Morphine XR vs. Oxycontin

Hi Melanie,

Oxycontin extended release is about twice as strong as morphine extended release tablets. The medical literature says the ration is 2:1 oxy to morphine. Some literature says its 1.5:1 and other places list 2.5 to one. When my doc just switched me over he's using the lower ratio to start with. I've been on 80mg of oxy/day and he's moving me to 120mg of morphine/day. Both are extended release. Just realize that any drug will work differently for each person. I'm making the switch this weekend. Have my fingers crossed. The choice wasn't mine. See related post on Insurance company forcing me to switch.

Hope this helps,
Chutz

True you will need more and more but who wants to live with pain...there are points when pain gets so bad youd do jsut about anything..and if theres something out there where you can get atleast 1 day of being pain free...Id do it...I have been on OC for about a year and a half and have only upped my dose once...So i mean as long as you take it as prescribed then you should be alright...

Thank you everyone.  The avinza just isn't cutting it anymore and I'm up to 150 mg a day.  I'll talk to my pm doc when I go in.

Just this past Monday I went in for the first in a series of caudal shots.  I feel pretty good today - pain is minimal.  I get another one tomorrow.  They've worked in the past - although it doesn't last too long.  However, I'd go through just about anything to have a day or so of pain free living.

Hello all. I have been treated with Percocet (Oxycodone APAP) for years. However my pain has progressively gotten unbearable and not responsive to Percocet. I saw a doctor at a pain clinic in Philadelphia and he prescribed oxycontin ER as well as Oxycodone APAP. However, my insurance company declined to pay for the Oxycontin, until I jumped through some hoops first. They wanted me to first try Morphine Sulfate (MS Contin). If that didn't work, then we needed to try Fentynyl Patch. Finally if these failed, they say they will pay for my oxycontin. My doctor started me at 15 MG of MS Contin (Morphine Sulfate) along with 40 MG daily of Oxycodone. Over the course of a few months, I'm now at 130 MG of MS Contin along with the 40 MG of Oxycodone. However my pain is not improved, it's excruciating. I was wondering if it was still worth trying the Oxycontin, since Morphine is pretty strong and yet isn't getting rid of the pain. According to what I think I've read here, Oxycontin is twice as strong as MS Contin and is therefore worth trying. If I've misunderstood something, or if someone has any advice, please let me know, Thank you for all the information you are providing. It's comforting to know I'm not alone and that other people are going through what I'm going through. Other than my wife, no one in my family knows what I go through every day. I have very little quality of life. My pain is constant, all day every day. I'm hoping for some relief from Oxycontin along with oxycodone. Good luck all.

Percocet is Oxycodone with Tylenol.

Oxycontin is Oxycodone with a continuous release. So what makes this so different or so much stronger? What is the ingredient that is different.

Why would I have terrible side effects from Oxycontin and be ok with percocet?

Would you expect to have withdrawal if I had been on Tramadol for five months then stopped that and was put on oxycontin. The tramadol wasn't working anymore so my PM dr. put me on Oxycontin and I had all kinds of side effects (it was just like withdrawal I would say, that's what it seemed). So I stopped the oxycontin because I was in a terrible way with the side effects and went back to percocet prn. I can sleep better now with being on Imovane (sleeping pill) and Flexeril (muscle relaxant) at bedtime. With a better sleep at night I have more strength to cope with the pain in the day and just use percocet as necessary. Although I still have pain in the day I can handle it better on a good night's sleep. Is that confusing??

Sorry for carrying on. Just trying to figure this out.

Thanks for listening. Here's to some pain free days (or less pain) for all of us!!

Hi Melanie..... I was on avinza & kadian with no luck. I tried methadone before oxy, but where I go they will not prescribe a BT med along with methadone. So it wasn't enough for me. Though methadone is a cheap alternative. The extended release Oxycontin has a lawsuit against anyone having a generic form, so it is quite expensive. For awhile I had lost my insurance & was paying almost $600 out of pocket for the med. But I stand by the medication, I think it works well. At first I was put in a low dosage of oxycontin (10's I think) & have gradually gone up to oxy 80's. I can tell a big difference in the two. ER morphine just didn't seem to work. (I also build up a tolernce quickly.) I was, until this month, on oxycontin & oxycodone (for BT pain). They are both basically the same medication except of course, they oxycontin is released within a 12 hour time. I was very afraid to go on oxycontin with all the hype to the medication. I have had only one issue & frankly it is severe constipation. I take senokot (its OTC) laxative. There are a few different kinds & the overnight name brand works best for me. As long as you don't abuse the medication, there is nothing to worry about. I do not have any fuzzy or sleepiness from the med. (again I have a high tolerence for pain meds) When I feel something isn't working as well I don't change all my meds at once, my dr had told me on the 1st visit that everyone is different & it may take years to get the correct formula for me. For example, last month the BT oxycodone was not working as well for me anymore, so we decided to try dilaudid for BT pain. I have been on it about 2 weeks with zero results. (You will eventually be able to tell.) So now I know dilaudid does not work for me. Thats why I change my meds slowly and one by one. This was my last resort since I have not only had about half the pharmacy- but I am allergic to an ingredient that is in most pain & regular medications. (I am actually going to have a pain pump trial next month.) As for the oxycontin, it has a bad rep because of people who abuse it. Occasionally it does make me nausieted, so it may be a good idea to have a script of phenergan as well. Just incase. But, I think the drs can call that one in though. I did read it was a common side effect. I think it is a great medication. It has done well for me. I have been on oxy (different doses) for about a year & before that nothing would last longer than 3-4 months. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I will try & answer them the best I can!

