Watson Is Now Actavis Generic Percocet 5/325 What Is Up With This (Page 9)
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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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Vera,
My husband takes gabapentin for neuropathy.

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Actavis sucks. Husband on generic roxicodone 15 mg for severe and uncontrolled foot neuropathy. Drug store switched from Qualitest pharmaceuticals to Actavis. Does not help & makes him sick. He took 2 and no relief. Went to pharmacy and got into argument with the pharmacist. Now, his Dr is out of town 5 days, the replecement won't write a script for another. Unfortunately, only our local Rite aid store carries the 15 mg of oxycodone, no tylenol.

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Jennifer, Thank you. I think the first person will be my doctor, because it wasn't just awful yesterday, now today I'm going through the body adjusting to changes again. Wish we could come up with a solution that would satisfy DEA and would allow legit patients a little more flexibility.

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Hi CO SUSIE....I agree with you on everything! I dont know of any new regulations to stop the abusers without harming the legit. Their new way was by adding the abuse deterrent formula to meds but like I mentioned before, that only increased the rate of H*R*IN use....they dont let us use the full name of that drug in a post so thats why I wrote it like that. I cant believe ur pharmacist does that....what about that one pill u need in the morning while on the way to pick up ur new script? Thats really not right for them to do...ur scrpt is written for ur two a day n if u dont have that one in the morning because they wont fill it for u to have as prescribed, theyre in the wrong! I wonder if ur dr writes on the script to fill on 29th day, will they fill it...or even if he will write it? Have u asked them if you come st the end of the day before they close will they fill it so u have it for the morning. ..my pharmacy will fill up to 2 days early.... thats usually the norm. I wish I had a better answer for u but I dont....I hope one of my suggestions work!

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Jennifer, The first pain medication that I was prescribed on a regular basis was Percocet and it was wonderful for several years for me. It controlled the pain and I was able to function, somewhere close to a normal human. I was progressing with my pain level and my doctor at the time had concerns about prolonged use of Percocet on my liver, so he moved me to oxycodone. Oxycodone as a pain reliever worked as well as Percocet and again I was able to function. The problems I began to have were not due to the drug oxycodone itself, but because of it being popular with drug abusers. I also have an ongoing saga with oxycodone manufactured by KVK Tech (doesn't work and has horrible side effects).

Because of the situation with drug abuse, I am suffering horrible again today. I take Opana ER also, which is a 12 hour effectiveness. My 30 day deadline for my prescriptions fell on today which is a Sunday and the pharmacy is closed. Because of the situation being as it is, the pharmacy wouldn't (are not allowed) to fill my prescriptions yesterday, a day early. Perhaps by law there is a loop hole, but because they are over run with abusers, they aren't in any mood to try to make exceptions, even if a loop hole is available. They will have my oxycodone and my Opana ready for pickup at 9am tomorrow, which isn't doing anything for me today LOL I don't have any extra pills, I have exactly to the day the 30 day cycle. Opana being 12 hour, there are 2 a day, my insurance won't pay for any over the 30 day cycle.

My current doctor, who is wonderful, compassionate, great with doing diagnostics, all that anyone can expect of a doctor, isn't willing to increase my monthly prescription, just for the unexpected pharmacy being closed, holiday weekend, whatever problem I may run into. Because his office was flooded with "chronic pain" (translate drug abusers) they have completely stopped accepting any new chronic pain patients. Fortunately, I was one of the last who has been able to get on his patient list. Unfortunately, that doesn't help anyone else who may be a "true" chronic pain patient. The doctor complains about the additional restrictions and "hoops" he now has to spend time dealing with, instead of practicing medicine.

Also unfortunately, it will take me several days after I get my meds, to feel somewhat normal again as my body adjusts. I blame almost all the problems that we have with medication on the "druggies". I don't see anything positive coming out of DEA or the FDA to address this problem. I do see a lot of sweeping type changes that don't seem to fix anything. The changes seem to just add additional restrictions and heartache to those of us who already follow the rules that were in existence. I don't think that there's an easy answer for DEA or the FDA at this point, as with many things, government agencies don't seem to act in a logical manner and fix the real problem. They tend to levy more restrictions and difficulty on the "lawful" because we are the easier target. On of the first steps that should be taken is to secure our borders and tighten the restrictions on legal immigration. Then some effort could be directed into research and development of a realistic guideline for doctors to use as a tool in determining what medications they want to prescribe to chronic patients. Not telling them "how" to practice medicine, but a guideline to assist them, that realistic and complete research has been done to develop.

