October 21, 2009 - 8:41pm
Want to thank everyone again in my other thread about being discharged from Pain Management. In case anyone didn't see that, it was due to a drug screen showing Methadone, which I was not prescribed and NEVER took! That is old news now (kind of - I am still compiling the info ya'll gave me for a letter to put in my chart). Anyway, the new PA at the new pain clinic had already told me that they wouldn't prescribe oxycontin due to all the street issues. btw, i am still trying to find a new pain clinic. I was on 160 mg oxycontin daily (2 40's in the am, and then 40 every 8 hours. I also had 2 30 mgs of oxycodone to take daily for breakthrough. I also had the Fentora (600 mcg) twice daily, but i have been off of it for some time, since my PCP wasn't familiar with it and when he wrote the month's scripts to get me through until I could find a pain clinic, he wouldn't write the Fentora.
So I was given a script for Embeda 100-4, one every 12 hours. This is a really new morphine sulfate. 100 mg. is the strongest they make. She had written a lower amt. until i reminded her how much oxy I had been on. So if you don't know, the 4 is for 4 mg of naltrexone, which is the drug they put in this capsule to keep it from being abused. Apparently if you crush the pellets, you crush the naltrexone, which not only keeps the morphine from giving a high but could possibly make you very ill. That's what I read online and on the info that comes with the meds. My pharmacist ordered this for me and I started it last night. No one in this large city had it. My pharmacist is a really nice guy. He asked me if the doc told me NOT to take my oxycontin if this didn't work. The PA I saw (doesn't seem I'll ever see an M.D.) didn't tell me anything about tapering or not to do anything. All she said was that she wasn't giving me anything for breakthrough pain until we "established a relationship". She says this like a broken record.
My pharmacist said they didn't know what they were doing and NOT to take my oxycontin if this doesn't work or I could end up in the hospital or dead. He did say I could take the oxycodone for breakthrough, although he also said if the dose was strong enough, you are not supposed to have breakthrough with this. It was clear he didn't think this was a strong enough for me, which is why I suppose he was acting so disgusted about this being the highest dose of this in the first place.
So, has anyone taken this? Is it comparable to any other morphine like Avinza or something?
I have taken 2 so far. The first one did not last 12 hours. It felt comparable to my oyxcontin without the oxycodone, which was already a problem. I am not working now, and if I want to get up and DO anything, i ALWAYS have to take the oxycodone with a dose of oxycontin to control my pain enough to do anything productive. The point is, I already needed my oxycontin increased or a change to something stronger.
Does this build up maybe? I think the answer is no, but I hope I'm wrong! I have no side effects, at least. I will call tomorrow and ask for something for breakthough pain - for that last hour AT LEAST. It is horrible! Any advice on asking for that? Here i go, playing the game. Surely they won't make me wait a MONTH! I'm afraid to ask for my oxycodone that I normally take, since they hate oxycontin. My husband has gone to Texas to start a new job and will be gone for months. My son is in Va. in college. I don't have anyone here to help me do everyday things. I need to be able to function! Since they are giving me morphine, is there a stronger morphine? Of course, they may not want to give me that cause i might ABUSE it. really makes me angry. my son said it kinda bothered him that a med is named after it's security feature. good point.
One more thing. Could I have oxycontin still in my system? I took the first one of these 10 hours after my last 40 mg. oxy. In other words, is the minimal amt of pain relief I have perhaps going to lessen as the old oxy leaves my system. I feel like I should know this one, but I haven't slept much.
Sorry for another ridiculously long post!
October 23, 2009 - 5:00am
#2
If i could ask
How much was the Fentora? do you have private ins or Medicare?
Ray
October 30, 2009 - 8:35pm
#3
oneir,
there's no "balance." If this pill is not chewed/ crushed, the naltrexone capsule does not lose any of it's integrity. It's impregnable unless smashed or otherwise tampered with. It is a pellet surrounded by pellets of morphine sulfate.
It's basically Avinza with a capsule of naltrexone in the center. This is morphine equiv. of RemOxy. Whenever that shows up...
This is the new trend in pain medicine. "Tamper proofing" opiates. It's all a dog and pony show for the FDA/ DEA. Not to mention new technology being more expensive, thus jacking the profit margin through the roof, increased tax revenue, insurance company kickbacks to politicians, etc.
