CNN posted an article yesterday. Wowza they're already calling it the new "old" oxycontin & practically counting the soon to be dearly departed. So many opinions by people who've never suffered a day in their lives.

Personally I think acetaminophen does quite the number on the body as it is. If this hydrocodone stand alone does the job they hope it does I'm all for it. It is a schedule II so it will be highly regulated. But with all the hullabaloo before its even released & the mfr saying they will concede to only allow seasoned pain mgmt drs to write the rx we'll see if anyone will write for it or if any pharmacy will dispense it.

I had a talk with my PM yesterday about my issues a few wks ago & it was not positive in the least. Its only going to get much harder in the next few months. I truly wish I didn't have the pain levels I do because I don't want to have to play this game anymore. Because that's what its starting to feel like and I just don't have the energy for it.

It seems liike the attitude is that they put this stuff out there just to make more addicts and to kill more recreational users. Our local paper had an article on Sunday about pain meds, addicts, and chronic pain. A friend of mine was horrified that one photo was of someone's hands- looked like arthritis mutilans, the worst form of PsA. I thought the photo drove home the point that yes, there are people who live with insane amounts of pain, day and night. But what do I know? The photo put a damper on someone's Sunday morning coffee and paper. Can't have that.

Thank you for posting this-definitely raises some questions, specifically why they mfg it to allow tampering. I'm not an officianado on drug mfg and wonder. I take some amount of RX pain medication almost daily and it makes all the difference. Just a shame people who genuinely need it suffer from the irresponsibility of others.

I always hear how drugs for pain are over prescribed and that people are addicted to them. Jeez! How? I saw the same rheumy for 10 years and she NEVER gave me a prescription for pain. Nor did my GP. It wasn't until I got my new doc that my pain was addressed. I am grateful that he is sensitive to the pain issue. It is sad that the people who truly need pain relief have such a hard time getting medication.

Thanks for posting this altoclef. With he drug company I have if I were ordered that, I am certain I would have to do cartwheels with the mail order company I have. I mentioned the fact in my other post to some extent that the companies and those dispensing the drugs are persnikety about dispensing these narcotics and controlled substances because of recent high profile deaths that have occurred. My Rheumatologist used to prescribe Tramadol and a refill until Jan2013 was put out in NY that no refills were to be placed on any controlled substance. My Rheumatologist now sends his patients to pain management. My orthopedic surgeon will also right scripts for pain medication without hesitancy.

I agree with the pill not being made public. If one pill can kill a child, I think it's to dangerous for us. I can just see the high schoolers and middle schoolers dropping dead from this.
My daughter said in high school the students took prescription drugs all the time, and all from parents medicine cabinets.

I've taken hydrocodone myself and my husband had cancer and took oxytocin, I do understand pain, but my gosh how much stronger do we need our drugs? Are we willing to see people die for it?

I didn't read the article posted but I do find a lot of irony in the fact that, on the same day, the FDA announced that they were considering making Hydrocodone a Schedule II medication, they announced later in the day that they were approving Zohydro.

BTW, Zyhydro was approved as a Schedule II drug.

Take care,
TheWino

i always find these discussions highly interesting, probably because i'm in the addiction treatment field. i'm in recovery from numerous substances, and have pretty serious pain on a regular basis from rheumatoid disease. i think that gives me a pretty unique perspective.

i 100% support making hydrocodone a schedule II drug. i'm surprised it took the fda this long to make the change. hydrocodone is a partially synthetic opioid derived from codeine. oxycodone is a related drug, also semi-synthetic and derived from thebaine (from the poppy plant, the same place pure opium is created from). hydrocodone is 1.5 times stronger than oxycodone; 5mg of hydrocodone is equal to 7.5mg of oxycodone.

oxycodone (oxycontin) is sold as a standalone med without mixers, or as a combination pill: percocet is oxycodone and acetaminophen. hydrocodone is only sold in combination pills with acetaminophen - vicodin or lorcet. zohydro is pure hydrocodone in extended release and per mg is approximately ten times stronger than mixed hydrocodone pills like vicodin.