Do you have any ideas of changes that could be made to "fix" these type of problems"? Something to stop the abusers but allows the ill to get their meds when needed? I realize that some restrictions are necessary, but there has to be some way for the "rules" to be adjusted, isn't there?

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Elvis....who r u refering to
?

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RAMMSTEINFAN..thank u...I appreciate that! Ive only come to know all that I do because of Actavis' choice to discontinue the generic Watson Percocet. Ive searched n searched,.....n every few weeks I do it again for more recent info. Thank god googles search results list what I have already read n on what date so I dont waste time clicking on the same link. N on the actavis website, they also have a section that lists meeting minutes, reports, news releases n all kinds of other info. Ive been on these links since the beginning of the year so I read posts by others n if they share what they think or know...I research it. And I always ask people I converse with to come back n post their experiences with their meds, updates on results, n how theyre doing. The more who share, the more we learn n can help others. I know what its like to b in true pain n in need of something to help...im a single mom w young twins n my pain has come between me being a more active mother n it kills me...the more I can control my pain, the more actively involved I can b, so I have no choice but keep researchin in hopes to get a better grip on this.... in the meantime, I make due best I can with what is available to us. I dont wish anyone this kind of pain....legit, disablin pain due to medical reasons! And I CANT STAND those whosevabuse their meds...especially when they have blogs talkin about their abuse or on these threads asking for advise on abusing meds! I wanna strangle then for making the system the way it is. Anyway.... ill always reply to posts or questions that I have answers for n know about.....u or anyone can always ask away n if I hv knowledge to help, ill always share! Please do the same n check in to let us know how ur doing...n again, thank you!

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No matter what if anyone takes this type of medicine for months their body will become dependent on it. Unfortunately this is what we have to live with to help with a pain that I swear will drive me crazy some day. I am 23 years sober and have had to take this med for a number of years. I hate taking this medicine and I would much rather smoke pot for the pain but I can't because it will lead me back to drinking. I have no time for people that sit in judgement. It's not your place!!!!

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Jennifer,
So much of what you said is soooo true. Years ago people used to think that the FDA was protecting them from bad or inferior products. No longer!! I think they are working with DEA and not to the benefit of the patient. It is so scary to be sick and have to take anything.

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Nice post Jennifer, you are a world of information and your advice has helped me in the past and for that I am very grateful. Keep the info coming, I have learned more from to posts on this web site than any where else. Thank you Diane

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CO SUSAN. ..heres another thing for u to keep in mind....if ur taking straight oxycodone.... companies have changed the formula to make it abuse deterrent so those who insufflate or inj. it apparently cant. The idea behind this was to stop the abusers but check this crap out.....what they didnt think about is if they cant be high from the meds, they will find an alternative. Sooooo, now H use has risen...which creates n causes more harm than if they were abusing pills. H is cheaper n easier for addicts to get. Also, some of the slick, surprisingly smart pill heads have found a way to get around the abuse deterrent n continue insufflating n IV'ing. So these pharmaceutical shmoo's couldnt see further than their feet n realize theres others ways much worse for these bums to make themselves feel high. So the new formulation didnt do anything but make legit, rule abiding patients suffer n push abusers to H! Crazy how dumb they r yet how wealthy theyve become by taking a mess and making it messier! So ur straight oxycodone is different than a Percocet. Dont know if u knew that about ur med. PESSIMIST.....I take endocet. ..endocet is generic Percocet made by the same company as brand Percocet. Its oblong n yellow. ...I dont know if the dyes bother u but u might wanna look into their formula to see if it has that ingredient that u cant take....if not, then it might b an option worth trying since its a generic. ...u might b able to save a few bucks

