percocet and only the Endo didn't work for me. I am hoping my pharmacy can keep on hand one of those. I will take the Endo if there is nothing else but I prefer not to because they aren't great for my pain. At least, tho, they aren't anything like Actavis!

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Thank you to those of you who have signed the petition. Every signature is so very important. We need so desperately to get some lawmakers on our side.

Those who haven't the link is in post 579, please take a minute and join us in fighting for ourselves. Thanks again.

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Lola, I have used Qualitest for many years and they weren't too bad until hydrocodone quit working for me. I am asking my pharmacist if they can order quali or Mallinkrodt Percocet for me. Those two didn't seem too bad. At least I could take my normal dose and get some pain relief! As it is now, I am unable to do anything because of the pain and other side effects! I am extremely po'd how Actavis treated me yesterday. The tone of her voice was basically saying," complain all you want, we aren't changing a thing!" And, I found out it isn't only their narcotics they are having problems with! It's all their meds! I read this at The People's Pharmacy, you can go to their website, make a complaint and tell them how nothing is working with all the complaints we have filed and I guess they try help get to the bottom of it! There was a guy I read a post from that said he talked to Actavis and was seeking a lawyer. They told him to go ahead but that they cannot be sued for anything because a certain law protects them! Can you believe that??? The freaking nerve of these people. I do believe they know their meds are sub standard but they won't do anything about it. They can make the meds cheaper yet still charge the consumer high prices! Not good.....not good at all! Are we going to end up stuck in this nightmare? I hope not! Especially if our pharmacist doesn't have to let us know of any changes in brands when they fill them. Well, I won't trust anyone and WILL ask every single month before anyone gets my rx! It is I who suffers, not them!

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They don't change because the DON'T have to. They do not have to answer to anyone and they continue to make huge profits off the backs of people in pain...damn shame.

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Diane, you are so very welcome! A medication has never made me so sick in my life til I took the Actavis oxycodone ( Percocet). I stopped taking them now which makes me have a whole host of symptoms, as you can imagine, but I can't take these pills! Actavis never even offered to reimburse me the $218 I paid for 180 pills and I am calling them again because someone else said all they will do is reimburse you. I switched from hydrocodone because it doesn't work well for me but I am scared to get another perc script in case this ever happens again! Actavis is ripping us off in more ways than one and I am not going to stand for it! What the hell are we chronic pain patients suppose to do, suck it up and move on? I don't think so. I'm calling my privately owned pharm today to ask if they ever use Actavis Percocet. If not, I will get it from them. I will even take Endocet which doesn't work very well over Actavis that doesn't work at all and gives some terrible side effects!
By the way, have people been complaining to them and the FDA since last January? 9-10 months is a long time for nothing to be changed!

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Tracy I forgot to tell you that after driving all over God's creation and 4 pharmacies I was able to get my prescription for Norco 10/325 qualtest. I have been feeling flu like with nausea when I take them. Has anyone else had the same feeling? It's almost like a drunk feeling with an upset stomach and needless to say not much pain relief. Diane

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Tracy, just to let you know I am taking Vicodin 10/300 mg. by Abvee and Quallitest percocet 5/325 mg. The Vicodin is doing great for me for break through pain and I never could take hydrocodone before but with this manufacturer I haven't had any side effects to speak of and I have had no problems getting a re-fill from walgreens every month. The Qualitest percocet is just okay and I am finding that I am needing less of it on some days when I don't over due it and can rely just on the Vicodin to control my severe neck pain. I hope this helps in your decision in a few weeks.

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You Go Tracy...I am proud of you standing up to Actavis. Maybe they may start looking a little bit harder at the crap they are doling out to people in pain. You are a force to be reckoned with and I am glad you are on our side. Thank you Diane

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I just read....and google this....WHAT NARCOTICS CONTAIN AN ABUSE DETERRENT..... There are 2 meds only, as of July 2014, and one is OxyContin ( long acting oxycodone ) and the other starts with a T and is also long acting. Now, they want to add some kind of deterrent to all narcotics but, and the FDA said this, there isn't enough study on it. One thing they are talking about is combining the narcotic with naloxone. I really don't believe that would be a good thing as it may take away from the effectiveness of the narcotic like the deterrent did with the OxyContin. That is what I have heard from people taking OxyContin, anyway. Right now, the only thing changing is the generic formulas and that is not including deterrents. I talked to someone from Actavis today and she was snotty when I said I know I'm not the first one with a complaint and I know I won't be the last. She didn't even ask me for a lot number but I did tell her the lot does not seem to be the problem, it is the formula. There are just way to many people from all over the country having problems. I also talked to someone at the FDA and they are sending me out a med form for this. There will be an investigation into it if they receive enough complaints. Well, I also told her how this company did the same thing with hydrocodone a bit over a year ago! It is NOT right that anyone messes with medications and we have to suffer for it! We aren't abusing it but have to pay a high price because of those who are! Do they expect us to keep our mouth shut and just take it? I don't think so! Now, someone has a huge complaint against Mallinkrodt and Qualitest! What's left besides Endo that doesn't seem to work for me? I really need to find what the majority are switching to! I have 3 weeks to find out so I can call my pharmacy to request that before seeing the doctor! What a mess!

