More Mallinckrodt! PLEASE POST if you have experience with them.

Dear Sir -   TUNA

I am an opiate dependant chronic pain syndrome / multiple sclerosis sufferer who has taken all the different preparations of these analgesics.  I have used all of the brands others have commented on including WATSON (THE BEST) and the brand manufacturer of LORTAB(also good)... I have to tell you I have never felt as vindicated as I did when I read your post about the Malli brand of analgesics.  These pills in my opinion are ineffective and literally sickening in my case and in my body create  A. aggitation B.  nervousness C. do not control my pain at all.   D. they make me feel a little sick following ingestion.  The MALLI brand seem to me are WHITE FILLER pills made on the cheap by using substandard manufacturing but until now I never thought anyone felt the same way as I do, thank you Sir for sharing your experience so as to affirm my experience with said medication.    Thank you Sir.

I posted for the first time last weekend, about those Malis making me sick.. literally.

i ran a controlled test, with my doctors involvment.

the mallis were absolutely hurting me.  When i took those i got a headache, rapid heartrate, and my blood pressure went through the roof. I felt absolutely horrible -- on two occasions i was so unwell, shaky, bad vision, naseated, flushed, heart pounding etc. that I literally could not function, the second time i went to my doc's office.

This is serious! My friggin blood pressure.  I am now 100% CERTAIN that those Malis for whatever reason were essentially poisoning my system. I replaced an entire rx of my Malli IR Oxy 30s for the brand name Roxicodone.  within 40 mins of taking the malis my blood pressure and heart rate were going up, 1.5 hours later I was beyond miserable and my blood pressure was dangerously high  165/101. I did controlled tests where i would take the malis in a smaller dose and test my blood sugar, heart rate, blood pressure, and also document how I felt. and i could tie all of htese symtoms, within literally 50 minutes to those pills. when i made the switch to the brand name Roxicodone, all of the problems went away! ALL of them!! My pharamcist, doctor and insurer fully acknowledged the problem with those meds and didn't think twice about the switch.

my blood pressure has been the model of good health since the day after i switched -- 118/78 to 133/79 -- those are the ranges, and heart rate resting at 72 bpm.

with the Malis i was at 165/101 to 138/96 always.  and my heart rate, resting, was 110 to 126.  keep in mind these are narcotics whose side effects warn of lowering of your heart rate and "hypotension" or decreased blood pressure, not an immediate and traceable increase.

Something is wrong with these folks.  I have no doubt.  It is a fact.

I was so badly effected by these that I stopped all meds for 19 hours and welcomed the beginnings of withdrawl while in possession of a whole month's worth of meds, rather than go thru the ???$* that these tainted pills were putting me thru.

I have had absolutely no problems like the ones described above since the switch. NONE.  From sick as heck all the time to nothing.  There is NO Question those Mali's are bad news.  Take precaution and talk to your doc about the reality of that bad medicine.

hi everyone

my son was put on 30mg roxicodone because of a accident on a dirt bike. He was on 15mg roxi, it stopped helping with the pain and when they switched it ,he said they same thing alot of you on here are saying, hes only been on these a few months. We are not familiar with alot of this stuff, but would like to learn.  he started taking the 30mg he asked me if it was the right medicine cause it made him feel funny. We been getting the blue round pills marked with a M on one side and 30 on the other side. I looked it up and its from that Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. (although on the bottle it says Amide Pharmaceuticals.. i dont know about that

How do you know the difference between brand and generic. What are the brand ones? Who carries them? Should I call pharmacies and ask? I called the pharmacy to ask how much they were over the phone and they would not even give me a price over the phone.The pharmacist himself got on the phone and said we dont give out that information, you have to come in and get it. i said I need to know how much they are so if I dont want them I can go to another pharmacy, he hung up on me. what is going on and the is the pharmacy that i have dealt with for 30+ years for all my other medicines. ( not pain medicine), but antibiotics, cough medicine... everything through the years and they were so nasty.

please somebody tell me what the difference is on 30mg roxicodone, because i thought it was all in my sons head, until i read all these post. Must be something going on. He said this one only last for mayb 2-3 hours.