Layna, I am very sorry to hear about what you're going through and the pain you're in must be real rough. I have been on Percocet for over 10 years and have had no side effects, nor ANY indications of addiction or dependence. I have not tried Oxycontin yet, except the very lowest dose, and then my insurance company wouldn't cover it. I'm now about to try Oxycontin, since I jumped through the hoops my insurance company wanted me to jump through. Hopefully someone else who has been on Oxycontin can discuss any side effects you may encounter, but I would assume it would be similar to Percocet, since it's the same chemical, only without tylenol and in an extended release form. I have been married for 7 plus years and I couldn't get through my pain and disability without my wife's constant love and support. I can't imagine not telling her about pain I'm in, especially when the pain is as bad as you describe. You shouldn't suffer alone...You should be able to share this with your husband. If you're not telling him to protect him, don't do it. Marriage is for better or for worse and you need to be able to lean on your husband for support. I know my wife would be upset with me if I hid my pain or feelings from her. I wish you well and it seems we'll be starting on Oxycontin around the same time. Let's hope it works for both of us. Take care...byeeeeeeeee

Eric

This Spring will make it 10 years that I've had to take narcotic pain killers so I can stand and walk with short crutches for small periods of time.I'm thankfull that the extended release morphine as my base pain killer, works best for me because it's cheaper in comparison to Oxycontin and has been around for a long time now with a lot less bad PR than Oxy.

SmurphyShadow, I agree 100%. One should only get involved with painkillers if they can't maintain a reasonable "quality of life" without them.

LK; I admire your strength through this tough time. I know that when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer I was devastated, alone and totally freaking out thinking that there would be no one to raise my young son. Luckily enough they caught it early enough that I did not have to go through the pain of Chemo or any of that and they were able to get everything out. I had my family there but they were really no support. My sister was dealing with her family....my brother his own....my mom was into her own life so I was pretty much a single mom trying to deal with a life altering event raising a 9 year old boy. When I tried to approach my family with real facts that if this was going to go the other way and end my life and what my last wishes would be they would not listen. They thought that I was being over dramatic and told me I was being stupid that nothing was going to happen to me. So I was left with no way to convey my last wishes but by writing them down. But here I was faced with another problem....I knew that they would be overlooked if anything did happen to me. So it was about this time that I was dating my soon to be husband. I conveyed to him my feelings...poured out my heart to him and he did not criticize or tell me I was being too dramatic. He listened and then he did something that shocked me. He took me to a notary and that piece of paper that I had filled with all of my wishes he told the notary exactly what it was that I wanted. The notary understood and told me that even if it is just a piece of paper written with a few simple requests that a person desires in case of their death, as long as it is notarized it is a legal binding document in the state that I lived in.

Well I was happy about this and it put my heart at ease. I still have that paper but things have changed a bit. A Legal Will will be drawn up here in the next few years to convey to our children our desires so that everything is clear. I guess the reason I am telling you all of this LK, is because I couldn't turn to my family when I needed them to most. They did not want to deal with the realization that their own daughter or sister might be actually dying. But.....there was someone I could trust and I have trusted him ever since. He knows everything. I have anything going on with me he knows....I keep no secrets from him because I believe that not only does he deserve the respect to help me figure things out and be by my side through the good times and the bad but he also is my husband and when I said "I do" we became one.

I think your husband deserves to know that you are sick hun. He is after all with you through it all no matter what. I know you think that you need to be strong alone but wouldn't it be better to have him to lean on? I really think the two of you can handle whatever comes down the road if you hang onto one another together. Anyway....good luck hun. Hope you are well.

Scarred

I have been taking oxycotin 40mg's ER twice daily, along with oxycodone 15mg's 1 to 2 tablets every four hours not to exceed 8 a day.  I originally started out with tramadrol, which did nothing, so went to percocet 10/325, that worked for a little while but the job i was doing was hard on my back, oh yeah that is why i am taking the medication, my back is in bad shape.  Which i believe happened while deployed to iraq.  Never had back problems enough to see a doctor, just average soreness as i got older, the work i did, the gym, and just working in the yard.  The soreness always went away.  Back to the medication,  the percocet didn't really work anymore, so i was prescribed oxycodone 15mg's 1 every four hours.  That worked good, but still had pain, so i kept the same strength just went up in the amount to take every four hours 1 to 2 tablets.  So i seemed to have the right amount but it didn't last the four hours, so i was prescribed the oxycotin 40mg ER, along with the oxcodone.  That has been working good.  I lost my military insurance cause i couldn't make the monthly payment.  I just went to the VA and they said they don't carry oxycotin, and would subsitute it with the morphine sulfate ER.  What can i expect with that change?  I am not sure of the dosage i will get it this coming week.  Let me know what you think, i appreciate it.  I have never tried the morphine XR (sulfate).

the jury is still out if oxycodone is more of a kappa-opioid receptor agonist than a mu-opioid receptor agonist like morphine is the standard. if i had my choice i would go with a higher dose of morphine unless your pain is neuropathic in nature because studies with oxycodone seem to have a good effect with that. i have noticed a hyperalgesia i guess you would call it with oxycodone because it seems to create hypersensitive nerves with me and many other patients i have known.