Talk:Oxycodone

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In several cases, the kinds of discussions taking place on this talk page [now all archived in archive page 1] seem to be [violations of Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines, relating to] WP:V#Sources and WP:NOR. Personal opinions about the subject and personal experiences with the subject are not the intended focus of Wikipedia talk pages. Since (even with user names) such postings are anonymous, these kinds of information posted by Wikipedia users cannot be considered reliable or verified with sources; Wikipedia users themselves are not sources unless they themselves are published in reliable third-party publications, which they can cite as sources in the articles. It is dangerous to depend on user postings for information about the subjects of articles, especially when the subjects are powerful prescription drugs. Please see related articles, such as Combined Drug Intoxication and external links and sources for related information. There are plenty of reliable sources provided in articles which do follow WP:V#Sources and which might be useful to Wikipedia users/readers. Some of them may lead readers to actual online forums where such comments as those people have posted earlier [See archive 1] would be more appropriate. As a service to Wikipedia readers, please focus discussion on editing the article in ways that might improve it. Thank you very much. --NYScholar (talk) 11:31, 5 August 2008 (UTC) [updated. --NYScholar (talk) 02:42, 7 August 2008 (UTC)]

Archived

All the previous content prior to today is posted in archive page 1 (scroll up to archive box and click on "show"). Thank you. --NYScholar (talk) 11:39, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Oxycodone / Oxycontin

This entire article is predomenatley related to Oxycodone, the active ingredient in oxycontin-CR tablets. There is a very small section relating to the absorbtion of oxycodone as an imediate release formulation, compaired with a controlled release formulation. There is a page that talks about oxycodone within wikipedia. All the information relating imediate release formulations of oxycodone should be removed from this page about oxycontin. The elimination half life of oxycodone does not change, however, if one has taken a controlled release formulation of the drug, elimination will be many hours after eating the tablet and the accociated withdrawal effects should be offset accordingly. The section stating that peak plazma levels are reached within 3 hours of taking a single oxycontin tablet needs scientific citation. One could calculate that a very small amount of oxycodone will be present over the time the tablet is designed to work for, if the tablet is swallowed whole. i.e. 20mg oxycontin should release 1.66mg of oxycodone over a 12 hour period. It should take many days, taking oxycontin-CR 20mg every 12 hours, to achieve the same plazma levels as if taking immediate release oxycodone formulation, unless the oxycontin-CR tablet is crushed or chewed, thus making it no longer a CR type medication.

The above should be applied to all wikipedia articles that relate to controlled release, continual release, extended release etc..formulation of the active chemical that the articles relate to. i.e. MS contin, Effexor XR to name just two. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.211.215.160 (talk) 23:49, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

At the top of Oxycodone it says not to confuse it with Oxycontin, but Oxycontin redirects to Oxycodone. That's a bit odd...

GorillaWarfare ^talk 02:23, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Actually, it says not to be confused with Oxytocin... see? You even confused them. That's why it needs that notice. Mack (talk) 18:10, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

No at the top it says not to be confused with Oxytocin, not oxycontin. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.229.172.168 (talk) 16:19, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

This post needs to be clarified. Oxycodone is not oxycotin (codone is immediate release whereas cotin is time release) ans as such all the information related to Oxycodone needs removed such as in the dosage and administration page. Halfslice1126 (talk) 05:15, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Do you know if taking two 5mgs of Oxycodone is = to taking one 10mg of Oxycontin?

Mechanism of Action?

This pages needs a "Mechanism of Action" section. Can someone help out? --1000Faces (talk) 21:28, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

mu opioid receptor link should do it. The mechanism of action is well understood, and has been for 90 years. Endtothemeans (talk) 04:23, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Well, I don't know if it's quite as simple as that. But anyway, apparently yesterday somebody added a paragraph to the "Mechanism of Action" section claiming that oxycodone acts primarily through the kappa-opioid receptor. I believe that is a minority opinion in the scientific community, and there is significant evidence suggesting the mu receptor is (at the very least) involved in oxycodone's effects. So I added a few sentences and references about oxycodone and the mu receptor. Flopster2 (talk) 12:14, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

citation added

Reference added as requested. --Claud Regnard (talk) 23:34, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

Hillbilly Heroin

"Oxycodone has been refered to as "hillbilly heroin" due to its recreational use in more rural parts of the U.S., especially Appalachia.[26]" This is a reference, but after reading it, it is of low quality. The statement should be removed. In my experience, it is the exact opposite....It is almost the legal, high priced opioid of choice amongst users. Heroin is a hell of a lot cheaper than oxycodone pills on the street, and for good reason. This reference is a tabloid Endtothemeans (talk) 04:33, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Actually, it is specifically OxyContin that is referred to as hillbilly heroin. [1] [2] --Evb-wiki (talk) 13:56, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

I agree with Endtothemeans. I think Evb-wiki missed the point. The quote leads the reader to come to a biased, negative viewpoint of oxycodone, without any real evidence. Taking into consideration the connotation that most people have for heroin, this statement makes oxycodone look even more objectionable by comparison to heroin.