Also, what is a 543 percocet? is that generic or brand? how do i find out the difference?

thanks friends

Generic Name: Oxycodone, Acetaminophen
Strength: 5 mg, 325 mg
Manufacturer: Roxane Laboratories
Trade Name: Roxicet
Class: RX, CII
Comment: Image courtesy of gtrplayer. Tablet is white in color. Imprint 54543

taking Mallinckrodts 512.

5/325 oxycodone/apap

imo are the weakest product in the book. my wife even complains that it takes 1 and a half tabs to equal 1 tab of equal strength oh hydro. as for the cost i was paying in the cash range of 50-60 dollars us, for 120 10/325 watson or qualitest norco10/325 tablets. and that was at target, which no longer sell them, they switched to the mallinckrodts, or a sav-more drug store. everybodys different, but i would think that it was  in everyones head the m"s were no good, but i gave them a fair chance, and imo they are ineffective.

I THINK ALL MANUFACTORS ARE MAKING HALF INEFFECTIVE PILLS, MY WIFE FAILS 3 TESTS USING WATSONS, I FAIL 2 TESTS USING GREENSTONES,   SOMEBODIES GOT PILL PRESSES PUMPING OUT SALT N FLOUR

40 Mg Oxycontin....just got my first batch this week and I believe them to be very short acting and nowhere near the strength of the Purdue brand. Have been on the Purdue for the past 5 years, so I thought maybe that was the problem and also I've only taken my first weeks worth so far. Ive been pleased with the 30 Mg Mallis which I also get for my BT and have used them for the same time length. Truthfully I have always been pleased with Mallincrockdt's generics that is up untill I got these 40 Mg Oxycontin...they are terrible. I sure wont accept these anymore...but seems to be a shortage of Class II in my area the last couple months. Well hope this helps your research..........Rascus

Disregard a much earlier post I made in regards to Mallincrocdt....I mistakenly was using another brand began with an M and thought it was Malli....though later discovered that it was not....Rascus

(edited)

Hi guy/gal, these are the first posts of yours that I've read 'n I've made too many gender misassumptions in the past which ended calamitously, to say the least. Back to the point, are those fresh minted Mally Oxycontins? I was taking a generic  brand over a year ago but Purdue's massive litigation put all the generics out of business about 18 months ago and I've not heard of any generics available until your post. What area do you live in and was it a chain or Mom 'n Pop pharm? I'm interested cause I had to switch from #4 40 mg. Oxycontins p/day to #5 30 mg. OxycodoneIRs p/day (they're Mallys and I agree with your assessment on them), I still take up to #5 Percoset 5/325s p/day for BTP. I preferred the ERs, thanks...

                                                                               Q

I got Mallinckrodt oxycodone 15mg about 4 months after I first started on oxy.  That month I went thru quite a bit of pain, it was like the Mallinckrodt was a placebo, I am not exagerating. The next month I went to the doctor and told him the pills were not working so he gave me methadone for a base pain med plus the oxycodone.

When I got my script it was a different brand and the oxycodone was working again.  Now I always ask them if the have Mallinckrodt, if so I go elsewhere.  I suggest everybody stay away from them if you want pain relief.

Mallinckrodt should be taken off the market, it is garbage.

Hello~

Appreciating that someone facillitated the start of this thread topic.

My story:

I'm a consumer and licensed registered nurse and have concerns about Mallinckrodt. Please note that I'm currently working in a different, non-clinical field - so no instant access to doctors or patients anymore who might be able to report to me current, relevant information.

I'm a 'chronic' pain patient and have been prescribed Oxycodone/APAP - 5/325 [ = 4.48 mg Oxycodone Hydrochloride/325 mg Acetaminophen ]. Most recenly Mallinckrodt brand.

I've taken this medication for most of the past 9 years. 10 - 12 days per month, on average. That's why I qualify the word 'chronic' - I've never taken it daily because the pain does not occur daily. But when it happens its very, very bad.

I was referred to a local pain specialist last year - a few months after moving to the city where I'm now living. I've been taking the OXYCOD/APAP as prescribed and have noticed extremely varying outcomes re: pain relief. Sometimes it works and sometimes it hardly works at all. I told my doctor that when it does seem to it does not last more than a hour or two. There were times before when the same medicine (in name at least) would last at least 3 hours once it kicked in.