That was a rant. =)
Good luck with the Embeda. You're not going to get the euphoria you got from oxycodone whilst taking morphine. It's just not there. The pain relief is though.
October 30, 2009 - 10:09pm
#4
All good points...where you
All good points...where you been TN?
October 30, 2009 - 10:29pm
#5
In my opinion...
...Its all a big scam. Taking a long-standing medicine like Bupe, Morphine, Oxy and adding naltrexone to it and calling it a new medication then charging an exorbitant amount of money for it seems like a total scam on the consumer.
Its like charging $5.00 for a pack of regular (non-menthol) cigarettes, then charging $87.50 for menthol cigs.
Hillariously ridiculous...
November 1, 2009 - 12:51pm
#6
87.50?
We better be talking" Kools" at least... You know the funny thing about your comment, regardless of whether it's pills, cigarettes, or GASOLINE, people will moan and complain, but they will STILL PAY THROUGH THEIR NOSE, OUT OF NECESSICTY (medicines, gasoline).
Consumers are hostages.
November 7, 2009 - 5:17pm
#7
Sorry i've been MIA. trying
Sorry i've been MIA. trying to take care of things with my husband gone & it only took a few days for me to start feeling bad on the Embeda. apparently i did have enough oxy left in my body that there was an oxy/morphine combo effect for a few days. I kept thinking that this was so amazing that this was working as well as it did. that didn't last long. now every muscle in my body hurts (I have fibro, remember, so that is how it feels). I called the doc and told her that the Embeda was not doing the trick. I considered not calling between appointments, but I just couldn't stand it. So the person at the front desk said she would go back and ask if they wanted me to come in, & she came back and said that "they" said I needed to wait until my appointment on the 12th. She said they would not give any additional meds in between. So tough luck that I am in pain and can barely get off the couch. So ridiculous.
oneir, just fyi, i NEVER got any euphoria off my oxy. none. kept wishing for it! lol wishing for the energy everyone says they got, too. I think since i have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I am just so exhausted that it takes something ridiculously strong to give me any kind of euphoric feeling. the Fentora sort of did that. Well, it took away all my pain and gave me energy for that 20 minute period, so that was sure euphoria to me!
Ray, the Fentora was slightly over $1000 for 26 pills. I started on one a day and then went to 2. My copay was $75.
About the oxys, I hope I don't have a problem. My husband got rid of them because the pharmacist said combining oxycontin and the embeda could kill me. My husband always worried that I would take the wrong pill or an extra pill when I had to wake up to take a dose like i was doing before. so he took all my oxys, both kinds, and SAID he flushed them. I had a fit because I told him that I might have been able to take the oxycodones for bt pain. I am wondering if he really flushed them or hid them somewhere before he went to Texas. The point is, I don't have those pills to show her. It didn't occur to me that she would ask to see those since she did not prescribe them. They were prescribed by my PC doc the month before. Do you think she would ask for something she didn't prescribe? OH NO!!!! NOW I"M GOING TO WORRY! I hope my husband calls so I can ask him if he really flushed them. (he wouldn't have kept them for himself or anything - he HATES pills!).
Hope you are all doing well. I will try to check back tomorrow. I have one more thing to ask, but I have a friend coming to visit. Thanks for all your help, as usual!
November 7, 2009 - 7:35pm
#8
TN Lady,
I think there's a good chance that this new doctor may ask for proof showing your previous prescriptions. Do you have the pharmacy receipts? If not, they may be able to get duplicates. Hopefully, when your husband calls you can tell him that the doctor is requiring this. Even though he had your best interest at heart, this could jeopardize your getting this doctor giving you the prescriptions you need. Wishing you the best of luck, Theresa
November 8, 2009 - 10:18am
#9
I don't think the doctor will
I don't think the doctor will have you bring in your actual pills. If they were going to they would have had you bring them BEFORE they prescribed you meds. It is always good to keep pharmacy receipts though. They saved my @!^ when I had to do a urine test at work.
November 8, 2009 - 1:43pm
#10
Why can't She just get the
Why can't She just get the perscribing info from the Pharm you used or the old MD. The records will be in your chart at both places. It would just take a phone call. Good Luck.