The quote is further troublesome because it also leads to the reader to draw false conclusions. Oxycodone, when sold on the street, is actually much more expensive than comparable heroin dosages. Moreover, since one can easily research and find out exactly what is in a pill containing oxycodone and one will never truly know the exact contents of street heroin without extensive laboratory exercises, the truth is that heroin should be considered hillbilly oxycodone. Anyone who has experience with both drugs can attest to these facts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nellie7979 (talk • contribs) 17:57, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Both of you seem to be basing your comments on original research. The point I was making is that the label "hillbilly heroin" has been commonly used (and notably so), albeit specifically in reference to OxyContin not Oxycodone in general. Also, Wikipedia publishes the facts as verified through the use of reliable sources (such as the ones I provided above). As, editors here, we should not be guided by what "impression" the readers may or may not infer from those facts. --Evb-wiki (talk) 19:02, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

The article you referenced does nothing more than use the term "Hillbilly Heroin" except in the title and the first paragraph, where it is seen in quotes, with no reference to where the term was found by the author. If we were listing commonly used nicknames for oxycodone, it would certainly fit in the list, but the manner in which it was presented in the wikipedia article was out of place at the very least. The reference was also dated, and with the quote seems to imply that hillbillies are indigenous to Appalachia. The impression left on the readers is important, since, as editors it is our task to provide information with as much neutrality as possible so the reader is not led to believe false information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nellie7979 (talk • contribs) 23:39, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

I also provided a google news link that shows over a dozen news articles that specifically state that OxyContin is commonly known as hillbilly heroin. What are its other nicknames? I didn't add the original statement, but I do disagree with the removal of verifiable facts, especially when they are supported by reliable sources, especially when the rationale is merely that is "dubious" in the face of original research or shows the subject in a bad light. Of course, my original comment (and the links provided) was meant to point ou that the statement, as write, was inaccurate and in the wrong place, as "hillbilly herion" refers narrowly to OxyContin, not broadly to Oxycodone. --Evb-wiki (talk) 00:31, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

//////////////// Just reading through the article, I noticed it's not the same as it was about a year ago. This version seems incredibly biased throughout. The impression the reader gets is *extremely* important. What if we wrote an article about the Holocaust that gave readers the impression that it was a "good" thing? We would be in some serious trouble, and inspire public outrage. However, most people's knowledge of opiates (or opioids, as the term is now becoming interchangeable) is extremely limited. They take what they read here very serious, and without question. After all, "This is Wikipedia, it must be true!".

The "Hillybilly Heroin" thing is out of place, imho. The term is used by non-users who perceive people from the Appalachian region as "Hillbillies", which is extremely prejudiced, sometimes racist. It's not a "street name", and you would never hear a dealer or user say that. Some of the real street names for Oxycontin are: OCs, Oxycotton (or just Cotton), 40s/80s, Oxy/Oxies, and so on. It is also true that heroin is MUCH cheaper than Oxycontin. Heroin is also more potent, especially administered IV, which is why heroin is still the drug of choice for opiate junkies. Why would a junkie spend $50-100 on an 80mg Oxycontin when the same amount could buy him/her a much more powerful dose/quantity of heroin? They don't. You can even wriggle this truth out of the DEA propaganda floating about the US, if you look for it. Even do some statistical calculations on their information and compare with the total US population. You will see that the "drug problem" is marginal, and that prohibition itself is the root of it. (<- Well, you can argue that last statement as "biased", despite the fact that it's true.)

Also, all these references to "Oxycontin overdose" are troubling. You notice that in 99.9% of such cases, the person was NOT a legitimate patient, and they died as a result of using OTHER drugs in high dosage (especially alcohol) mixed with variable quantities (case to case) of Oxycodone in some form. But every one is blamed on "bad ol" Oxycontin. A drug mixture death is hardly an Oxycontin overdose. This sort of yellow journalism has created anti-Oxycontin media frenzies several times, and has contributed to the undeserved negative image so prevalent in some areas of the US.