Here's what's interesting:

1) I had a very different experience when I was given Percocet brand after surgery.

2) Also, when the shortage first happened and the pharmacy ran out of generic, they gave me Roxicet instead.

Both of those times the difference was like night and day.  They both worked incredibly well. Over the years, after listening to patients and due to my admittedly subjective experiences I feel there is reason to believe that not all OXYCOD/APAP's meds are created equal.  I used to believe they yielded the same outcome re: pain relief.  I really did. Now, after researching it and then also being on the other side of the wall myself, I believe certain fillers and additives can cause probems - leading to ineffective absorption, even allergic reactions. This does not then, make the better brand names exempt - but there are somehow fewer complaints of this kind.

In my case it's primarily a case of extreme inconsistency of effectiveness.  I spoke to my doctor and we discussed tolerance factors. I didn't think it was all about tolerance since it seemed to coincide with the brand - but I had no way to prove it (no lab access) and I didn't want to sound like a maniac or seeker. Something we were trained since school to watch out for. Making me a little paranoid whenever I'm wearing the patient hat.

The doctor increased the number of tablets by 25% and changed the intervals from every 6 hours to every 4 hours. I can honestly say it seems to have made no difference at all. Something is no good about Mallinckrodt, in my experience.

The last Rx I picked up seems to be made of air. I'm directed to take 1 to 2 tabs per dose. Probably, needless to say, I've most often had to take 2. After a few days I decided to experiment. I decided to 'live on the edge' and see what would happened to my pain if I took 1.5 x the max number. So 3 tablets. And wow - it took about 45  minutes to shave off the sharpness (normally, when it works it begins in about 20 to 30 minutes, especially if I haven't had a lot of food).  That amount of relief lasted for less than an hour.

I've surfed around and am disturbed by what I've been reading about the Mallinckrodt. c/o experiences others have had and also how much trouble they've been in lately with the FDA. Recent reports can be read at these links:

"The Food and Drug Administration on Monday ordered Mallinckrodt Inc. Pharmaceuticals Group to stop manufacturing a narcotic that hasn't been approved by the FDA.

The FDA threatens legal actions..."

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2009/03/30/daily38.html

More here with a list of the companies involved, including, Mallinckrodt:

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/SelectedEnforcementActionsonUnapprovedDrugs/ucm165587.htm

For me this translates into meaning Mallinckrodt cannot be trusted. They've been breaking the law - and who knows, besides what's in these articles,  what else they've been up to that has not yet been found out? How good are inspections and what goes on in between them?

I called my pharmacy and a few others to learn whether or not I could find another generic brand. Walgreens carries Watson. I asked them about special orders because I was read that people have done that. They said they could order brand names, when I asked. But I have to say that the more we talked, the more edgy the pharmacists sounded. I got the distinct feeling that my questions were making her uncomfortable.  I did ask her if it was a normal thing, that people made special orders for brand names. She said it is done sometimes. But what a weird vibe.

Because I'm wanting to do a further comparison - to know what is best to have in hand -  I'm mostly positive that I'll leave my next prescription at a Walgreen's. Or another pharmacy where I can have it filled with Watson's. Hoping there's a difference because I'm not wanting a lot of acetaminophen in my body system.  I'd  try for Percocet or Roxicet again but my insurance will not cover it. Not unless generics are not available again.  It would cost over $130 to fill just 1/3 of my normal prescription with either brand.

I don't have a pharmacy contract with the M.D. I have now - but insurance tracks everything and I don't want any new pharmacist concerned that I've switched teams: So I'll call the specialist and tell them about Mallinckrodt so they know why. That way if the new pharmacy calls to confirm the RX (which has happened before if they do not know me) The doctor will be informed ahead of time. What I may also do is print out the articles linked above to have them on hand. I just hope that I'll have better relief.

(P.S. No spell check?)

I've had great experiences with Walgreens and oxycodone prescriptions. If its an option, you should talk to your doctor about the non APAP oxycodone preparation. It currently is available in 5mg, 15mg and 30mg. Walgreens carries what I consider to be the highest quality brand. Again you have to watch out for the Mallinkrodt version of this drug but every one I've talked to around the country has yet to recieve the dreaded M pills when filling at Walgreens.

