Oxycontin is BETTER than Oxycodone. Oxycontin is generic Morphine without anything else added. It's stronger than the oxycodone, so you should feel more relief than before. I doubt it will take ALL your pain away, as you're on a pretty low dose. But I guess we're not supposed to be pain FREE, right? lol

I do hope you feel more relief, and are more comfortable. Best of luck and God bless. Hugs, lee

So pissed, ins said they would pay, I go to pharmacy, its 400$, so now what? they would cover mscontin, is that similiar? so I left with my same short acting meds, im sad, i wanted round the clock relief! I called pain doc, we'll see what she says, she kinda thought they wouldnt pay. I dont have the $ to keep driving to the pain doc, maybe she will mail script?

yeah that's the problem with oxycoitin most insurence won't cover it, they have exstend release (long acting) morphine ask your doc about that insurence's will cover that easier. I am sorry about that your going through so much and to get your idiot insurence company refusing to fill your pain pills. Wish I could something more then say sorry

Honor,
I'm glad you decided to go with the sustained-release medications. I know it's a difficult step to make, but it will make a world of difference. It gave me back my life. You should feel different, but in a good way. You shouldn't have the highs and lows or have to chase the pain because you'll have a steady amount of medication in your bloodstream at all times (especially taking it 3 times a day).

As you know, OxyContin is the sustained release version of Oxycodone (which is why the generic name for it is oxycodone SR). Unfortunately there is no generic on the market and won't be until at least 2013 due to patent issues so you are stuck paying for a brand name product.

Be absolutely sure to follow the colon regimen your doctor should have discussed with you when he/she prescribed the OxyContin. This means taking 100 mg of Colace (docusate sodium) at least twice per day, increasing your fluid intake and increasing your fiber intake (do the fiber intake slowly). Miralax (also available by prescription as PEG 3350) is another form of stool softener you can mix with any fluid; it has no taste and no flavor and will stay in your digestive tract and will help keep things moving.

I emphasize this because sustained release medication seriously slow down the peristalsis movement of your digestive tract and as such, cause constipation. Do NOT wait until you have problems before starting to take the Colace or Miralax; you need to start them on day one and keep up with them each and every day. This time the warning on the label does not apply to you; your body will not become dependent on the stool softener or even a laxative to go. Once you no longer need the pain medication, which hopefully will happen one day, and you can taper off the pain medication, you will also be able to reduce and stop taking the bowel regimen your system will go back to normal.

Good luck and I hope you get some wonderful relief!

I cant afford 400$, so I dont know what she is going to reccommend now? I feel like crying, hopefully she will call me tom.
Ive never gotten constipated from any pain meds, im lucky that way, but will take you advice into consideration. thanks.

OMG!! I am going through the exact SAME thing! I was taking 10mg of oxycodone up to 6x a day but just like "ihavepdk" said, I was chasing the pain with the highs and lows. It seemed like I was metabolizing it really fast. So FINALLY, I got my PD to put me on a extended release Rx but just like you, I went to the pharmacy and I was told that it wasn't covered by my insurance. THEN my PD just put me right back on the oxycodone. She did this THREE TIMES!! I became so upset ( to put it mildly ) the MAs and RNs started getting pissy with me. Then one of them scoffed at me and told me to call and find out what long acting pain Rx are covered. Of course the insurance company WOULD NOT tell me this because health care givers are the only ones they release this info to. I can't believe they had me doing THEIR job!! I have turned into this person I despise, but I have no choice, I have to be my own advocate so that I will have my pain treated properly.
After speaking with someone at the insurance company, I did find out that they are coming out with a generic version of oxycontin. I was told in the next 2-3 weeks or so. So keep inquiring about it. In fact, I'm going to call on that tomorrow.
BTW, it will be worth the wait. I've opted to pay full price for it as my pain is so bad and it works really well!! I of course can afford it all the time! But you will be pleasantly surprised how well it works!

Take Care! I will let you know when I find out about the generic oxycontin!

Glad to know Im not alone, i was so looking forward to having some kind of life, im in agony tonight, I heard the generic wasnt til 2013? Id it really coming out soon???

OMG, that is ridiculous, $400.00!!! That is crazy! There is NO way that I can afford that, not on a social security disability check with no husband, partner, BF, nothing, so I know what you are going through! Can you call your insurance company and find out what will they pay? MS Contin is extended release morphine and it works quite well. You can also see if they can put you on another ER medication.... I am on Methadone, it is an ER and it is one of the least expensive medications out there, and it works great. I hope that you can find an ER medication that you can afford, keep us posted.

