Workers comp payers will be seeing a new drug on their top 25 lists soon – Fentora. While it may take a couple of years to attain Actiq’s top-five status, it will.
Manufactured by Cephalon, who is also the manufacturer of Actiq, Fentora is an effervescent tablet that dissolves next to the cheek. According to Jim Andrews of Cypress Care (a consulting client) “It will be used as an alternative to Actiq lozenges, for breakthrough pain in patients on chronic opioids. Doses of Actiq and Fentora are NOT equivalent. Fentora doses are lower because fentanyl absorption is higher and faster with this buccal tablet than with Actiq.”
Like Actiq, Fentora has only been approved for breakthrough cancer pain. That won’t stop doctors from prescribing it for musculoskeletal injuries.
Fentora will cost about the same as equivalent doses of generic Actiq, but much more than immediate release morphine or Oxycodone. While that sounds OK, remember that prices for generic Actiq are about two times what the brand drug was selling for twelve months ago.
This drug is supplied in cartons containing seven blister cards of four tablets each, and the stuff is pricey – Fentora 100 mcg tablets have an AWP of $13.08 per tablet, 200 mcg is $16.56, 400 mcg is $24.02, 600 mcg is $31.25 and the 800 mcg is $38.53.
For management of real breakthrough pain, Fentora looks to be quite interesting. I did a little bit of reading about it a month or so ago just after it was approved, and it looks to be a step ahead of Actiq. Buccal absorbtion is faster than transmucosal absorbtion and certainly much quicker than IR oxycodone, obviously, since it’s lipophilic and is not a prodrug, etc. etc.
Blame the docs if they’re using it for things that they shouldn’t be; not the drug company.
Comparing the pricing of Fentora to generic IR oxycodone or morphine is foolish. Look at the onset of action — there’s no comparison between the two in the context of breakthrough pain. Given Cephalon has created the first FBT med, it seems reasonable that they should enjoy their patent protection even if the drug molecule itself isn’t new.
Perhaps I’m overreacting to a perceived negative tone regarding Fentora. If I am, I apologize. I think the availability of this drug is a wonderful thing. If you want to think about cost, compare it to something like Ionsys, not IR oxycodone or Actiq. In that respect, I’m thinking Fentora comes out ahead. ;)
I was on Actiq and then was on the phase 3 trials for Fentora for low back and neuropathic pain. (Im sure it will be a just a few months until it will be approved for those problems) I have found that the Fentora works a lot better than the Actiq. I was taking 1600mcg lozenge up to 2x a day. I know tak 800mcg of Fentora 2x a day and get much better relief. Instead of my pain going from a 8 to a 5 it goes from an 8 to a 3 or lower.
I noticed the same thing about the actiq pricing too. They upped their priced just before the generic was made. I also qualify for the patient assistance program. I dont have medical insurance, so, Its a blessing that I get these meds for free..
So far, Fentora has been the best for breakthru pain. I dont have cancer, just lower back and neuropathic pain.
I was taking 1200mcg of actiq that worked like a chrm for me but I had to change to fentor because of all the sugar in the actiq & the problems that was causing teeth problems. I have been on the Fentora for a week and feel lousy. It does help my pain but I have no energy to do anything. With the actiq, I could take my dose and drive and do any activities I wanted. I am very dissapointed.
S.J
Hi, I started taking fentora about two-three months ago. its been amazing so far. Actiq made me so sick, as in throwing up 20+ times a day but none of that with fentora.
one BIG problem I have with it though, is the packaging. Almost TWENTY of my pills were broken, the blister dented in, and its harder then hell to get them to replace it, so Ive been out for a week and can’t get more till friday and this happened during my peak pain flare up. Has anyone else had issues with broken pills?
I was just prescribed Fentora for bt pain, musculoskeletal-scoliosis issues (4 major back surgeries, 3 of them involving fusing the entire spine exc. cervical. I am astonished at the cost. I am lucky that my copay will only be 50 per month w/ my insurance. But the doc didn’t mention Actiq. Wondering why? I’ve tried most of the short acting opiods out there and don’t tolerate them well at all. They recently put me on a Duragesic patch for continuous relief and it has been a life saver. It is also fentanyl so seems like either Actiq or Fentora would work since they are both fentanyl. Any ideas/knowledge?
