The opioid epidemic
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Archives1
Staff member
I have trouble with narcotic pain medications. If I take them (or injections) I am just trading one source of pain for another. Right after surgery or injury I can take them if they knock me mostly out and then I am really sick afterwards. Think of the most severe motion sickness ever recorded. I have done well with over-the-counter meds in the past but in my older years my doctor has taken me off most of those for stomach and other problems I have. I am on a very low dose of controlled pain medication now. One in the morning to keep me up out of bed and get me to move around. Another in the evening to lessen the pain enough to get back to sleep. In between like many of you I just live with the pain. This is an improvement though and I hope it is not taken away from me. If it is I will just have to eat more pain. At lest now I can clean my house and go shopping for food and other necessities and take care of myself. This was a much bigger problem before I started taking them. Took me a while to get used to this medication. But after a few weeks the sickness finally wore off and the pain relief did not. Guess this is one reason I never used recreational drugs. They would have made me really sick if I did.
Archives1
Staff member
Just an FYI, I called in a refill for my Norco that I have had to take for the last three years. I take two pills a day. One when I get up in the morning after breakfast, and one in the afternoon to deal with my back that was has been a mess for several years now. My pharmacist is at CVS. I was told they have been out of Norco for a week and have not been told by their supplier when they will get any in. This all very suspicious to me after reading everyone's post here. I suggest everyone write their congressmen and women and their state legislators as well to stop this idiocracy of taking pain meds away from those who are truly in need. It's obvious our government no longer looks out for people in need over the common drug addict in the streets. He'll they give the addicts free needles that all of us pay for in one format or another. I am willing to take a drug test anytime for my doctors or pharmacist to show I do not abuse anything. I think it's time for the regular citizen to demand drug testing from all of our elected officials all the way up to the white house. It's obvious to me that if our elected officials are allowing patients who are in pain to suffer needlessly, then they must be on drugs. Vote in someone who will stop this craziness.
Archives1
Staff member
There *is* a national shortage according to the nationwide pharmacists’ list. I don’t even think it’s working for me anymore and this just makes me want to get off of it because if I had to stop it suddenly due to lack of availability, I would have withdrawal seizures as I have with other medications in the past.
Drug Shortage Detail: Oxycodone Hydrochloride Immediate-Release Tablets
Drug Shortage Detail: Oxycodone Hydrochloride Immediate-Release Tablets
www.ashp.org
Archives1
Staff member
7/2/2023
Oxycodone Hydrochloride Immediate-Release Tablets
Products Affected -
Description
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 10 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 65162-0048-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 65162-0049-
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 15 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 65162-0049-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 65162-0051-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 30 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 65162-0051-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 5 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 65162-0047-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 5 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 65162-0047-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Camber, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 31722-0917-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Camber, 15 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 31722-0917-05
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Camber, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 31722-0918-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Camber, 30 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 31722-0918-
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Major, 5 mg, unit-dose blister pack, 100 count, NDC 00904-6966-61
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0005-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 5 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0001-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 5 mg, unit-dose blister pack, 100 count, NDC 42858-0001-10
Reason for the Shortage:
Alvogen has oxycodone immediate-release tablets available.
Amneal did not provide a reason for the shortage.
Camber is awaiting DEA quota approval for active ingredient.
KVK-Tech has oxycodone immediate-release tablets available.
Major did not provide a reason for the shortage.
Mallinckrodt refuses to provide availability information.
Rhodes did not provide a reason for the shortage.
Available Products:
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 47781-0264-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 15 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 47781-0264-05
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 47781-0265-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 30 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 47781-0265-05
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 5 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 47781-0263-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 5 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 47781-0263-05
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 20 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 65162-0050-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 10 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0056-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 10 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0056-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0008-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 15 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0008-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 20 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0057-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 20 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0057-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0009-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 30 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0009-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 5 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0018-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 5 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0018-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 10 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0002-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 10 mg, unit-dose blister pack, 100 count, NDC 42858-0002-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0003-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 20 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0004-01
Estimated Resupply Dates:
Amneal has oxycodone 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, and 30 mg immediate-release tablets on back order and the company cannot estimate a release date.