This is a long story so please bear with me it does have a point.  My best friend had gastric bypass surgery recently.   She has "abused" Vicodin for some years now on and off not enough to have a true addiction but has a tolerance somewhat to them.  She was especially looking forward to the surgery because of all the pain meds she was going to receive.  I don't agree with this behavior but she is my friend.  So while in the hospital she complained until they gave her dilaudid in her IV and I believe she was also receiving Oxycontin but I am not sure what strength. 

She had complained enough so that she insured an extra day in the hospital to continue to receive the "high power" meds.   They finally released her on a Saturday afternoon/evening.  When I took her home the nurse gave her 10 Percocet 10mgs to get her through the next day or so until I could fill her RX at the pharmacy as she wasn't to be left alone for the first 24 hours.  These pills were packaged in the pop out cards and I am not sure of the brand.  When she got home she immediately took 2 pills.  This pretty much to my surprise knocked her out for a few hours.  

Her mother happened by and said she would get her RX filled so I wouldn't have to leave her.  So when she woke up and wanted more pain meds I gave her 2 of these pills.  I realized at that point they were only the 5mg pills and I called back to the hospital to see if that was correct and they said yes.   The nurse explained that her pain should be lessening and that she actually had been given the 10mgs by mistake when she was discharged but it would be okay.  So my friend cried and complained bitterly of the pain intensifying after awhile not getting better.   My train of thought was she knew there was a difference in the strengths and due to her love of opiates just wanted more drugs.  So I persisted that she would be alright just to rest and they would "kick" in.  She was up most all night and when it was time for another dose I gave her just one of the "hospital pills" which took and became pain free for several hours.  It didn't make sense too me.  So we or should I say I carefully doled out the hospital pills over the next day or so thinking her pain should be easing up due to her healing etc. 

Finally the hospital pills were gone and she had to go back to the Mallikrodt pills (the 5mg) so she was taking them 2 at a time which should have been the same dose as the hospital pills.  She kept complaining they weren't working eventually I had to drive her 50 miles back to the hospital on Monday.  The doctor seemed to think it was all in her head (as did I) but she kept asking him for Vicodin and he relented and wrote it.  She went home and I filled these pills at different pharmacy and received Watson brand hydrocodone 5mg with APAP.  I knew this was actually her drug of choice and assumed she would be eating them like candy and telling me they weren't working (she usually isn't happy until she is practically incoherent).   She must have realized this was her last chance of staying out of pain and did take them semi correctly.   She said they did help her pain much more and I assumed when they were gone she would take the Mallinkrodt Percocets because she could.  Much to my surprise she didn't take the Mallinkrodt pills at all.  She kept saying they didn't work and they made her sick. 

Fast forward a month or so.  I came down with an abcessed tooth and went to my dentist.  He said before he could do any work I had to get rid of the infection.  He wrote me out some Amoxil and a RX for 30 Percocet 5mg.  My friend said she still had all those Mallinkrodt pills left and if I wanted them I could have them.  I about fell over that she hadn't taken them and was offering me well over 100 pills.   I thought well at least I could save some money not filling mine as I have no insurance. 

I myself am not habituated to any opiates and in the past my few times of taking Percocets when prescribed by a doctor are that they make me very sleepy and itchy (I am not allergic its just a side effect for me).   So although I was in pain I waited until I got home to take one.  I kept waiting for it to work (man my tooth hurt!).   They never did kick in.   I took the second one and still nothing.   I am a person who usually feels loopy on one Tylenol 3.   While I didn't feel sick I was sweating like crazy (not from the pain) I just was sweating like crazy and it was not hot in my house.  So finally my friend went to the pharmacy (not the one that dispenses Mallinkrodt) and filled my RX for Percocet.  The ones she returned with were Ethex.   I took one and within in minutes it seemed like was working.   It was almost too strong, I had to lay down as I felt pretty goofy at that point and very itchy.   I found out very quickly that a half of one of these pills was enough to kill the pain. 