ten. times. stronger.

oxycodone is about three times stronger than hydrocodone. so zohydro will be about three times stronger than oxycodone. what makes anything extended release is really just the capsule that contains the drug. we take it as intended, swallowing the capsules whole to allow the extended release action to occur as intended. others do not - they dismantle pills to get to the drug and abuse it, extended release be damned.

depending on who you talk to, what part of the country you live in, and where your local heroin supply comes from, heroin is generally considered to be about 5 times stronger than oxy. heroin breaks down into morphine (basically) in your body; the pills break down a bit differently. but the highs are similar enough that people who are addicted to pills move over to heroin because it's cheaper and easier to get in most cases. then you introduce a whole new set of problems related to intravenous drug use and the additives that street heroin is cut with.

i appreciate that we're all in pain. i suffer every day. i know there are people who are in more pain than i am. but i do not think this drug should be approved. oxycodone is already a schedule ii drug. other schedule ii drugs include cocaine, methadone, methampethamine, hydromorphone, fentanyl, morphine, and adderall.

methadone and oxycodone are schedule ii drugs and should be hard to get. yet they are both WIDELY abused, killing people regularly. i don't think the manufacturer wants to put zohydro out to create more addicts, but i don't think many people in the field appreciate what happens at the street level. i have a feeling that most doctors are not going to want to write scripts for it, and most pharmacies are not going to want to stock it. many pharmacies in high-abuse areas don't keep a large stock of opioid analgesics on hand anyway, because the potential for armed robbery is higher if they do.

I would like to have a pain med that does not have acetaminophen in it, which has cause liver problems. Celebrex caused ulcers. If narcotics are prescribed and monitored the risk of abuse is decreased. Parents need to lock those meds up if children are in the house.
Each case is different. If someone has a history of addiction then it is not a good choice .
Perhaps, prescription for a short time to get over the acute phase would be the way to go. I have found that prednisone has helped more during these times.

I was looking for the link, will have to look further, Zohydro was discussed on the news this morning. It was said to be a very controversial medication. It is twice the dose of Oxycodone which lead to the concern that there will be an increase in death. It was mentioned that this drug would be good for people with chronic pain. (According to the news) Statistically 4 out of 5 people that use Heroin started with prescription drugs.

Another site that I am on this drug is already been used in the UK. I can barely get the pain medications that I am on now. I can just imagine if I were given this script if it is truly approved here. The problems we have with getting medications bumped up is that doctors I believe are afraid if we take too much we may OD and there license will be in jeopardy. We are not drug addicts, we have chronic pain and need pain meds to manage the pain. I think if this drug goes on the market that it will only make it more difficult for us to obtain the meds we need. This I think is due to high profile persons being found dead from prescription medications. But it should be noted that some of the high profile persons are mixing the prescription drugs with street drugs which is where the problem arises. Also they most of the time are taking these drugs not for the reason that we are.

I hate to be pessimistic about this but laws have already changed with no refills on any narcotic or controlled medication, I see laws becoming stricter for controlled drugs and those with a chronic illnesses will get the brunt end of it all.

almost every heroin addict in recovery that i meed started on prescription pills. most are under 35. there are people who were addicted to pain pills and did not go to heroin, but i would say 4 out of 5 sounds like an accurate estimate.

i think doctors will be afraid to prescribe it too much because they know it will be being tracked. they will not want to be seen as overprescribing it. from what i have read, if a child takes one zohydro capsule, they can die from it. it is a strong narcotic. i understand that some of us need strong narcotics, but i think releasing a pill that is pure hydrocodone is not really the answer. jen mentioned she read somewhere that it was being targeted toward those with terminal cancer, people who have no other options. if it were to be used in a facility setting and not prescribed for take home dosing, that might be different.