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Tracy. ...one of the very first articles I posted a link to starts off talking about oxycotin. ...then goes on to talk about oxycodone. Both of these meds prescribed straight, without acetaminophen, etc., are formulated with the deterrent. Theres other articles ive read about studies done since the deterrent formula was distributed, on addicts in rehab. The addicts drugs of choice were oxycodone n contin....they talk about their experiences since the deterrent on both meds. Ive also read documents on the manufacturers site that mentioned it in either one or the other med. This is from my research. ...if you've found info other than what I have, and believe otherwise, than go with what u know. Im not trying to convince anyone of anything.....just sharing what ive learned and come to know

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Marianne put together a petition to contact our lawmakers, so that we can get some people in power to help us with the problems we are having. Almost every state, people are having problems getting their medication or seeing a decent doctor. Marianne originally wrote the petition addressed to the state of AZ and the Federal government. She contacted the website and the petition is going to be amended to include the states of people who sign, so that all of us can have our state government contacted as well as the federal government. If we don't get some help, I'm afraid that we aren't going to be able to get our medications.

petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-the-judgement-of?source=c.em.cp&r_by=10582339

Please click and sign. We need all the help we can get. We all need our medications to function.

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Hello everyone, I noticed that this thread had been quiet for a long time and recently has had alot of activity so thought I would give an update on my pain etc. My pm doctor still has me on percocet BUT he also now has given me Vicodin HP 10/300 mg. for break through pain. A funny story happened when I went to Walgreens to see what they had other than the ACTACRAP. They said they had qualitest that another person wanted ordered but never picked up so I said ok I will try that now I guess explaining that I only took the Watson brand for years and won't take the actacrap he then said "you know we have 10 pills left of the original 5 mg. white round pill with 749 on it by Watson he showed me the original bottle I almost fainted yes it was the good old Watson so I said of course put the 10 watson pills with the qualitest. My pain was so bad that day I had my rx re-filled I took only 1/2 of the watson percocet since it has been months now and wow it took away my neck pain within one hour and that was only half. It felt good to not have ANY side effects and pain relief again in such a long time of suffering. Unfortunately, this is the end of the Watson and he didn't even know why they were there but they were in the safe. Anyway, I also see others were now taking hydrocodone because of the side effects of all these generic percocets and I wanted to add that I am using the Vicodin made by the manufacturer Abvee. My past posts I stated I couldn't tolelerate hydrocodone but the Vicodin by Abvee has been very helpful and I have really not had any side effects and can drive and function on it - it only makes me a little tired once and awhile. I also want to say that the Qualitest is just okay but better than I remember trying it a long time ago. Maybe my body is getting used to it don't know. The pharmacist at the Walgreens said that he can order the Qualitest every month so if one drug store turns you down please keep going to another and another if you have to because they can order it. I hope everyone has finally found something to take the pain away and function on a daiily basis. I know for me at least my quality of life will never be what it was while I was taking Watson but I just try to do as much as I can and not over do it day by day. I have had to learn when to say "no" now as to how much I can get done in a day without suffering with excruciating neck pain. I wonder how Jan and Martin are doing have not seen any posts from them in a long time and Jennifer I see you are still taking the endocet and it is working for you that is great - I wish endocet would have worked for me. I also see where some have had a hard time finding norco if you still are not able to find your meds try to have your doctor write your rx for Vicodin it comes in 5 7.5 and 10 mg. I have not had one problem getting that filled every month. I hope everyone is doing well.

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Everything that I have read about the deterrent is in the Controlled Release formulas....even the website you linked was talking about OxyContin, not oxycodone in general. The idea was to put a deterrent in ALL narcotics but it has only happened with OxyContin so far. That was back in 2010. There have been quite a few links to it on this thread and I have read every single one. Like I said, the only med talked about containing a deterrent is OxyContin. I have been on Percocet and Norco (hydrocodone) off and on for the past 13 years and neither of those meds contain a deterrent. I know this to be fact. Anyway, when it comes to these meds, Actavis screwed up the formula for both hydrocodone and oxycodone. Neither of them work very well and have too many side effects such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, increased pain, etc. I heard that they used inferior products from another country to make these meds and that is the reason they are as bad as they are. I have read more complaints about Actavis than I have any other brand.