Camber has oxycodone immediate-release tablets on back order and the company cannot estimate a release date.
Major has oxycodone 5 mg tablets in 100 count unit-dose packages on back order and the company cannot estimate a release date.
Rhodes has oxycodone immediate-release 5 mg and 30 mg tablets on back order and the company estimates a release date in mid-July 2023.
Oxycodone Hydrochloride Immediate-Release Tablets
Products Affected -
Description
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 10 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 65162-0048-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 65162-0049-
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 15 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 65162-0049-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 65162-0051-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 30 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 65162-0051-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 5 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 65162-0047-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 5 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 65162-0047-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Camber, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 31722-0917-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Camber, 15 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 31722-0917-05
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Camber, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 31722-0918-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Camber, 30 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 31722-0918-
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Major, 5 mg, unit-dose blister pack, 100 count, NDC 00904-6966-61
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0005-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 5 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0001-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 5 mg, unit-dose blister pack, 100 count, NDC 42858-0001-10
Reason for the Shortage:
Alvogen has oxycodone immediate-release tablets available.
Amneal did not provide a reason for the shortage.
Camber is awaiting DEA quota approval for active ingredient.
KVK-Tech has oxycodone immediate-release tablets available.
Major did not provide a reason for the shortage.
Mallinckrodt refuses to provide availability information.
Rhodes did not provide a reason for the shortage.
Available Products:
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 47781-0264-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 15 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 47781-0264-05
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 47781-0265-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 30 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 47781-0265-05
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 5 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 47781-0263-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Alvogen, 5 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 47781-0263-05
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Amneal, 20 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 65162-0050-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 10 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0056-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 10 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0056-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0008-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 15 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0008-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 20 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0057-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 20 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0057-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 30 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0009-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 30 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0009-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 5 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 10702-0018-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, KVK-Tech, 5 mg, bottle, 500 count, NDC 10702-0018-50
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 10 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0002-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 10 mg, unit-dose blister pack, 100 count, NDC 42858-0002-10
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 15 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0003-01
Oxycodone hydrochloride oral tablet, Rhodes, 20 mg, bottle, 100 count, NDC 42858-0004-01
Estimated Resupply Dates:
Amneal has oxycodone 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, and 30 mg immediate-release tablets on back order and the company cannot estimate a release date.
Camber has oxycodone immediate-release tablets on back order and the company cannot estimate a release date.
Major has oxycodone 5 mg tablets in 100 count unit-dose packages on back order and the company cannot estimate a release date.
Rhodes has oxycodone immediate-release 5 mg and 30 mg tablets on back order and the company estimates a release date in mid-July 2023.
Archives1
Staff member
I take Tramadol in a low dose. Like I posted before it does not get me close to pain free it just reduces the pain enough that I can move and do most of my work to take care of myself and my house. I have to call my doctor's office every 28 days for a refill. So far, no shortages. I have 2 extra from problems getting the script picked up in the past. I have to call in Monday morning and then pick up before Tuesday evening as my last dose is Tuesday morning. If I call on Friday, they say that is to early and it does not go through, and I have to call back to get them to fill it. My part D does not use Kroger anymore it changed to Walmart this year. I think if they doubled the number of tablets where I could take them every 6 hours I would be mostly pain free and would not have any limits from pain. I take Acetaminophen separately.
Archives1
Staff member
I know, same here, I just get enough to make it possible for me to live half of a life and putter about. I’m not sure if I took more if I would be pain-free or not. I doubt it because bone-on-bone knees never stop hurting. Maybe I should try taking more all at once, so I would at least know! I could save them up for special occasions, like going to the fair or festival. They make me tired and negatively affect my short-term memory, though. I remember when I moved last October, I took extra on the day that I moved, and I was falling asleep standing up at the gas pump. So I guess I won’t be taking more after all, lol! I’m so, so, so very grateful that I don’t experience any kind of “high” or addiction to them.
