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Theory on why change in generic narcotic doesn't work well

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Posted 4/9/2017 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
My second post on HealingWell.

A few weeks ago I was going into withdrawal. I thought something was wrong with my pain pump. I finally discovered that the manufacturer of the generic pain med was changed. After ten years, I'd never noticed this before, although I've had bouts of terrible anxiety, and wonder if this is what did it some of the time.

Short version: Fortunately I have some of the old. I'm going to try gradually replacing the new with the old. My independent pharmacy, which is about the only one I can get pain meds from in my area (and I live in a big city!), can't or won't get the old one, just a different one. Has anyone done this or gotten used to a new generic manufacturer? Increased the dose? My theory is for those of us who are sensitive, any change may affect us.*

More stuff: My pharmacy can't 'stock' anything anymore, so they can't stock any brand available. They had a full on robbery with guns and everything, so they buy as needed.

I don't know if it's the binders affecting the absorbtion, the amount, or the medication itself. The pills that don't work well are much harder (to prevent some forms of abuse?), but I really don't want to speculate when I don't know.

*I tried an interesting investigation. When I got the first change in name brand (KVK--which really does have a bad reputation), I looked it up online and all sorts of people have trouble with it! Again, I'm hoping I can get used to a new one, or use a higher dose for a while, which I also have the luxury of. Any comments on longer term experience would be great.

Post Edited (lemonflavor) : 4/9/2017 11:45:26 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/9/2017 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hello & welcome to Healing Well. Yes, we have had many discussions over the years about different brands of the medications. With a generic drug of any kind there is a percentage allowed for fillers & this can vary. If you ask a dr or a pharmacist this question you will get the oh that little bit of a percentage is not going to make that much difference. That is their standard answer.

Pharmacies order the meds from the cheapest supplier. In other words they do not use the same supplier every month, it all depends on the prices. I have ran into this with Baclofen which is a muscle relaxer. One month I was having some issues, I looked on the bottle & had never heard of the brand before.

You mentioned you have a pain pump. Do you have a PTM to use with your pump? It is rare to hear of a pump patient using oral meds these days.

Take care.
Posted 4/10/2017 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
Susie,
Yes, I have a PTM (bolus dose remote) but the pump doesn't work very well for me, so I also take oral meds. Although I have reduced that.

I was mainly wondering if people have successfully switched and gotten used to a new one, or tried the gradual change. I'm aware of all of the info about amounts, fillers etc. Thanks for the reply.
Posted 4/10/2017 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
I had issues with the efficiency of the KVK 15mg oxycodone (also made me very nauseous). Even worse was the Caraco brand...MINIMAL pain relief and what little there was, only lasted about 30 mins tops. And I always felt that I was on the edge of withdrawal when I was taking them. To answer your question...in my case, after a few months (4 different times), my body showed zero signs of 'getting used to' these garbage generics. I always laugh, usually out loud, when anyone tells me that all generics are alike and/or are the exactly the same as the name brand.
Posted 4/10/2017 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
Splash - well that's not good news, but good to know. I have Zydus right now and I'm trying to work it in.

I've done a lot of reading from regular people on this, and many do not notice a difference in generic manufacturers and are just as incredulous towards us to do notice a difference. I think some of us are much more sensitive to the differences. Some find KVK to work just fine. smhair

Name brand for me would cost too much, even with insurance. Do you use name brand?
Posted 4/11/2017 1:11 AM (GMT 0)
lemon, my thoughts on the generics is it's an individual thing. We each metabolize our medications differently. Some people have no problems with the different fillers & some do. I don't know of anyone being able to get use to a generic that gave them problems. Most asked the pharmacy to stock a brand they had no problems with & the pharmacy complied. When I had trouble with the Baclofen that month I had no choice but to keep taking it, you can't just stop it, you have to be weaned from it. I did make sure on the next refill that it was not that brand. So now when I pick up my script I ask the brand name before taking the script.
Posted 4/11/2017 3:48 AM (GMT 0)
Unfortunately my pharmacy can't or won't get the manufacturer that previously worked well for me. And none of the chain pharmacies in the area even have any oxycodone to sell, or so it seems.

Another strike for people not being able to get used to them. Thanks again for the reply.
Posted 4/14/2017 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
Have you looked online to see if the previous generic manufaturer is still making the medication ? Or if they may have sold the company or been impacted in some way that has reduced or stopped their ability to make the drug. Some drugs aren't make in the U.S.
Posted 4/14/2017 2:08 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, they're in the US, and world wide, and I found discussion from fairly recently on them. Good idea.
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