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Pessimist,
You are so right about there being a huge problem. We aren't just having this problem with my pain medications, (so much for the pharmacy blaming the druggies), we are having this problem with my Metoprolol, my husband's Metformin, etc. I believe that because the pharmaceutical industry is such a multi billion dollar industry, everyone wants to cash in on it. The tried and true medications that have been working for 30 years like your Percocet, are just as wonderful as ever. Because of patents the other companies can't make it the "same", instead they are developing medications that use inferior fillers/binders. The pharmacy gets a deal from the manufacturer, then passes the inferior product on to us (not with the price savings included). Because of what I have experienced over the past 3 years with KVK Tech products and the dishonest treatment from our local pharmacies, I am certain that almost every problem we are having is related to Corporate Greed.

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For me I can't take generic Percocet or any generic opiates. I have interstial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome & severe fibromyalgia. I was an RN for 38 years & pharmacists said all generics have same basic components but get Walgreens to print out other ingredients used as "fillers". Magnesium stearate is most common. My bladder goes haywire & I get nauseated & pain not controlled at all. I emailed Interstial Cystitis Association & sure enough, our bladders are very sensitive to it. It's used to help pills come off assembly line quicker. I have to buy brand name 10/325 Percocet. $10 a pill! Insanity.! My 72 yr old husband has to work just to pay my medical bills. It's usually the fillers each company uses. What makes me furious is, Percocet has been on market over 30 years. Why is cost still so outrageous?! Most drugs in clinical trials were used on men, whose metabolism is different.

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Jennifer
Thank you for your reply. I had heard that the effectiveness "fudge factor" allowed by the FDA is a +/- thing, but I haven't had any on the + side from KVK Tech LOL. I have lots of questions, but first I'm going to read the thread and see if the info is there. Says there's 26 pages now. WOW
I live in a mountain area and we only have 3 pharmacies within 25 mile radius, I have been making a 70 mile trip to an independent pharmacy to get a brand other than KVK Tech, which has been totally worth the trip for me.

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Hi matt....thanks...but we've been aware of what u stated since almost the beginning of this thread. .....if you read this thread from beginning till recent...you will probably find more info than u bargained for. I wish whoever clicks on the link to this thread would read it all the way through instead of just reading a few comments. ...they would learn so much n wouldnt leave a comment about something we've learned n shared long ago n therefor, preventing this thread from being longer than necessary. There are so many links posted on news n articles about Percocet that is good to be aware of....I keep telling people I think we have the most information here on this thread than any other ive read or came across.

CO SUSIE......our problem is our Watson's got switched out by Actavis when Actavis purchased watson.....most pharmacies are carrying Actavis n it hasn't helped at all n made us sick...there's nothing in comparison to watson when it comes to pain relief ! Then we hard a hard time finding a medication that gave us any pain relief n all went thru the horrible trial and error stages n reported here what was going on often to help eachother. Ive read about the KVK Percocet n how horrible they were....so far, most of us r finding SOME relief from either endocet or mallinkrodt. Cant u find a cvs or Walgreens that can special order a medication for u? If one location says no, it doesn't mean another wont. Theres 4 Walgreen s in my town and 2 of the 4 will only special order my medication. So u need to see what works for u then find a location that will order them for u....just make sure u request the order a week in advance each month so theyre in stock when u hand in ur script to b filled n u dont go without ur meds waiting on them to come in. Also, the active ingredients in meds can fluctuate up to 20%......making it anywhere as low as 80% to as high as 120%...making the 120% formula having the most pain relief. Without figuring those numbers in the equation. ...all of us takin a 10/325 Percocet are only really getting I think the number was 8.9% of actual Percocet. ..if ur on the 5mg, there's only really 4.1% Percocet in the formula. ...these may not b the exact numbers but its just a bit more than 1% shy of the actual written dose... ud have to look it up to find out y or the exact numbers ....I forgot the reasoning behind it but I found the info somewhere on the internet not too long ago. The pharmaceutical companies and the FDA are a mafia of their own screwing everyone who takes meds! I hoped some of this info helps but I do suggest u find the time n read thru this thread..u will learn alot n become more informed!