November 8, 2009 - 3:58pm
#11
TNlady I just can't
TNlady I just can't understand why your hubby would throw away any of your meds! If you had that much OC and oxycodone left, why wouldn't you finish taking it and just let your current pmd know? I have always finished my meds before taking something new. It is dangerous to have these meds around. You are not the first to say a loved one threw away their meds. It might be a hard sell since your drug screen came back positive for Methadone. I would hate to see you discharged for your hubby throwing away your meds. I hope it works out for you! My hubby would never touch my meds. He knows I need them too much! I was in no way saying you took the Mdone. Take care,htmom
November 8, 2009 - 6:10pm
#12
maybe i wasn't too clear. i
maybe i wasn't too clear. i was prescribed the Embeda on the 16th of Oct. They were no where to be found in Knoxville. So my pharmacist that I always go to ordered them. They didn't come until the 20th. He told me not to start them for 12 hours or it could be dangerous. That's when he told me not to take the oxycontins with the embeda ever or it could actually kill me. (That's why my husband did whatever he did with them. He was afraid i would accidently take the wrong thing and DIE!) Frankly, i think he hid them somewhere. The problem is that I don't know if I will get to talk with him before I go back.
let me backtrack a minute. when i went in to see the new doc on the 16th, i had my oxys that my PC had given me. I had the bottles and pills like you are supposed to take to the pain clinic, but she didn't look at them. remember, i had to go see her 2 weeks previous to that visit for a drug screen and pill count at THAT visit. if all was fine, then i was supposed to go back on the 16th & get my scripts.
Anyway, my PC doc had written my oxys on the 23rd of Sept. I didn't start the morphine until the 21st of October, even though i picked it up late on the 20th - because i was told to stop taking the oxy and wait 12 hours, so I actually only had 2 days worth of both oxys left.
I do have the receipts of everything. i honestly never thought she would ask to see those last few oxys since she didn't ask to see the bottles the last time.
You know, I might have the bottles, now that I think about it. The pills were gone from my pill a day thing. I know people that take oxys, both kinds, that could probably lend me some to show her (IF I HAVE THE BOTTLES). BIG QUESTION: would you bother to do that? after all the added info i have given you today, don't you think I will be ok?
i am feeling even worse today, btw, as in even more pain. given the reaction to my phone call saying the meds weren't working and i am in pain, I am really worried she won't do anything.
November 8, 2009 - 7:00pm
#13
When my dr switched me from
When my dr switched me from Avinza to Fentanyl, I took all my Avinza before starting my FTD. Like wise, when my dr switched me from OC to Avinza, I took all the OC before starting the Avinza. My dr knew of this. But that's me. I would not bring up the fact that you do not have the pills or the fact that your hubby could have possibly flushed them. I took Avinza for over 2 years,it changed my life. OC for me did nothing for pain control. It's strange how one med can work so well for some and not work at all for others. Oh, the one thing for me with Avinza was my dr was always needing to increase the dose. Take care,htmom
Glad to hear things are working out for you, somewhat at least. There is alot to respond to in your post so I'll try to respond to as many as I can.
Embeda is a new medication...only came out a few months ago, in the US at least...
My guess is that when taken as directed it will work the same as morphine. No better, no worse. There is not a 'better' kind of morphine as you refer to it here. Certain brands may be preferable over another but only one company makes Embeda. (King pharm. ?) I don't believe morphine "builds up" like some other drugs do...
Your dose of meds before was medium high on the scale, as I see it. What you have been switched to is probably less effective than what you were on before. My guess is that there is somewhat of a chance that you could have withdrawal symptoms...probably not though. If you do, make sure to call your doctor's office and let them know before taking one of the left over oxy. I think the amount of naltrexone must be carefully balanced with the amount of pain medication so adding in all the oxy (even though its a different drug) throws of the balance of agonist vs antagonist. Just a guess...
If you last took the oxy 10 hours ago, yes you have it "in your system" but its probably not active in the receptors and therefore is not likely to be producing any pain relieving effects.
It is really good to hear that things have started to straighten out for you. Sure its not as good as it was before but the trusting relationship takes time and thats something you'll have to do anywhere you go. I would stick with them and give it a try. We should always try to look at the silver lining in things. In this situation you are getting a chance to reduce your tolerance to meds. We all should do this periodically when we can. Although now might not be the most opportune time to take a step back you gotta roll with the punches and take the good with the bad...make some good out of bad if you can...
Best wishes, keep us posted