The reason this all bothers me so much is because I am a legitimate patient prescribed to Oxycontin. I, and so many others like me, have to go through living hell every month just to get our prescriptions, due to draconian over-regulation by the government. Why? Because of false information circulated all over the country to demonize the drug. It's the media frenzy-fests, misleading journalism, and bad information at the root of it. It caused public outcry, which the government found as reason to stick their fingers in more people's lives and persecute pain sufferers in a hideous and inhumane way.

So write me off as biased, call this "original research", or whatever you like. I just hope everyone realizes that the information given here and the impression on the reader has much further reaching implications than you might think. I hope future edits will be made to return this article to a fully neutral point of view. Thanks for your time... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.142.164.24 (talk) 19:21, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Inactive ingredients

Might it be of use to list the "inactive" ingredients used in some of the brand name pill binders/fillers? Apparently in the interest of harm reduction in regard to what can happen when the pill is not taken as prescribed (crushed, filtered & injected etc.) a website dedicated to harm reduction posted a list of what is in the oxycodone ER (extended release) aka continuous release (-contin) pills.[3] Which are as follows:

• OxyContin 40mg tablet
• Brand: Purdue
• Active Ingredient(s):
• -Oxycodone
• Inactive Ingredients:
• -Ammonio Methacrylate Copolymer
• -Hypromellose
• -Lactose
• -Magnesium stearate
• -Polyethylene glycol 400
• -Povidone
• -Sodium hydroxide
• -Sorbic acid
• -Stearyl alcohol
• -Talc
• -Titanium Dioxide
• -Triacetin
• -Polysorbate 80
• -Yellow Iron Oxide

• OxyContin 80mg tablet
• Brand: Purdue
• Active Ingredient(s)
• -Oxycodone
• Inactive Ingredients:
• -Ammonio Methacrylate Copolymer
• -Hypromellose
• -Lactose
• -Magnesium stearate
• -Polyethylene glycol 400
• -Povidone
• -Sodium hydroxide
• -Sorbic acid
• -Stearyl alcohol
• -Talc
• -Titanium Dioxide
• -Triacetin
• -FD&C Blue #2
• -Hydroxypropyl Cellulose
• -Yellow Iron Oxide

Maybe finding a place to mention these or the common pill fillers would be a worthy addition to the article? 4.242.192.218 (talk) 05:59, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

I dont think the inactive ingredients matter...the subject is the API itself. In the case of percoset, percodan there are more than 1 active ingrdedients, although the oxycodone more potent than the tylenol or asprin. Whoever decided to combine all these articles...oxycodone (an API) with all the different formulattions, like oxycontin, percocet etc, made a mistake. Oxycodone is an API..you cant buy it without anything in it, and this page is all over the place. The formulation is everything here.Endtothemeans (talk) 04:19, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Different Oxycodone Preparations

I added two more examples of Oxycodone mixed with inert binders since OxyContin was the only one listed. Oxycodone/Acetaminophen and Oxycodone/Aspirin had several examples so I think it evens it out a little bit. Perhaps people will be less likely to assume OxyContin is the only preparation that isn't mixed with other analgesics when in fact there are several just like the Oxy/Acet. and Oxy/Asp.

"Notable individuals" section.

I'm kind of reticent about including Lindsay Lohan in here as a person who's hazardously or harmfully used oxycodone, as the only source cited for this is an article (in E! online, not exactly a "reliable source") about claims from her father that Ms. Lohan used oxycodone and underwent rehab. All the other people mentioned in the article have either admitted to using it, or have died from using it.

Not that I find Ms. Lohan particularly sympathetic, but there are standards for claims about living people; see WP:BLP; and implying people have specific drug problems without evidence from reliable sources that they actually do (like conviction for possession of the drug, open admission by the alleged user, or a coroner ruling that the deceased actually died of an overdose) seems kind of questionable.