Thx,
Karen
I had problems with broken pills within the packaging but have found a solution. It may sound silly at first but it works!! Only tear the perforation that says TEAR(that is:do NOT break the pills apart by cutting them at the TEAR dotting line!). Now only bend where it says BEND. Hold your thumb over the writing “use immediately upon opening” as you bend it back. Slip your thummb under the word PEEL and the paper easily slip back and the pill available.
However I did notice that I needed upmost care when I packed them in my suitcase. Any pressure on the pill encasement and the pill was broken. Also the warm tropical climate kept the paper from easily slipping back.
Help! My insurance ( medicare part D) has just overridden my doctor. They state that I do not have cancer hence they can deny my claim. Does anyone have any suggestions. Fentora has totally changed my life. I do NOT want to go back to morphine, my only other alternative, as the morphine makes me so groggy during its pain relief period.
What gets me is the insurance company paid for ALL Actiq when I had the SAME exact insurance but under a Fortune 500 company’s policy (previous to my Medicare Part D). I have been on Actiq for permanent spinal cord injury for 4 years. I cannot afford to pay for the product on my own. Is it only for cancer pain? Can insurance doctors override the prescribing doctor? (I have gone through ALL other alternatives except for morphine).
PS I just read the doctor’s comments. I disagree, obviously. I dislike my need for morphine to cut the severe pain that I live with 24/7. I value my God given mind. I love to read. It is one of the few activities I can still do. Flooding my brain with pain medicine would take the greatest gift I have in this world – my mind. The doctor may take for granted sitting at a desk. I don’t for I can’t. I was a very successful business person. I would literally pass out from my “razor blade like” sciatic pain. I could not rationalize taking any medication that would interfer with doing the best that I could offer my company.
Actiq/ Fentora have given me back the ability to keep a minimal amount of pain medication in my system, allowing me to do that which I cherish the most – reading scholarly theological articles. With Actiq/Fentora’s fast acting ingredients, I can cut my pain level from 8 to 3 within a short period of time without muddling my mind. The alternative is morphine which take @ 45 minutes to enter my system only to make me feel groggy and unmotivated.
Unfortunately I do rely on morphine for my pain is due to a permanent spinal cord injury. Anyone who thinks that all “pain relief users” are “drug addicts looking for a high” don’t know that there are others out there. I am highly educated and enjoy my life. I have tried injections, dorsal column implants, anti-inflammatories, accupuncture, massage, physical therapy. Did I miss anything! Unfortunately my 1st dorsal column implant became infected, the 2nd implant caused a cyst to grow around my spinal column. Antiinflammatories caused a stomach perforation and accompanied emergency surgery. Last year, I had a 6 hour surgery to untether my spinal cord in the thoracix area from my spinal column probably due to the implants and/or my spinal stenosis. My point is, I have tried every known medical treatment possible with the goal of keeping drugs addicting pills out of my system. Several of those treatments caused invasive new medical problems.
What works is: a greatly slowed down style of life – a style that demands my understanding my limitations and trying to live withing those limitations as much as possible. But we don’t always have total control in our life and when my pain level increases due to a life demand, I have( or had) a product that gives me a minimally invasive dosage of pain relief so as to be able to manage my pain. As the pain turns on like a light switch, I have a product that can dim that switch until such time as I can take charge myself and prop up my feet. Feeling rather vulnerable writing such a truthful depiction of my present life, J
RESPONSE TO JUDY: Both my husband and I are on Actiq. My husbands insurance does not cover any of the cost of Actiq. However, both of us are insurance agents and have put many hours of research into find assistance to the cost. I too have been suffering from SEVERE pain since May 2003. Actiq has enabled me to get out of bed and live a semi-normal life. Went it comes to pain, no one really can understand the true meaning of pain until you experience it yourself. I normally do not list my e-mail address, but when it comes to helping people who are going though the same situation both my husband and I have been through, I am more than happy to help. You can e-mail me at mmr8519atyahoo.com. Lisa
I’ve been in a drug study for Fentora for about a year. My pain is due to ankylosing spondylitis, which runs in the family. I currently take a single 90 mg Avinza (morphine) tablet as my round the clock med, and take the Fentora (600 mcg) for breakthrough pain. I’m averaging 5 Fentora per day. I’ve asked the doc to increase the Avinza, in the hopes of getting the number of breakthrough meds down, but so far he has refused. For about a year, I was on the duragesic patch instead of Avinza, but it gave me nightmares, plus knocking out my higher order thinking skills, and screwing up my decision-making ability.