Take care,

That is what I was told last week by the insurance company. I belong to a state funded one. I don't know if that's good or bad, just incase you were wondering. I'm in WI, it's called Badger Care.

Im in mn, hi neighbor! My ins, does cover mscontin, would that be the same? Im used to oxy, dont want to feel weird or anything! I have to work pt., to keep my ins. We'll see what the pdoc says.

she hasnt called me yet! im hurting so flipping bad, 4 oxys dont help much for all day, noco does almost nothing!

ok, I will be starting on mscontin, hope that helps.

Do you know that the actual cost for a 20 mg the tablets is only a few cents (at least that's what the military pays for them with their bulk buying capability, which means Walgreens, etc., probably pay a similarly low price)? Talk about jacking up the prices!

Honor,
MS Contin is the extended release version of morphine; it may be effective although the dosing will be completely different (it's not a 1 for 1 dosing equivalency).

You and your doctor together can also ask for an excemption to the insurance company's policy of not paying for OxyContin. While their initial stance may be no, if your doctor can document that morphine is ineffective for you (thus MS Contin may most likely be ineffective) and the Fentanyl patch isn't a realistic option, they may change their tune.

As for the constipation, I never had problems on any pain medications UNTIL I started on the OxyContin. So I unwisely did not follow my doctor's directions and didn't start the Colace with the first dose of OxyContin and then tried to play catch up and by day 5 or 6 I was in agony (no bowel movement). As a result I ended up stopping my pain medication for 24 hours (sheer hell in terms of pain, not a problem in terms of dependency as my body wasn't used to the medication much at that point) and load up on Ex-Lax along with the Colace, etc. to get things moving along. I have never made that mistake again! So learn from my mistake and don't assume just because the immediate release didn't cause problems, the sustained release won't. Because unlike the immediate release, which comes and goes and gives your system a break, the sustained release is providing you a small dose of peristalsis slowing medication at all times, 24/7, and the side effects can be worse than the original pain.

On generic OxyContin: There will be no generic OxyContin until the patent on the brand name made by Purdue Pharma expires in 2013. The previous generics were being manufactured under a licensing agreement with the Purdue and the generic manufacturers (approved in 2004), but the Purdue withdrew the license/agreement to make the generic (plenty of legal action ensued but Purdue as the patent holder won) and now is the sole maker till April 2013. There are other manufacturers with previously approved products just waiting to get back into the market when the patent expires.

I wish you well and hope you hear from your doctor soon.

FYI for all,
Your insurance company has a drug formulary and all patients should have access to it; you just need to find it on their website. It may take some searching (try looking under pharmacy services, formulary, etc.) both inside your insurance website or from outside by using the name of your medical insurance program and then pharmacy formulary. You may need to make a phone call. But you have a right to know what medications your insurance plan will cover; it's your plan, not your doctor's.

The other option is to talk with your pharmacist if there is particular medication you want to know if your insurance covers. Chances are the pharmacist knows exactly who covers what medication off the top of his head, but he can also check online, as he too will have access to the formulary for each and every insurance company (as well as can tell you what medication is in what tier in terms of co-payments and recommend alternatives which would cost you less). Make friends with your pharmacists; they can be your best friends when it comes to helping you with your medications!

I'm REALLY confused about all of this talk of no generic for OxyContin. I haven't been on it in over four years, but I took it for two years before that and I used to get a generic. I have medicaid, so you know it had to be a generic for them to cover it, of course. Actually, for the first few months, it was brand name (but they agreed to cover it for six months, for whatever reason) OxyContin and after that I started receiving a generic. After having the brand name, I could clearly see that the pills were totally different, not to mention the labeling on the bottle (Oxycodone SR as opposed to OxyContin). I looked at my insurance company's formulary online (updated just a few months ago) and it lists OxyContin as non-formulary and it also listed oxycodone SR as formulary... I mean, they are an insurance company so they could very well list a drug that doesn't exist, but... it's hard for me to believe something doesn't exist that I was prescribed for two years. Unless for some reason the generic was taken off of the market, maybe there was a problem with them? I don't know, it just really surprised me to read this when I was like "huh, I was taking the generic FIVE YEARS AGO!?!"

Anyway, Honor, I hope the MSContin works well for you. Medications that are longer-acting seem to be so much better for pain- and for you sanity! I couldn't cope with the ups and downs of opiates that lasted only four hours or so. Not that it's any better now- now I don't even have a pain doc, nevermind meds. Urgh. Anyway, I think you'll be happy with the results of long-acting pain meds. Best of luck!