Changing meds?

My doctor mentioned that we may go a different route (cheaper) after my insurance is gone (not sure if I can afford the cost of cobra since unemployment takes up to 8 weeks to be processed!). He mentioned that both Extended Release Opana and Fentanyl patches are options we can look into.

Has anyone had to switch from Oxycontin to either of these meds? Did it work out okay for you? I'm so used to my regiment that I'm a bit nervous to change. I'm such a creature of habit.

I know the patches are changed every 48 or 72 hours but what about Opana? Is it once a day?

Any input is greatly appreciated. Its super early and this change wouldn't take effect for a couple appointments. I have one next Friday so it would be the appointmemt after that (about five weeks from now).

Thanks all for any insight you can provide. You guys are the best!

Hello QT Pye78, I was on OxyContin and when I changed doctors, because of relocation, my Dr. Recommended that I try Fentenyl at 25 mg/every 3 days and breakthrough med codeine 25 mg/max of 4 to 5 pills a day.

I experienced difficulty on the first onset. A lot of breath through pain.
I tried the patch for several days, and my pain was getting worse. I called my Dr. and she said put on another patch. That equaled to 50 mg. My regiment as of today is 50 mg Fentenyl changed every 48 hrs.
I rarely take my codeine. I take Lyrica, 3 times a day and Cymbalta for
depression. I am happy with that! It does not take all my pain away, but it does give me some quality of life.

I hope that helps you. If you have any questions for me you can ask here or pm via email.

Warm regards.
Sandra

Hey Linds also wanted to say with opana you have to be very aware of any potential alcohol entering your system, not only by drinking but lotion, hair products, etc it can cause a fatal episode or reaction. Just SOS ya know! Im to non-particular about thinking every move.

I lost my insurance after my divorce years ago so had to switch from Oxycontin to generic MSContin. I had zero problems switching over and thankful that my PM always starts low on any new medication because I went from 120mg of Oxycontin a day to only needing 75mg to 90mg of the MSContin...

If he went by the "standard" conversion, it would have put me on at least 135mg or more of MSContin....But I've been able to stay at the low dosage for more than 4 years now.

The only issue when switching is a bit of nausea and fatigue with the Morphine but that is pretty common and it was no big deal and went away after a few weeks. I find this med to be extremely good at pain control throughout the day without any ups/downs.

I am also on generic OxyIR for any BT pain. Since I have had to pay cash all this time, cost is of the utmost importance so that is why I also use Sam's Club which offers the best price in my area.

So, as others mentioned, the two options you mentioned are very expensive compared to Morphine or even Methandone.

I don't think the Opana does but not 100% sure on that. The Fentanyl patch does but it's still pretty expensive...

You could at least switch to generic Oxycodone for your BT med if all you need is up to 30mg a day....

:) I was offline for a few days enjoying the lovely weather we are getting!! But I was following your situation in the hospital and was praying for you to get better! So glad they didn't have to rush and do any surgery...

Hope you can get things situated with the meds soon! It sounds like you have a good Dr. who will work with you on figuring it out..

Fentanyl patches gave me quality of life I had despaired of ever having again ..
But are $$$

QT, you might want to see if your state has some kind of discount program for prescriptions. I'm in Florida and we have something called the Florida Discount Drug Card Program and it's great. Virtually all prescriptions are covered and you can save quite a bit of money. For example, 150/15mg Oxycodone tablets are $39.05 with the discount card, vs. around $140 w/o it (of course the 140 varies, depending on where you go - but regardless, $39.05 is a great cash price!). I have no idea which states have a similar program, but it's worth checking out! Good luck!

Have a peaceful day.

Linds, Im back!! No really as David mentioned methadone is the cheapest scheduled II med out there. Cost is is about $24 for 120 ten mg pills.

I know you've followed my journey somewhat on the difficulty of coming down on this med. They thing I want you to remember is I've been on it almost 13 years and doses as high as 120 mgs a day early out by a Dr who didnt have a clue how this med works.

You can do a search and you'll find lots of threads on it through the years, lots of opinions.

It's a very good med for those who can take it so dont let the stories scare you away from it. Like all the other meds its great for some and bad for others.

The key point is it takes some getting used to and avoiding going up in doses quickly. This med is not going to help you at all if your pain leans towards acute, comes or goes and takes periods of rest. Its not that kind of med. It takes reaching a therapeutic level and maintaining that to cover that constant, consistent, nerve racking kind of pain that never ceases. Not on an as needed basis.

May Drs dont use b/t meds with methadone once you reach that therapeutic plateau, I'm not at all sure I think that's good as I often felt had I had something early to help cover I may not have reached such high doses.

Anyway there it is and I didnt want you to rule it out without thought from things you've read here.

Also, with the discount card from Kmart I think it is, my friend use to pay $9 for 90 methadone so any discount card you can get your hands on helps.

Good luck oh I almost forgot! Dang imagine that! With the generic oxycontin being in the wind again the patient assistant program is stepping up helping more ppl pay for their oxycontin. If you end up staying there check out their website.

qt, believe it or not, that $720 price is for the generic version, hate to know how much the "real" stuff costs. Due to the flaw in my plan, I will have to pay the $360 price from Oct-Dec, until the new plan takes effect. Don't know where we are going to come up with the money.

What a huge difference in price with the Methadone, definitely worth thinking about.

David

The one time that I had to pay cash price for fentanyl patches, I went to CVS pharmacy. I got one box (5 patches) of the 100mcg strength for roughly $154.00. It would have been nearly twice that, but the pharmacy scanned one of their discount cards that they use for people without insurance and it brought the cost down nearly 50%.

There are different discount cards available all over the net. Some of them are scams and don't really get you a discount so it is really a trial and error type of thing to go through.

I would check and see if your $50.00 co-pay card would work if you are a cash paying customer, that may be your best bet. If it will not, I would definitely look into contacting the company directly that makes the oxycontin to see if you can qualify for their program where they will take care of the cost of it for you. You can tell them your circumstances that are coming up in the future. I would check on this very soon as I know that it takes a little time to complete the paperwork needed to qualify.

Good luck!
Trudy

Hey Linds, wanted to ask about your morphine allergy? What exactly happens and when? Not trying to be nosy?lol it's just many times ppl have certain reactions that aren't necessarily allergins but merely adverse and it goes away or doesn't occur at all on oral form.

We gotta stop meeting like this Merrida!

Its beginning to look like one of starts a sentence and the other one finishes it! Someone's going to think we're weird? Haha!