Since that's the case, I escaped the claim into the markup; it's there, it can be edited to restore it. Do others concur with this edit or should this be put back in? Katana0182 (talk) 03:23, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

OXYCODONE SIDE EFFECTS

Red color denotes more serious effects, requiring immediate contact with health provider.[65][not in citation given] The most commonly reported effects include constipation, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, lightheadedness, headache, dry mouth, anxiety, pruritus, euphoria, and diaphoresis.[66] It has also been claimed to cause dimness in vision due to miosis. Some patients have also experienced loss of appetite, nervousness, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dyspnea, and hiccups,[16] although these symptoms appear in less than 5% of patients taking oxycodone. Rarely, the drug can cause impotence, enlarged prostate gland, and decreased testosterone secretion.[67]

In high doses, overdoses, or in patients not tolerant to opiates, oxycodone can cause shallow breathing, bradycardia, cold, clammy skin, apnea, hypotension, pupil constriction, circulatory collapse, respiratory arrest, and death.[16] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.213.170.212 (talk) 22:21, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Any good reason for removing this Side Effects diagram?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Side_effects_of_Oxycodone.png —Preceding unsigned comment added by Psythik (talk • contribs) 17:23, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

yes, the side effects inaccurate. oxycodone does not produce seizures as a side effect, for instance. see more by another person below. 24.235.73.151 (talk) 14:50, 29 November 2009 (UTC)

line in "metabolism"

"Some people are fast metabolizers resulting in reduced analgesic effect but increased adverse effects, while others are slow metabolisers resulting in increased toxicity without improved analgesia".... is this not saying the same thing either way? - either you have more adverse effects with less analgesia or more toxic effects with less analgesia- those don't look like contrasts to me, but the "same difference". Rewrite someone. 98.246.62.216 (talk) 16:44, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

Side-Effects images

I've seen these stupid images pop up on almost every single psychoactive drug page over the past few months. I don't know who produces these images, but I've seen them around my school as "scare-tactics". Half the time the side-effects listed in the image does not match the side effects listed in the wiki (unless whoever added the file edited the text as well), and 100% of the time the side effects are negative. These images are garbage, are not from any reputable source, and the information they flaunt is bogus and not backed up by research. I want to see these images removed from wiki's as they are not informative and are apparently part of a marketing campaign with scare-tactics. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.200.115.120 (talk) 23:29, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

New discussion goes at the bottom. Why do we have images trying to do the job of sourced text, anyway? Ian.thomson (talk) 15:18, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

I don't know, but the image is clearly incorrect and false. Oxycodone side effects do not include seizures. I know that the same type of image was used in the cannabis article a while back and it was promptly removed because none of its information was verifiable, nor was the manufacturer of the image. It had no information about who made it or where they got their information from.

oxycodone same as ms contin —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.171.166.121 (talk) 00:00, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Oxycodone is NOT the same as MS contin. MS stands for "morphine sulfate" and obviously, contin stands for "continuous release." They're not the same medication. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.23.6.71 (talk) 16:40, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Priapism as side effect?

Haven't heard about that one, how often does that happen? It would be pretty big news similar to Viagra. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.85.14.106 (talk) 23:56, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

It's an occasional side effect of opiate withdrawal, not of usage. So, yeah, if you want a some episodes of priapism, first get addicted to opiates and then go cold turkey. It's probably not worth it, given that opiate addiction occasionally cause impotence (and probably other undesirable side effects). --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 00:50, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

"History" section.

This section contradicts itself. I don't know which is true, so I won't change it myself, but the relevant part follows: The International Narcotics Control Board estimates that 11.5 tons[clarification needed] of oxycodone were manufactured worldwide in 1998, which grew to 75.2 tons in 2007.[10] Of all countries, the United States had the highest total consumption of oxycodone in 2007 (82% of the world total of 51.6 tons).

Either 75.2 tons were produced in 2007, or 51.6 tons were. It can't possibly be both. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.23.6.71 (talk) 16:38, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Please consider...

There are several inaccuracies in this article. Perhaps this is due to the information being out of date. What I see is that Oxycontin and Oxycodone are being confused, or used in a confusing way. E.g. Wiki references the medications in a manner that implies they are interchangeable. These medications are not interchangeable.

Examples:

 Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic opioid made from the alkaloid, thebaine. When dispensed as Oxycodone HCI, it is an immediate release formulation. Simply put, the drug enters the bloodstream quickly, and begins altering the perception of pain rapidly. Pain clinicians prescribe Oxycodone for "breakthrough pain", of a severe to moderately severe nature. This allows patients to take a maintenance dose of a timed-release drug (E.g. Oxycontin), and reduce pain immediately with a drug like Oxycodone.

 Oxycodone, when mixed with a dosage of aspirin or acetaminophen, creates new drug. are just three of many Oxycodone based medications in conjunction with acetaminophen. However, these are clearly different formulations of Oxycodone.

