Do Chronic Pain Patients Need Zohydro?

As a person with chronic pain, I relish the idea of new pain med options. It seems plausible that Zohydro could be formulated the same way Oxycontin is; to be tamper resistant. It is my hope the companies will do this. The potential risks of liver problems scare me, as well as the risk of addiction.

Oxycontin takes the edge off of my pain most of the time. If I have sinus or tooth pain, it doesn’t touch it. Hydrocodone does, but it is hard to get that while on the Oxy. So, I still suffer in other areas.

*Lupus (SLE), SJogrens Syndrome, lumbar facet arthritis, lumbar and cervical stenosis and disk bulges.

Well, again we have to hear about drugs that may help us, only to have it snatched out of grasp due to the minority of abusers whose actions deny us the pain relief we need. Those of us with arthritis who follow directions and take our medications responsibly are penalized because of a minority of people. How about caring more for the pain victim and less about the pain med abuser for a change?

I would like to have a pain med that doesn’t require acetominophine as it can cause liver failure. I have RA and pinched nerves in my back and am in chronic pain. I am very careful in how I take my meds because I am afraid of addiction. Only a few bad apples spoil it for the rest of us who have a real need for pain relief and take steps to keep from becoming addicted.

Sooz is absolutely right on. There has been this huge fear brainwashed
into the public, probably by BigPharma, that all will be addicts.
I`m 53 and have had chronic spinal osteoarthritis for 3 years. My doctor
of 12 years gave me Utram(tramadol) and Mobic(meloxicam) to try.
The side effects are mind-boggling and extremely dangerous. Then
she suggested Darvocet, 2 weeks later the FDA banned it.
So what`s left? Nsaids(ibuprofen) that tears up your digestion system or Acetaminophen(tylenol) which eats up your liver, kidney and pancreas.
If you do some research on the narcotics(opiates) there are hardly
any side effects. There are low dosage hydrocodones but take note
that some are combined w/ enormous amounts of acetaminophen.
Most of us made it through our younger years, the drug years and didn`t turn into addicts. I`m in so much pain I can`t function. The only time I had some relief was when I was given medication for dental
surgery. I have recently changed doctors and she gave me Valium
5mgs.(diazepam) twice a day, which not only helps the anxiety and
depression but also lessens the muscle spasms. My other doctor
said oh no, much to addictive but it was okay for her to give me Xanax
for sleep. Crazy! I am now waiting on going to a pain management
clinic. I can`t make this stuff up, the X-rays speak for themselves.
There are so many in needless pain due to the abuse of a few.
BigPharma is winning out for the almighty dollar instead of healing.
I SAY GO ZOHYDRO. Life is too short to suffer in agony. Thanks.

Ok now, this scare smear that is being put out there in the media regarding this “new drug” Zohydro should stop. It is not truth…..the people who sell Tylenol are going to loose big money by no longer having the monopoly on piggybacking their chemicals on the opiates so many have to use for chronic pain. It makes perfect sense to offer a no Tylenol choice. In fact there always has been an opiate that does not contain the Tylenol, ( available at a really high cost.) There is an opiate/ibuprofen choice as well, but you do not hear much about that one either do you? My question is this….why can’t they just make the Norco, Vicodin, or whatever opiate works for you, without the Tylenol… period? Plain and simple, same dosage of opiate WITHOUT Tylenol? Why does it have to be “so strong” it requires a triplicate script and a monthly Dr. visit??? THIS IS JUST PLAIN STUPID The removal of a harmful adjuvant from a proven opiate is not rocket science nor is it scary. The medication should cost less to make! We can see though the farce Big Pharm!!!

You know, when I first read the article tonight about the new cronic pain medicine Zohydro, my first thought was fear and death. With there being so many addicts in the world today, and the numbers going up every day of the over doses, the thought of a drug having 10 times the amount of hydrocodone in it, such as Vicodin sent fear running threw my heart. I have suffered with my own “back problems” since I was only 17 yrs old. Since then I have been through everything from physical therapy to surgery. I have been on pain killers from tramadol to hydrocodone to morphine or oxycotine. I have numerous things that contribute to my pain that I suffer with every minute of every day. So I know what its like to finally have pain relief due to the drug I am taking. It all boils down to a money game. And if the big time business men and women think its going to take a dollar from their pocket, then they are going to do everything publicly they can to make us as consumers believe this drug is the worse thing mankind has ever developed. Reality is that if someones going to OD, then they are going to do it with whatever drug they can get ahold of at the time! What Im trying to say is if you could take a hydrocodone 10/650 and scrape the tylenol out of it and discard it because that alone is causeing your body more pain than it is good then thats what you would do. As long as the dose of 10 mg of hydro is left the same and not raised higher then we should’nt have any worries about it. For the people that are selling their prescriptions or buying pills on the street illegaley, their actions will probly not change from what it is now. Doctors should drug test every patient they have on narcotics monthly to make sure they are taking them. If a person is in so much pain that they need to be on strong pain meds, then they should have no problem in agreeing to a monthly drug screen test. It would benifit the patient as well as the Dr.