My conclusion was that the Mallinkrodt pills were indeed ineffective and I felt very bad for my friend and guilty for doubting her. 

hi everybody,

this is my first post! glad to be a part of this thread. the main reason i switched from cosco to walgreens is that my prescription is for 150ct oxycodone 30mg. per month. well, cosco only allows you 120ct every 30 days. if you fill your script there, you lose the other 30ct. my doc prescribes 5 pills per day but cosco says nope, only 4 buddy! and don't come back for at least 30 days. so i switched to walgreens and boy am i happy. cosco carries the mallies but walgreens carries the A 215s and i get all 150 at once for a cheaper price. $75 for 150 = 50 cents apiece. really good price. the A 215s are better quality. they are also slightly smaller and thinner.  no filler, just relief.  take care, MM

Not to sure about all this...I always get generics except on a couple of rare occasions. I have never even paid any attention to brand of them. I just checked- currently Watson and for the last couple of years I've been going to Walgreens, I suspect it has been Watson for duration at Walgreens for the particular painkillers I'm taking and they always appear the same, unlike some other generics that sometimes look different size and shape. Anyhow the whole deal about 4 - 6 hrs is bull except for timed release pills. Best I've ever noticed is 3hrs before pain begins to get bad again. The length of time and the speed will always have to do with when and what if anything you've had to eat. Sometimes it seems like the meds don't work at all, and other times work OK. Pills are from the same bottle. I think sometimes its just a couple of bad pills, but I'm not so sure that its not just the varying intensity of the pain that gives this perception. But as to the testimony given on this thread I'm sure it really isn't in EVERYBODY's head, but I suspect it is in some cases. Considering the number of pills any of these companies make I am sure there are some variance in the strength of any given batch. If government testing for meds is anything like other government testing, I am also fairly sure all the companies know when there are going to be quality checks (word 'leaks"out). Greed rules with virtually any company anymore, but I find it hard to believe there could be differences as drastic as some are making it out to be. One brand make YOU queasy and another doesn't? Yeah could be a reaction to fillers or an unusually high content (allowed variances) of the actual painkiller making you nauseous. The ironic part is that the US fights importing meds from other countries citing poor quality control in other nations (LOL). Since I'm putting my 2 cents in here, has anyone considered their pharmacist might be switching some for a look alike? I have to admit if I were a pharmacist I know it would cross my mind; but then again I have chronic pain. Go ahead and call me a seeker for admitting that- I can take it :)

@Saturated   I have doubts about that, I was under the impression fillers were all harmless but I haven't researched it. 1/8 of a thimble could be very potent; thinking out loud here but I remember small doses with huge results in my youth, LSD

I think we have exhausted this topid to death!

Many people do not have a problem with Malli, and many do. Reactions are varied across the board but Malli seems to have more bad reported experiences than any other generic. At least as far as online posts go. I use Malli hydro 10/325 and it works great. I almost returned it to the pharmacy just because it was Malli, and they were going to let me even though I had already left since they know me so well. I decided not to make a big deal over it and didnt want to hassel a transfer so I kept them. They work fine, and actually just as good if not better than brand. Some people have varied experiences with different generics, and some do not. I think we can all leave it at that. We have debated this thread into the ground. Pain is something that is more definable which is why people are able pick the generic pain medications apart. When do you hear complaints that a blood pressure generic is not as good as another? I would say pretty much never. Most people are not checking their blood pressure every hour and noting how effective their medicine is controlling it. With pain being something no one wants to experience, well except for masochists, a slight variation in medication can mean a difference in pain relief. Whether that difference is little or big makes no difference to many chronic pain sufferers, since a tiny bit more relief can make all the difference. However, I also agree with people who think that the difference most experience from different generics is merely psychosomatic, especially if they form their opinion AFTER reading a thread such as this one. My first bad experience with Malli had no outside influences, and in fact I had no idea the medicine was different until I noticed the lack of relief. Q pointed out a very important fact, that even if the reaction is psychosomatic it really doesnt matter as long as someone is getting relief. If someone has it in their head that a particular medication works best for them, does it matter if its mental or physical as long as they are getting relief? People do come up with some wild reactions and interesting stories, dont they Sat man? Well......I guess it takes all kinds, as they say.

I have to concure on the drug seeker bit. I sure am glad that guy is not a pharmacist, I could not imagine even thinking about considering substituting someones pain relief with a placeabo! Especially knowing what pain is and how important pain medication plays a role in functionality.