• Oxycontin is a time-released version of Oxycodone. Oxycontin is generally a maintenance drug used to treat chronic pain. By maintenance drug we refer to a medication taken daily. By using the drug daily, typically two to three doses daily, chronic pain remains under control. Oxycontin is indicated for pain severe to moderately severe pain caused by: Cancer, Neuropathy resulting from Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetic Neuropathy and Fibromyalgia (amongst a variety of other diseases).

• "Hillbilly heroin" is a term popularized by Elizabeth Mehren in the article "Hooks of 'hillbilly heroin', which ran in the Los Angeles Times on October 4, 2001. The article discusses clinicians who prescribe Oxycontin (the timed-release version of Oxycodone). The articles also discusses and interviews people who use Oxycontin.

Assume a Doctor prescribes Oxycontin at a dosage of 40 mg in the morning, 20 mg in the afternoon and 40 mg before bedtime. This is 100 mg per day. Taking the medication as prescribed makes this a moderate dose. However, abusers of Oxycontin will crush the entire 100 mg. They can then take the 100 mg which now acts as Oxycodone. Simply, put the entire drug is ingested into the abuser's system all at once. This may cause hallucination, overdose and if a person is not tolerant to the drug, even death. Abusers may also dissolve the 100 mg in saline solution. This allows the abuser to inject the Oxycontin directly into the bloodstream.

• Both Oxycontin and Oxycodone are schedule II narcotics. Doctors must write prescriptions for schedule II narcotics on special prescription pads. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) monitors these prescriptions. Their prescriber must see user of schedule II medications at minimum 90-day intervals. Advocates for the users of schedule II narcotics, must pick up schedule II prescriptions directly from the doctor. Alternatively, the medication provider is able to mail schedule II prescriptions to the patient. Advocates for the patient require HIPAA rights to act in this capacity. Provided by the patient, these rights are required before Advocates can obtain or fill a prescription for the patient.

• Finally, many companies produce Oxycodone. There are many generic substitutes for it. Purdue Pharma on the other hand is the only manufacturer of Oxycontin. There is no generic equivalent. In fact, before Purdue won its court battle, there were many companies creating generic Oxycontin, Once Purdue won its court case (sometime in 2008), they were basically given a 15-year monopoly on the medication. For a time after the court case, generics were still available. The court stated that any generics already produced needed sold. However, the generic supply quickly ram out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by MCSE-MCSD (talk • contribs) 15:17, 15 July 2010 (UTC)
• Mundipharma have been selling oxycontin-CR tablets, in Australia, for a number of years, although, the box the tablets are supplied in, it says,"Made in the UK". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.211.215.160 (talk) 23:21, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Oxycodone side effects

No one seems to note that there are moderate to severe mood and emotional side effects from this drug. I am witnessing terrible anger and severe mood swings in the people I see using the drug. Even my son who has had this horrible drug prescribed to him for after surgery pain. I see him angry every day until he gets his dose. NOT GOOD PEOPLE NOT GOOD AT ALL!!!!! I see a woman at work who in the decrease of her drug in her system turn into a vicious viper until the drug is back in her system she is only 23 and wired to this sh!t and the pill pushers who keep thrusting this crap on people need to be stopped. I understand the need for analgesics but there has to be some better way. If the doctor that prescribed this to my son tries to fob some more off on him I will complain to the medical board about his pushing and question him as to how much he gets in kickbacks for prescribing this drug. Some of you may consider this "Withdrawl" but keep in mind my son has only been on this for six lousy days he is not a chronic user or abuser of the drug and withdrawl is a side effect because before he had to take this he woke up HAPPY. 8sk8bo1zdon8 (talk) 21:30, 3 November 2010 (UTC)—Preceding unsigned comment added by 8sk8bo1zdon8 (talk • contribs) 21:23, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

Please see the guidelines for citing and identifying sources, and about not using Wikipedia as a means of advocacy. Also, still sounds more like regular addiction than a proper side effect, improper dosage could do that. Ian.thomson (talk) 22:15, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

New York times mentioning this is main cause of robberies

• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/us/07pharmacies.html might provided something good to put in the article. Show how desperate addicts are to get it, some pharmacist not stocking it anymore to avoid armed robberies. Dream Focus 02:18, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

A couple of things:

1. Oral BA should list the average 60-87% 2. Morphine and hydromorphone are metabolized by the P450 system, why does the article say it doesn't??? and finally

10mg oral morphine = 5-6.5mg oral oxycodone = 2.5mg IV morphine = 3-4 IV oxycodone