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Hey I am sorry to notify you but Actavis bought Watson and with Oxycodone they chose the Actavis brand over the Watson so instead of the normal Watson 933 749 and 932 they are Actavis' A349 A332 A333. I would recommend this one (C 230, they are made by Alvogen) as it seems to be the best for pain so far. Also maybe try the Endocets E712 those are okay as well. Best of luck!

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Jennifer, Lisa M, Martin

I'm very interested to see that you and others are having problems with different brands of Percocet. I and some of my friends (chronic pain patients) are having huge problems with different brands of our meds. Not just our pain medication, but other medications as well. I personally have a huge problem with products made by KVK Tech. Their products cause me side effects, crazy effects on how my brain works, don't relieve my pain and I get bladder infections (no history of that problem). I was taking Percocet, then my previous doctor moved me to oxycodone because of the acetaminophen in Percocet. Seems that acetaminophen causes liver issues (watch out how much Tylenol you take too). Every few months, I have to go on a pharmacy hunt to find a pharmacy that carries other brands, instead of the KVK Tech products. I find one, all is well for a couple times, then Whammy they sneak the KVK Tech in on me. Before I hand over my prescription, I question them to be certain they have or "can get" another brand.

Most of the pharmacies will not answer any questions on the phone about brands. I still try that first before I drive all over the city LOL. Found out that the FDA allows a huge "fudge factor" on the production of medications, sometimes over 12% of the actual pain reliever isn't even in the pills. There is also a huge different in the filler/buffer that's used in different brands. Some filler/buffers, which transmit the pain reliever to your CNS have been proven to be ineffective, that's why it doesn't relieve pain, and this is all legal. FDA is well aware. Are you still having problems, or did you get it all worked out?

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I am really sorry you got stuck with them again and they aren't working. I'm on Endocet and I also would never go back to watson. I also had great success with the mallinckrodt but I prefer the endocet. If you call CVS corporate maybe they can help or I would change pharmacies so you don't get stuck with them again.
Martin I am so glad they are working for you. When they had the watson shortage is when I got those and I thought they worked great.
Jennifer it is funny you mention that. I noticed that one month but I didn't have any withdrawal or anything. I just noticed they weren't quite as strong. But with this new bottle I just got today they are great. But I had that happen even with the mallinckrodt once and I remember it happening with the watson. The mallys were to strong one month. So I think that can happen from time to time with any of them. Martin, I have been very happy to be free of the side effects myself. Some months on refills it was worse then others. Sometimes they bothered me and the constipation was just ridiculous. I don't think you would be happy with brand name. I didn't like the way they made me feel at all! I am fine with the endocet. I took qualitest when I was on Vicodin and they were way better then watson Vicodin but it's a different medication then percocet. I would be willing to try them and see if there is a difference but I'm doing great with the endocet. Haven't heard from Lola. Hope she's doing ok.

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Hey Martin...glad to hear you found a brand that is working great for you! Im jealous...lol. I need to call around and see if they really are stocking Watson again...I never had problems with them......they worked amazing for me...lord I hope they are coming back! Im still on the endocet and for some reason, the script I just got filled isnt helping as much as it usually does? Im having a lot of back pain the past few days...what can I do though? nothing! I just have to deal w it.

LOLA, what are you on now? you've been all over the place with different brands. What did you settle for and is it working?

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Rammstein, you have to ask what manufacturer they use for their generic Percocet before you hand in the script. That's y many of us mentioned in previous posts that you have to go from pharmacy to pharmacy and ask before you get your script cause its gonna take you time to find out which pharmacy can help you and you don't want to be without your medication in the meantime. Try to go back to your dr and tell em the actavis is making you sick and you itch all over, cant sleep cause its giving you anxiety along with it not giving you pain relief. tell em youll give them your meds so long as they write you another script. But research where youre gonna get it filled first. Maybe he ll help you. Also you mentioned you were given malls on time...are you referring to mallinkrodt? Ive tried them and their ok...helped a little but not much but that's just me....it may work for you...to each is own as they say but if I couldn't get endocet, I would be taking mallinkrodt....just saying. but there are maybe 4 wallgreens in my town and out of the 4, only two of them will special order the endocet for me so if one location tells you they wont, another may so still try at other location even if youre turned away from one location. let us know what happens!

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