United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Has anyone had problems with the reformulation of Oxycontin? It is a new way Purdue used to keep addicts from chewing or liquifying med by changing the fillers. Now it cannot be cut or crushed or chewed. I never did that but I also heard that it was time for Purdue to accept generics from other companies so they changed the formula to prevent that. Not sure what is the truth there, just wondering if anyone else is hurting more. When I google online I find many others are having pain control problems-I do have some benefits with the new formulation-No longer need laxative as new med causes me diarhea and no constipation. Much gas pain and nausea. So the needed 5 pounds is off. But the pain control has decreased so I need to use more Percocet for breakthru pain. Now after 2 1/2 yrs the doc is referring me to a pain MD. I am worried about this. Not sure why. Currently I take 40 mg Oxycontin long acting TID(Three times a day) and 7.5 mg level of Percocet 4x per day. Also take Gabapentin(Neurontin) 600 mg TID for nerve issues. It seems like a LOT of med but now I need to increase the breakthru pain med and my doc said she wants me to see an MD for maybe changing to Methadone-What do you experts think?(No one knows more than you going thru it) I am pretty anxious as I hurt bad with nerve issues-cannot wear clothes that hurt the skin, have nettles burnign stabbing pain all over and left arm subluxation feeling from shoulder. sheesh-I am long winded!

i have read on another forum that the old formula is still available, being manufactured by different company under license. i have no idea if this is the truth. but, yeah, most comments i've read are negative on the new formulation.
doug

Just a couple of things with my experience with oxycontin and oxycodone. Your body adapts very quickly to those meds and builds up a tolerence to them and as a consequence you need more and more for it to be effective. That could be why they want you to see a pain specialist and taper down of the oxy a bit, that and the fact that you are on all these meds and it sounds like you are still in terrible pain.
The oxy also didn't help me at all with any of my nerve pain. It helped relieve standard pain (ie, surgical, wounds, broken bones, etc), but not the nerve pain (ie, burning, tingling, electic "shocks". etc) The only meds that helped me with nerve pain were nerve pain meds like gapapentin/neurontin, and tramadol. I don't know all of your situation, but it could be that you could lessen the oxy or eliminate it and at the very least not feel any worse, and maybe even feel better because your body isn't reacting to the oxy. I noticed that for nerve pain the only way the oxy helped me was that it kept my mood in a slight euphoria. I ended up tapering conpletely off the oxycontin (with my doctor's help) and that was for me the best thing I ever did medication-wise. I was able to just use smaller doses of oxycodone for my breakthrough pain because I didn't have the oxcontin in my blood 24/7, and the relief from the symptoms of taking oxycontin was amazing (no more laxatives needed, my personality was "normal", and I could focus better and read) I think it is really worth it to talk to a pain specialist who specializes in nerve pain and maybe they could help tailor your meds to better control your pain?
Also, I too had the terrible hypersensitivity in my shoulder area from sever subluxation. It even hurt to have my hair touch it. I had a surgery to pull it back into place and that relived most of that pain. While my shoulder is still sensative, it's not the terrible pain it used to be.
I hope sharing my experiences helps and I wish you the best of luck


Ang

i thought oxytocin was all i have to know.. thanks for the extra2 information!!

I am an addictions certified nurse so am aware of tolerance issues. Are you a nurse also? You sound very knowledgeable. I have been able to stay on same doses except the Percocet-oxycodone-has been increased every yr. I wrote about new formulation that Purdue started. It is different than what you took and I am wondering if anyone else is having issues from the new drug-different fillers.. But I do hope to be on something different from the pain clinic. I get concerned I will be told to take Advil like our serviceman was told-very sad, don't you think? What kind of surgery placed your arm differently? Did it fuse the shoulder? Do you have use of the arm/hand? Curious-appreciate all your posts!!!

Thanks for the compliment but no, I'm not a nurse, I spent 3 months in the Mayo Clinic and have had numerous surgeries so I've picked up a lot of knowledge through experience, lol If a doctor tells you advil is your only option, I think you can tell him where to shove it..........
Just make sure the pain specialist understands or specializes in nerve pain. It needs different treatment and medication and most people find that oxy doesn't do anything for the nerve pain. That's why I posted all the stuff on the oxy. For me the only reason I felt a little better when I took oxy for nerve pain was because of it's euphoric effects on my mood, lol. Nerve pain meds like neurontin/gapabentin, lyrica, tramadol, etc are the ones to focus on. It can take a lot of time too to get the proper dosages as they take time to "build" in the system. There are some people on here (I know Christopher is one) who are very knowledgable on techniques to control pain without medication too.
I had a combination of tendon and muscle tranfers done in my shoulder to secure it into place and give it much more function than a shoulder fusion would have offered. My surgeon is going to give me my before and after videos so I can post them so I can show what a dramatic change it has been. I've had numerous other surgeries on the arm and hand and can now bend it and get some use out of my thumb for basic gripping. It's pretty cool I hope I am helping and if you have any questions let me know

First, Angela is excellent in her knowledge of medication. I sort of thought like you that she had some training....I guess the school of hard knocks at the Mayo clinic qualifies.

Now for the pain meds. I have been prescribed all of the "oxy" family of drugs during my first 6 months of the accident. I was even on Morphine the weeks after my accident. I found that Neurotin worked well for me, but I experienced a lot of leg cramps and such with this drug....an unbelievable amount. I tried to go without any drugs at all, tapering off until I went a few days cold turkey. I believe because of my 2 avulsions, it simply is not possible for me at this time. Dr. Li tried me on Lyrica. At first I was very hesitant but was told that it had to get in my system for it to work. I am now on week 3 and I am doing very well. I take one tablet in the morning and the other at 3pm each day and it takes the "edge" off of the pain. I have read what Christopher has said and am VERY IMPRESSED that he has been successful. I think I will try to taper off again another day. I do know that Oxycotin did nothing for my nerve pain (I did get the thrill of that "floating" feeling though). My 2 kids got a kick out of talking to me when I was on that stuff. Try Neurotin (gabapentin) or Lyrica. Both of these in reasonable doses did the trick for me. Good luck!