kids have always used pills. they've always found ways to make pills to pass - ecstasy is in pill form. my parent's peers did bennies and reds and whatever else. when i was in high school, kids started abusing ritalin, stealing it from their little brothers and sisters to snort. when oxycontin came out, it seemed like things shifted. it hit the market around 1996, and by '99 a lot of kids and young adults were abusing it. at least on long island. one day we were all trying to score pot and cocaine, the next everyone was stealing oxy from their parents/grandparents/whoever. in 1999 i already knew a kid who was doctor shopping to get oxys to use and sell.

if zohydro hits the market this month, my prediction is that within a year it will truly be the 'new oxycontin' and we will see numerous deaths from it. i know it's hard to get pain medications, and the whole 'no refills' thing is annoying. we are not drug addicts - we deserve and need access to narcotic pain medications. i don't know what the answer is. the estimates are that over 100 million americans suffer with some level of chronic pain; over 20% of american adults admit to abusing prescription pills. both are a problem with no easily visible solution.

could hospice at least administer it?

I watched my mom die in unbending pain - not all like the feel good brochures about death with dignity at home in hospice. it hurts to remember it. the liquid morphine did not work. would anything else have worked? would this have worked?

I agree with much of what your stating Christine.
High profile ODs cause such a stir. The press is all over it.
When Micheal Jackson passed it caused fear in the world of Pain management.
My PM doctor at the time spoke very openly with my husband & I.
He said that changes were coming & many have with more yet to come.
I wont get into that much as it's a long story. Suffice to say there were PMs that shut their doors & others that stopped prescribing narcotic medications. The PM doctors have a ton of extra work with the new laws.
In my opinion These meds belong in the hands of trained pain management doctors. There are specialists for most everything & chronic long term pain should be treated by a doctor specializing in pain. They have the training. I'm not saying we should not have a choice of doctors but with meds like this perhaps the prescriber should be considered.
Most PMs have strict policies & contracts with their patients including screening & med counts.

There is no positive press on these meds. Such a shame as they give so many quality of life they would not otherwise have. How many patients are benefiting from pain meds? Those that work hand in with their doctors & try every other treatment out there? We never hear anything about that do we?

When a persons in pain the med works as it should on the receptors in the brain to target the pain. In the wrong hands they are used for the wrong reason.

There is a responsibility on the patient & the doctors part to uphold.
Now with this new medication if it helps patients with pain from say cancer then that's great. Use it where it's needed. No where else.
I've seen loved ones pass from cancer & I will never forget. My mind does not allow me to go there as I can't handle seeing them suffer.
Anything that may help reduce suffering use it, but wisely.

I don't see doctors lining up to prescribe if it's that dangerous. Not to mention there are other issues to consider such as tolerance.

Now I watch commercials all the time about contributing so animals do not suffer. I can't stand the thought of any living thing suffering but there is nothing about people suffering? Nothing, not a word?

All these shows on, doctor shows & nothing. You only hear the bad not the good when it comes to narcotic treatment.
My doctor had a patient OD. Tore him up. He'd share I think to remind his patients of the dangers & to remind them to ask for help if there was a problem.
So I wonder what's the number for people being treated for legit chronic pain in comparison to the number of those that OD?
How many take the meds responsibly?
People deserve a choice not to suffer.
Such as in 51percents case, pain can cause damage left untreated.

So sad & so many views & opinions.
Sammy

Stephgas, Ros, and Sammy as well as the rest of you guys have made some accurate and powerful statements which I agree with and we will have to see where this medication will go or not go.
Ros i am sorry about what happened to your mom in hospice. That is not how it should be. Been through hospice with my grandma and my husband though it was peaceful for both of them. Thank God. Sammy the issue that you bring up about tolerance is a good point, and the fact that it is already being stated as being dangerous makes me leery about the desire to even try it. Even though it may take away the pain, I don't have the desire to be taken away completely.. not now anyway and not because of an untoward reaction to a medication.

I forgot to actually say as soon as the change came about regarding no refills on medication and I had about 3 refills of Tramadol in the pharmacy and when that change came about, my Rheumatologist who had previously written pain medication scripts for me instructed me to get an appointment with pain management which I was already heading in that direction anyway.