My husband has suffered from chronic pain for 20+ years. The location is referred to as the lower right quadrant. The pain comes and goes about every 3 hours and the morning pain is the worst. There has been no actual diagnosis and he now takes 30 mg of morphine twice a day but still cannot function normally when the pain occurs. I feel that it is not helping and must be increased. He must be away from people, remove outer clothing as if it is restrictive and either lies on the carpet or sits on the couch, leaning away from his right side. He cannot have conversation at this time and tries to read magazines to control his thoughts. Only time changes this pain and when it is gone, he is back to normal. The only time the pain went away in 20 years was when he was hospitalized for histoplasmosis. We have list available of doctors and pain clinics he has been to, medications that have been tried and procedures that were tried. He did have some improvement when he was taking oxycontin and clonozopam, but the doctors didn’t want to continue with these drugs.
Leonard Wenston
Pharmaspider.com

Why doesn’t anyone ever suggest the fact that if all of the billions of dollars that go into developing all of these pain meds went into discovering permanent solutions for pain, including how to permanently destroy a nerve without it regenerating itself, these potent pain meds wouldn’t be a big problem? There would be no need for more than short term usage, and many people would not become addicted. Do any of you WANT to be popping pills for the rest of your life? Pills don’t cure anything, they only temporarily treat symptoms. The answer (except for the drug companies) aren’t to be on pills chronically for your entire life.

AmiaFK- that was an extremely foolish answer. There are profiteers in the medical field whether research is being conducted to manage illnesses surgically or medically. These is a company that specifically makes drugs that do help people. I commend these companies for designing new drug formulations in order to help chronic pain patients. As a sufferer myself of a horrible nervous system disorder Thoarasic Outlet Stndrome, my life has been saved by strong narcotics. I did have surgery and it is not a cure by any means. These drugs allow me to go on day to day. I give props to the drug makers, maybe zohydro will be the next big thing for me.

Darvon/Darvocet (propoxyphene) was a drug that caused heart arrythmia in many of it’s users. Two of my family members developed heart problems because of the drug. There are several other medications that work just as well if not better than propoxyphene. For example Vicodin (hydrocodone) has roughly the same analgesic strength as propoxyphene and has not been found to cause any long term health problems. However if you’re on COAT (Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy) then there is always going to be that one long term health risk of becoming dependent. My point is that arthritis patients should not be complaining about their beloved “Darvon” being removed from the market. That’s just ignorance. Do I think that a time-released version of hydrocodone is going to be abused? Yes. Do I think they should add this to the prescription opioid market? Probably not. This is exactly what Purdue Pharma did with Oxycontin and look how that turned out. The fact of the matter is that there are already several medications out there that doctors can choose from for opioid therapy. Codeine, Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Morphine, Oxymorphone, Fentanyl, Dilaudid. However, the acetaminophen that is in hydrocodone prescriptions now is not good for the livers of the users.

I think the big problem with time-release opiates is that they aren’t tamper-proof. If you really want to get all the dose all at once you can – unfortunately it doesn’t seem to get through to a lot of people that defeating the time-release will give you a lot more than the strength on the bottle indicates.

I think one thing that would help a lot with accidental overdoses is to clearly state how much opiate is in the pill. This way kids looking for a joy ride on Mom’s medication will know what they’re getting into.

@Johnny, I don’t think AmiFK’s comment is foolish at all. I think that is how things should be. Her point about finding ways to treat the ailment and not chase symptoms is spot on! We should be looking at cures, not just band-aids. Pharmaceutical companies shouldn’t be making drugs for the mere sake of making a profit! The problem is that the pharmaceutical industry is one of the top 5 most profitable businesses, and it is on the backs of people like us with chronic pain and chronic disease. The fact that our medical system is based primarily on profit does not negate AmiFK’s comment at all. I refuse to believe that just because things are the way they are now doesn’t mean we have to continue to accept it, nor allow it to continue.

In regards to the Zohydro, I believe it should be made available to people when the other medications do not work to begin with or over time are no longer effective. I agree that the system should not be changed because of the small percentage of people who are abusing the medications. I am certainly concerned for their well being, but we each have to take responsibility for our own lives. And the reality is if someone has a predisposition to addiction, then it really doesn’t matter if they are taking the lowest dosage of Vicodine. If they start taking too much of it, then there can be trouble…period. Ultimately it comes down to each of us managing our own health care, which means we should have access to any medication could assist with our medical condition(s) and level of pain.