Archives1
Staff member
@snow I don't know either. I am really confused and have trouble thinking when my pain is really bad. And I was up all night twice in the last week as the pain was bad enough that I could not sleep. When I take the morning pill it gets me moving a bit where I don't just set or lay in pain and I can leave the house to shop for what I need. But as it wears off, I am just setting more or even try to take a nap to catch up on lost sleep. The other I take in the evening to help with cooking and cleaning. Vacuum the house or mow the yard. Most times I do not get to sleep until after midnight when I am so tired, I cannot stay awake. If I try earlier, I just lay there with the pain and cannot get to sleep. I end up getting back up anyway. The Tramadol seems to pump me up a bit where the pain is low enough, I can think clearer and do things. Of course, everyone is different, and meds don't always work the same for everyone. Those 2 nights my pain was bad enough I could barely talk. I could have a low tolerance for pain or I need to go to the pain doctors that test me for illegal drugs and count my pills every so often. That requires a drive way on the other side of town. They also want to have me do some procedures that are really hard on me with other problems I have. That is the big issue for me. I don't do illegal drugs or abuse the medications I have. And I have never lost or had any stolen. If it wasn't for those procedures and the danger with them, I would be going there. Part of that is the reason I put off the Stem surgery. Another part is the push by them to do it. I keep getting messages to attend events for information on it, so someone is spending a lot of money to push this. Makes me wonder if it is so good why they have to push it so hard. If I did it, I would try to drive to KC for a COE doctor to do it. There are lots of doctors and a huge Uro group that covers most of my state but no COE doctors in the group. And I had some other issues I needed to get on top of first. My leaks are still manageable with what I do now so maybe give it another year and see how things go with the stim units.
Archives1
Staff member
@rmconversion Wow, sounds like you’re really dealing with a lot. Thank you for reminding me that pain itself, not just the pills, messes with clarity of thinking. You’re right.
I know it really is obnoxious to have to go to the pain clinic every month. Mine wants to do nerve blocks on my neck but I’m on the fence about that because my cousin had them and they didn’t help her. I’m not keen to do something that will put me in more pain for a weekend. I wish they could do something more for my knee pain; that’s definitely been the worst pain for the past couple of years with intermittent back pain outbreaks (like right now, after I had a weekend with lots of physical labor). I’ve had some hip pain recently as well.
My knee doctor suggested I have a consultation with a stem cell physician so I did. I really liked him and I think it sounds like it would help but if I’m going to spend $5,000-$6,000 on something, I’m going to spend it on an actual knee replacement. Several months after my stem cell appointment, my knee doctor told me he got stem cells done by that other doctor and that they really helped his back but didn’t help his knees. If I could easily afford stem cells, I would absolutely try them. As for yourself, don’t let your pain clinic push you around about that. Just keep ignoring them. I’m sorry to hear they're pushing that on you so much.
I hope you can get some better sleep in the future; being well-rested really improves the intensity of pain.
Have you asked them to upgrade you to Percocet instead of tramadol?
Here’s a link to an amazing new book about pain that I’m reading right now. It makes pain make so much more sense to me. It’s written by a doctor who is a pain specialist, and who himself has had severe back problems since he was in medical school. He definitely understands. His writing has helped me feel less alone and helped me identify some of the trauma that pain has caused in my life. I thought it was just me.
“The Song of Our Scars: The Untold Story of Pain”
I know it really is obnoxious to have to go to the pain clinic every month. Mine wants to do nerve blocks on my neck but I’m on the fence about that because my cousin had them and they didn’t help her. I’m not keen to do something that will put me in more pain for a weekend. I wish they could do something more for my knee pain; that’s definitely been the worst pain for the past couple of years with intermittent back pain outbreaks (like right now, after I had a weekend with lots of physical labor). I’ve had some hip pain recently as well.
My knee doctor suggested I have a consultation with a stem cell physician so I did. I really liked him and I think it sounds like it would help but if I’m going to spend $5,000-$6,000 on something, I’m going to spend it on an actual knee replacement. Several months after my stem cell appointment, my knee doctor told me he got stem cells done by that other doctor and that they really helped his back but didn’t help his knees. If I could easily afford stem cells, I would absolutely try them. As for yourself, don’t let your pain clinic push you around about that. Just keep ignoring them. I’m sorry to hear they're pushing that on you so much.