So, I’m taking tons of dope, and it doesn’t make me high. It doesn’t even give me a buzz. I’ve also got a prescription for percocet: (3) 10 mg tablets per day. I can take those in any way I want to, and even if I take all three at the same time, I can’t tell that I’ve taken anything. The Fentora does reduce the pain, but the only other effect is to make me sleepy. Drug user looking for a high? I think not.
There appears to be a number of Actiq lawsuits going on throughout the United States … a recent new press release (February 24, 2007) listed under Google Medical & Pharmaceuticals News can be found here:
http://www.prleap.com/pr/67124/
I have been on Actiq for about 3 years due to chronic pain after originally UC and eventually 6 major abdominal surgeries and severe scar tissue growth and problems from it.I am now at the maximum dosage of the Actiq and I am also on fenanyl patches at the maximum dose for long coverage pain relief.I am debating having a pain pump installed and have had 2 semi-efficient pre-trials for the pump before a doctor told me about Fentora.Has anyone tried or been given the option of the pump but chosen Fentora anyway? I am just curious to see if I have exhausted all efforts before having this pump installed.
Lisa and Pat< thank you for the information. I will follow up with Lisa.
Robert, in regard, to your pain pump. I have had both a dorsal column implant and a pain pump. Unfortunately both had to be removed but I’d still like to give you the pros and cons from a user point of view.
I had a dorsal column implant implanted @ 1990. The idea is a computerized unit in the tummy with a magnet for an on/off control. Attached to the vertebrae, it provided electrical impulses over the “razor blade” type pain that I feel down my hips and exterior legs. However we weren’t able to correctly place the electrode. The nerve pathway was mostly blocked. I was the 1-2% failure rate. The devise got infected and 10 years later it was removed. The implant became deeply rooted in the vertebrae and was covered with calcification. The removal gave me a whole new back problem. No longer was my pain just sciatic, it now became thoracic also.
On to the pain pump: I was hospitalized for 3 days to try a nonevasive way to see if the implant would even work. I wasn’t absolutely positive that it was working in an efficient way to relieve my pain. However my husband insisted that it WAS helping me. He had just been diagnosed with metatasis (pardon misspellings!) bone cancer and was VERY concerned about leaving me when I was in such pain.
The win-win of the pain pump is the ability to try all sorts of “pain cocktails” to help eliminate the pain. I had 3 different medications. One was a heat medicine although I have no heart problem – it somehow helps the nervous system to calm down pain. The facility I initially worked with was in Los Gatos, CA. They have done so much with pain pumps. I would try to find out more from them.
Shortly after the pump was implanted, I moved to Southern California. I became very annoyed with the pump for I was falling asleep everywhere and anywhere!!! I opted to have the pump turned down which obviously then increasedmy pain level.
That is the biggest problem that I have with pain control whether it is a pain pump or morphine. I MUST have my thinking ability. That has priority over pain relief. And the pain pump caused me to sleep forever. The morphine works for me but I must use it only at home for I do fall asleep @ 45 minutes after I take it and I will sleep for at least an hour. I will then get @ 2 hours of a reduction in pain.
Yet Actiq/Fentora gives me absolute control over my pain – something I have never had before ( and my insurance company is trying to deny me). With Actiq/Fentora I know I can get a reduction in pain quickly with little grogginess. My pain is like a light switch. It can be at 2-3 and them BOOM in seconds it goes to 6. Just writing this email is increasing my pain level more and more. Now with the A/F I can get reduction immediately, not 45 minutes later. The negative though, is the medication leaves my system within a short period of time ( @ 45minutes).