Sadly we also have to worry about the risk of side effects from each of these pain medications, in addition to addiction concerns. The reality is that the FDA isn’t there to determine risks; they are there to determine the efficacy of the drugs, not if they are ‘safe’. I am more concerned about this than I am addiction because at least I get to make the choice about how much medication I take.

To AmiFK, I would guess that you don’t have a chronic, degenerative, disabling disease or you would understand the need for pain medication. I have observed that when someone is in “real” pain they seldom become addicted to their pain meds because the meds actually go to work on the pain and don’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy. I have been taking the same amount of Hydrocodone (two a day) for about 15 years obviously that’s not an addiction. However, I need those two pills a day or my body is unbearable. But I have also been having some liver problems lately and that’s scary.

I think it is High Time to return to the days when it was totality discretionary within the medical profession.
to prescribe Opiate drugs to those who suffer Chronic Pain!
Every Person is entitled to assessment as an individual and to be offered the Best treatment in the light of their condition, situation & needs. NO Legislator, No Judge, No District Attorney, No Police Official & NO Narcotics Agent is qualified to make such an assessment! If as the result of such an assessment and continued experience in treating the individual suffering from a medical condition involving Chronic Pain, it should be decided that the best treatment is to prescribe for them a Narcotic pain medication… then they are entitled to this treatment! This “Zohydro” seems like a Winner to me! PEACE!

As a recovering addict, I can say that tamper proofing oxy didn’t work; it got you just as high, not as quick. I question the need for a painkiller that could kill you with one dose (unless you’re hardcore, like I was). Not to mention the fact that you already have product like fentanyl, which is supposed to do the same thing as Zohydro. If the FDA approves this crap, it’s further proof that Big Pharma has the federal government in it’s pocket. As or fedral agencies, this will overwhelm the DEA, the FBI, and the ATF.

WELCOME ZOHIDRO NOW I’M TAKING HYDROCODONE 7.5MG/500MG TABS PLUS I TAKE AN ETODOLAC 600 ERIN THE NIGHTS I FEEL SOME COMFORT BUT IN THE MORNING MI STOMACH SWELLING, I HAVE PINCHED NERVES I DONT FIND WHAT TO TAKE BECAUSE ALL OF THESE HAVE ACETAMINOPHEN AND I’M NOT SUPOSED DUE TO MY HEART CONDITION THAT I TAKE PLAVIX TOO. IF SOMEBODY ELSE HAVE A GOOD IDEA PLEASE POST.MY MAIL IS rafa_cadillac@yahoo.com GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU THANKS

I can’t wait. I’ll get a script for these and probably get $35-50 bucks a pill on the street. I have faked out a dozen docs for my “chronic back pain” already get a steady stream of Oxycodone every month that I turn into instant cash. I have never had one doc ever look me up in the drug registry and I doubt they will start doing it now.

And from street-wise— there is your answer-More compliance with the drug registry, and instant jail time for the sellers/abusers-and if it means an immediate withdrawal while locked up, so be it! I have had “tylenol free” hydrocodone, from a compounding pharmacy combined with dextromethorphan, and for my fibromyalgia, it worked far better than any of the other more powerful opiates. I have tried morphine, dilaudid, fentanyl-but none work as well as hydrocodone, and if the law would stop focusing on the honest chronic pain patient and work on putting away the abusers, the nation’s epidemic would start to come under control.

I have been on many time release meds for my bladder cancer, and the ones that have worked well have been taken and reformulated to the point that they make you sick and they are intolerable to the digestive tract..I find this unfair to change these medications that work for chronic pain life sufferers and do not think they should change our medication because of the abusers and addicts who do terrible things to this medication to cause it to be changed so they no longer can abuse it, well it affects those of us who need it and it has worked well for and now that they change it for the abusers it also changes it for the pain suffer patients who no longer can tolerate it…This makes no sense at all and the abusers are going to find away weather it is changed or not, but the true chronic pain suffers are going to suffer and not be able to tolerate nor no longer take the medication at all.. I truly wish the FDA and pharmaceutical companies would look at what they are doing and see how many more people have to suffer because they need to reformulate it for tamper proof for the abusers when they still will find a way.. And all of us chronic pain life suffer patients will have to suffer and I do hope something can be done for those who truly need it and do not abuse it and it works so well for them and they find they no longer can take it so they have to keep finding another medication only for it too to be reformulated because of the abusers…In the end its us and the true life time pain suffers who really do end up suffering while the abusers still find a way to abuse the reformulated medications.. I do wish someone would look into this and see what is truly important here and what is needed and that is to help the honest true chronic pain patients who truly need it.