I hope you can get some better sleep in the future; being well-rested really improves the intensity of pain.
Have you asked them to upgrade you to Percocet instead of tramadol?
Here’s a link to an amazing new book about pain that I’m reading right now. It makes pain make so much more sense to me. It’s written by a doctor who is a pain specialist, and who himself has had severe back problems since he was in medical school. He definitely understands. His writing has helped me feel less alone and helped me identify some of the trauma that pain has caused in my life. I thought it was just me.
“The Song of Our Scars: The Untold Story of Pain”
Archives1
Staff member
“Chronic pain can impact human life in ways unlike any other disease. It is often said that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Chronic pain is this statement’s strongest refutation.
A diagnosis provides meaning and resonance to a person’s biography, building a new identity far more formidable than that of the naïve, vibrant person of yesteryear. Chronic pain’s most deadly feature is that it disrupts the way a person moves through their life, the narrative they define themselves by, the arc of their stories.
A healthy body feels absent and invisible. If not in chronic pain, we go about our lives focusing on the world around us rather than the one within because the body is naturally absent when functioning well. By forcing it upon our attention during times of dysfunction, it dys-appears to us. That the body becomes so present during sickness creates a wedge between it and its occupant. People in pain feel like their own body is an adversary. Their bodies alienate them from their healthy absence–bodied past, and when it comes to chronic pain, it robs them of their futures as well.
Chronic pain has this existential dimension – what if this never goes away? What if this tarnishes and blackens every month or every year of the rest of my life? With a past that has become unfamiliar and a future shrouded in dread, people with chronic pain become trapped in a never-ending present.
The physical shackles of chronic pain start to lock one out of a social life. One runs out of friends quickly. Chronic pain traps a person in a claustrophobic physical space and jails them in the one point in time they want nothing to do with – the now. Because pain prolongs every second, it makes every micro-decision arduous and makes every day feel like an eternity. As much as someone in pain wants to escape their agony, they remain locked in place as the pain saps every joy they could ever experience. Everything about their past life seems so far removed, like another person was living it. Chronic pain locks a person up in the moment, in the penitentiary of the present. Like prison, chronic pain takes away a person’s community.“
Yep, exactly.
A diagnosis provides meaning and resonance to a person’s biography, building a new identity far more formidable than that of the naïve, vibrant person of yesteryear. Chronic pain’s most deadly feature is that it disrupts the way a person moves through their life, the narrative they define themselves by, the arc of their stories.
A healthy body feels absent and invisible. If not in chronic pain, we go about our lives focusing on the world around us rather than the one within because the body is naturally absent when functioning well. By forcing it upon our attention during times of dysfunction, it dys-appears to us. That the body becomes so present during sickness creates a wedge between it and its occupant. People in pain feel like their own body is an adversary. Their bodies alienate them from their healthy absence–bodied past, and when it comes to chronic pain, it robs them of their futures as well.
Chronic pain has this existential dimension – what if this never goes away? What if this tarnishes and blackens every month or every year of the rest of my life? With a past that has become unfamiliar and a future shrouded in dread, people with chronic pain become trapped in a never-ending present.
The physical shackles of chronic pain start to lock one out of a social life. One runs out of friends quickly. Chronic pain traps a person in a claustrophobic physical space and jails them in the one point in time they want nothing to do with – the now. Because pain prolongs every second, it makes every micro-decision arduous and makes every day feel like an eternity. As much as someone in pain wants to escape their agony, they remain locked in place as the pain saps every joy they could ever experience. Everything about their past life seems so far removed, like another person was living it. Chronic pain locks a person up in the moment, in the penitentiary of the present. Like prison, chronic pain takes away a person’s community.“
Yep, exactly.
Archives1
Staff member
Called my refill in yesterday and did not receive a text it was ready to pick up so I checked and found out the Walmart i go to was out and it was on back order. They could not check other stores. I was able to locate it in town at another store. I do not have any for tonight and called my doctors office back. Hope it goes through ok and I can pick them up this afternoon. Maybe this is more of what others are having trouble with.
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