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No, Jennifer, I am not the same Tracy. However, I am the same Tracy that posted on hydrocodone and Actavis threads a year or so ago. I didn't finish reading your post so am going to now....just wanted to answer your question.

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Hi tracy....r u the same tracy from way back in this thread? Or is it a bunch of different Tracy's? Im confused bc there is one pist after the other from tracy that repeats about the same as the pist before it many times n it seems as though ur responding to posts that I dont see posted?
Last I researched, all straight oxycodone, immediate or extended release have been formulated with their abuse deterrent formula . Addicts dont care how its released....they ll abuse it either way so they added the deterrent in both. The way the deterrent breaks down in ur system now isnt controllin users pain relief like it did prior to, n some arent experiencin any relief at all. Youll have to look far back in this thread, but I had posted a study done on the abuse deterrent aftermath from people who did abuse pain pills and what they reverted to doing n using since the deterrent has been added n how these companies didnt forsee what the abusers did instead that is worse than abusers pill n created bigger problems. If u cant find it, let me know n ill retype it.....its a bunch to type it all again considering I use my cell here so look for it first. Also, ur only one day into the change in meds so u still have whatever u were using previous in ur system. Give it a few more days n ur gonna feel withdrawals along with the side effects of ur current meds. Ur previous meds will b out of ur body more n more as the days go by n as that happens, you'll withdrawal more n more. If I were u, before the worse of it kicks in, id get with ur pm dr n see if u turn in ur actavis, would he write u a new script so u can get a different brand. Tell him the side effects ur experiencing. ...maybe he will. Some have n it couldnt hurt to ask. Also, I have mentioned before about their being 5 Walgreen locations in my town n only trwo locations will special order me my endocet so if one chain pharmacy location tells u no, dont assume the other locations will do the same. Try em all! I know u said endocet is not for u, but whatever does, couldnt hurt to ask if they would order what u need! Good luck!

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Hi, Jan.....question.....why would a person have to wait 24 hours before filling a narcotic script? Doesn't make any sense, does it? Lol. I have been a nurse for over 24 years and a pain patient for 13.... I have never been told we have to wait 24 hours. In fact, I got a script from my Dr. on Thursday and went straight to the pharmacy with it. That's when I received this Actavis crap! I am tired all the freaking time! No energy at all and only a little pain relief but never any relief with the first dose in the morning! Also, nausea, headaches and heartburn! It's terrible!

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Jennifer.....I believe only the long acting oxycodone (OxyContin) has a built in anti abuse product. They did this a few years ago.....I guess people have found a way around it, though.....stupid. I know a few people who take OxyContin and they said the new formula is crap! It does not work for pain like it use to....before the addition of a plastic barrier to halt abuse. Did they even think of this aspect before creating the drug? I don't think they did. However, my point is that none of the short acting narcotics have an anti abuse factor and only OxyContin, of the long acting meds, has it. ( that I know of, anyway). Hope this helps.

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No, Tammy, it is not the same formula used between Actavis and Watson. A year and a half ago many people went through this same thing with Actavis hydrocodone ( lortab, Vicodin, Norco, etc), and it was found that the formulas were different and the products used in the meds were inferior products from overseas. That is the Gods honest truth! Just because a medication goes by the same name does not mean the formulas to make the med are the same. I can take oxycodone IR such as Percocet but I cannot take OxyContin which is a long acting oxycodone. I am allergic to the binders and fillers in it.
People really need to do their research on medications before coming on a forum and talking like they know something they actually know nothing about! Not all oxycodones are created equal....hence the reason for the vast price difference between manufacturers. Look it up.....read about it! For heavens sake, just read this thread alone and you will find more info you never thought was out there!

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Hi Jennifer.....just an FYI.....abusing pain meds (over taking, IV, insufflating, etc) isn't the only way to get the euphoria. I use to have that feeling when I first started taking pain meds but I no longer do.....thank God! To me it was like being drunk and I don't like that feeling. My husband, however, has never had a euphoric feeling from narcotics. Some people get it and some don't. Euphoria is a fairly normal experience with narcotics though. If a person is on them for an extended period of time then they usually don't get the euphoria....unless the dose is increased or a stronger med is started. Just thought I would add my 2 cents in here.....lol. I hope everyone is feeling better! I am still feeling nauseous with these Actavis percocets.....I guess I will be like this for a month! I will never take Actavis brand again! Same thing happened to me from their hydrocodone....that's why I changed to oxycodone. Better pain relief as well!

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