I wonder if the FDA would be smart enough to put guide lines on Zohydro so that only those with Chronic Pain would have access? Such as only available to patients who have been on other pain med’s for 2 years or longer etc… I have been on Hydrocodone for almost 4 years now and worried about my liver. Hope they find a way to get better meds to the people who need them.

Yes it is nice to hear about this new time released drug but like many here have said , what docor will prescribed this to me. I have a pain management docor that just told me that he could put me on a time release med along with what I am taking now but i would be also put on an abuser list. He said that even though I am not an abuser , by me being prescribed that type of medicine I would still be on the list. Then if I ever changed doctors or he decided to move, getting another doctor to give me the same thing would be very hard. He also said if O bomb a ‘s helth plan goes through the supreme court then it’s going to be even harder to get these type of drugs. He told me as a doctor he does practice medice anymore. He only can do as the DEA and the ATF guides him to do or risk putting his license in jeopardy. I told him that sounded like socialism and he agreed but who do you fight. Power of the people where are you at, help is needed before it’s too late..

I forgot to mention that the comment Dr. Who made was right on..Way to go. Our freedom is at stake. Doctors, if you have money then fight to keep your freedom to practice and not just sit back and take orders from non-doctors. You have worked hard to earn that degree. Make it mean something. I suffer from pain and I go to the doctor so let him and I decide what is right for me. Thats freedom.

I’m a Chronic pain IP patient. IP stands for intractable pain. While my pain is severe. Sometimes us people with pain that is chronic in nature need new medications to keep up with the ever changing world of pain. Yes, there are people that ruin it for people like myself. But on the other hand if your not just going to a “pill mill” to get your medications for pain. Then you the patient are protected more an more from yourself or people that can’t control there meds; the addicts. The new REMS system to prevent abuse andto help the provider with helping to do the right thing rather than handing over a precription for a bottle of pills. Also if your doctor is following protocal. By giving pop urinalsis, counting pills every visit. Making you sign a contract, using one pharmacy, and making sure that your using one doctor. Then it is making it more difficult for abusers to abuse the medication that helps the people like myself that have been in severe pain for 24 1/2 yrs. Plus you people that take pain meds do not brag or tell anyone about it. And keep you medication LOCKED at all times. Then there will be less problems.

It’s ridiculous that my pain relief depends on the safety of dope heads. Hydro is the only thing that works for me, nothing else. It’s the only drug that takes the edge off while allowing me to think straight. It’s sucks that my liver needs to suffer bc of this, with all of the tylenol I have to take right now. This drug would be awesome for me. The old oxy worked but it made me stupid, couldn’t get my work done. Op’s suck, higher dose is needed and I bet this new one will have the same crappy mechanism. I wish they would just legalize street drugs already so my pain management wouldn’t be affected by the druggies

I’ve had chronic pain from osteoarthritis for about 6 years. It had been well-managed by taking Vicodin as directed. Then, due to the fear generated by some tabloid news reporting, the FDA broke..uh, reformulated Vicodin. It now doesn’t work nearly as well, manages pain less.
Now, Zohydro is up for review in a climate of fear, sensational news reporting, and concern for the junkies who take it to get high. I haven’t heard anyone stating that, just maybe, pain patients should be considered first. After all, Zohydro was made for them, not the addicts.
I hardly dare hope that the FDA will do the right thing, that is, make Zohydro a Schedule 2 drug and monitor its use. It should be available to pain patients, should be approved and used cautiously.
In these comments there are some references to getting high on the drug and/or selling it. I truly hate these people at this point. The quality of my life depends on pain management, and these selfish pigs endanger that.
Let’s stop catering to their sick, selfish needs. Seriously, cull the herd. No one forces them to get high.
Pain patients first, last, always!! Let us have the medication which was made for us. If you have never experienced chronic pain, please keep your comments to yourself because you know nothing about its effects, day after day.

TheFDA and others are not concerned with patients. Just abusers. At 51 yrs of age, they are intent on killing my liver. Zohydro in different strength is easily. Monitoring. Already done by responsible m.DS. street use is always going to occur as it has for decades. Hasn’t been stopped yet. So a beneficial drug is stopped and we true patients suffer tylenol poisening and doses that have to be kept low and may not work. Concentration on EXISTING PAIN SUFFERERS FIRST. There will always be street hustlers.

What about the real chronic pain patients who do not have a quality of life without pain medication? I am a nurse and know a lot about addiction. I am not an addict. But now I have to go sit with all the addicts at the cash pain clinic because my doctor can no longer prescribe meds for pain. I can only hope I don’t live too long.