But back to the pain pump: I again was the 1-2% that had problems with the pump. My thoracix pain became intolerable- I mean INTOLERABLE. And I couldn’t tell if it was back or tummy pain. The emergency room treated me like I was some addict looking for a fix. It was terribly embarassing there. However an MRI showed a mass growing around the spinal cord at the pain injectin point. The pain pump was stopped immediately and flushed out. I then had to have it surgically removed within the next 2 weeks.
Even with the pain pump removed, my thoracix pain was still unbearable. A myleogram showed that my spinal cord had some how “tethered” itself to the spinal column. In other words, the two were stuck together by some means. The doctor did not tell me if it was from my stenosis, the dorsal column implant and/or the pain pump. What I do know is now I have sciatic AND thoracix pain. I don’t believe I would have a thoracix pain problem if I hadn’t tried nontraditional means of pain reduction rather than medicine.
I believe there is good reason for both devices. I would just say, make sure you do all of your homework before moving ahead. I am not sure that I have answered all your questions. Regards, Judy
Ihave a trumatic brain injury or T.B.I i’ve been on percoset for two yrs now for the pain that is splitting my head open daily My P.M. Dr wants me to try Fentora WILL IT LAST TO GIVE ME HOURS OR RELIFE Hope you guys can help signed Eric
I tried Fentora for the 1st time recently. I usually take 600 mcg. Actiq pops for my breakthrough pain. I also have an intrathecal pump w/Baclofen & Dilaudid. The Fentora was much faster acting than the Actiq, I got relief in about half the time it would have taken Actiq. Also, theres no nasty taste or tooth rotting effect of the Actiq. My doc said the pain relief from Fentora only lasts 2-3 hours.
I have been in the clinical trials for Fentora for a little over a year now. I have R.S.D or (C.R.P.S as some call it) in both feet and ankles. Before going on Fentora I had tried a few things with little sucsess. This drug has seriously changed my life! The study has now come to a sudden end with no real explanation from Cophalon (the makers of this wonder drug). I am now weening off of Fentora and my pain has returned with a vengence!!! Now beside the pain I have two problems: one, my doctor is “reluctant” to prescribe Fentora sense it is an off lable drug (because I do not have cancer) and two my insurance co. will not cover the huge cost of this drug for the same reason.
If you’d like to write the company to encourage them to get this on the market sooner for chronic pain. Here is thier coorporate address:
Corporate Headquarters
Cephalon, Inc.
41 Moores Road
Frazer, PA 19355 USA
610-344-0200
Even better, write each of the members of thier board and tell them how much you’d benefit from this medication.
http://www.cephalon.com/our_business/board_of_directors.aspx
I to am a person who suufers from sever cervical and lower back pain after four cervical fusion surgeries w five fusions and a body that the doc says appears to be about 65 + when I am at age 49 due to all the arthritus present in most of my joints (shown from several mri’s and bone spect scans). After being in a clinical trial for fentora 800 mcg for 1 year the program is stopped and I am expected to change over to the duragesic 75 mcg 3 day patch w one 10/325 oxycodone every 4 to 6 hours for breakthrough pain, obviously this does not work any where near as well for pain relief and I guess now I have nowhere to turn after getting a script from the doc only to find out that a one month supply of 800 mcg fentora is not covered by my insurance due to the cost $4600.00 a month
If there is anyone who might have any suggestions please please post it.
Dear Jerry and others,
In same boat as you, with only relief in years coming from Fentora which Oxford has now denied. I too would appreciate any ideas to obtain it as I am not a cancer patient and that seems to be the insurance company’s out
Just happened upon this post, I was one of the first to be given Actiq off-label if you will, I asked my P/M Doc why the box said for cancer patients only? He said:he had just gotten back from a Cephalon sponsored seminar and that it was ok for other kinds of chronic pain so off I went. I have to say for bt pain it was the best I’d tried. At that time I was on Duragesic w/ Actiq I had the Fusion many complications, and I noticed my teeth were turning brown, I asked my PM if he thought it coud be the Actiq he said I’m no Dentist but I wouldn’t think so. I was in a full body cast very hard to sit in Dental chair, but after 10 months I got to the Dentist all those brown teeth all of my teeth were cavities! I was only on it 10 months, I had only had 1 cavity in my life, they were all at and below the gumline, cost of ultra rapid detox you’d have to ask work comp, they were thrilled to get me off the meds if only for a time….another story cost of dental work 50k it would have been less but work comp fought it and we went to hearing after hearing….they lost but my teeth were rotting in my mouth and breakin off. I know many are wiiling to trade teeth for relief haha ugh not me There was no warning on any of the boxes of my actiq regarding Dental problems, but back then it was seen as a regretable isolated incident. I was blamed by most of my friends after all I was the one who went to detox, I was forced to go by work comp because they didn’t want to pay for the patches or the pops so they told me I was going to a legaly required second opinon.A person who knew nothing about PM and he spent 8min with me his report said I was faking accidents and injuries and having unnecessary surgeries in order to get drugs and avoid work.None of this true, I filed a complaint against the Doc and he was sanctioned. At that time I did not have a WC lawyer, so comp waited and when my Pm doc went on vacation they made me a one week only use it or lose it we will no longer be refilling any scrips for Actiq or Duragesic so you can go to detox this week while your doc is on vacation or you cango through withdrawl on your own and if you should die it won’t be our fault because we offered you dx I was terrified. Anyway, I just realized I got tied up in my thoughts. If you don’t have payment issues ie risk being cut off or are in it for the long haul than good luck and god bless. The ultimate loss of all of my teeth was too high a price to pay for me and my body and mind were not well after that detox causing me to make catostrophic financial decisians. I really haven’t been well until recently when thank goodness the medication stars have all lined up for me and more is less .And it isn’t my place to say who should or shouldn’t take a medication I just needed to put my story out there.
I was on Actiq for over one year, and My Doc switched me to Fentora because of the sugar/tooth decay problems involved with Actiq; The Fentora is MUCH better, acts quicker, & I take half the dose Of the Actiq–Like I read above, it gives me TOTAL control of bringing my pain from 7-8-9 down to 3-4; It does this without knocking me on my backside for 8-24 hours ( I am taking another pain med, Methadose 80 mgs twice a day). If i did not have the Fentora, I would be out of luck. Now, Blue Cross is trying to stop paying for it under their “closed formulary” prescription plan the I took to lower my monthy Health Insurance Cost–WHAT A BIG MISTAKE! Blue Cross will pay for Duragesic, Actiq, but NOT Fentora–All because I tried to cut $75 off my monthly $500 premium. Thanks for Nothing, Blue Cross. However, these High Prices are rediculous; My hat is off to the makers of “Fentora”, but do they need to kill us on the $$? Can’t we find some common ground?
PS…I cannot switch back to a different RX plan with BCBS for 1 year. This is just plain wrong.
COULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME SOMEPLACE I CAN PUT MY FENTANYL PATCH SO IT WELL STAY ON ME BETTER I;VE TRY TO PUT TAPE ON IT BUT STILL DON’T STAY ON THAT GOOD. ALSO HOW TO KEEP IT ON IN THE SHOWER. THANK YOU TONI
I had a shoulder surgery in 93, as of june 2007 , I have had 20 sugeries, partial then a full implant, I was on 6 1200 micro grams of Actiq 320mg of time release morphine, workmans comp, was having to pay 9,000 dollars a month, at least 3or 4 times my doctor cut me back,, with no exspalanation, I was put on fentora in my opinon there is no compairision, Actiq beats fentora 10 to 1,I found out w/c was calling complaing, then i went back on the reg 6 aday and the morphine, the bad side of actiq is it will eat your teeth up, I am now without a pain doctor, my doctor told me that Actiq was 4 cancer break thru pain only and that the fda had contacted him, i called the fda, it was all lies a conspiacy with w/c, then i was sent to a pain clinic in birmingham al, i’ll not name the doctor, because i am going to have to take w/c back to the Judge, I can see fentora if you pay for it, but not if w/c paying !the pain doc told me about a wonder drug, stop withdawals immediately stops pain 4 times better than any opiate,no side effects, no drowsyness, none of the side effects we all know opiates cause methadone espically the name of hte drug is suboxen, this drug should not be used 4 acute chronic pain, I almost commited suicde, now workmans comp will not give me another pain doc, and before he will treat me now a month of thearpy
I’ve been take Actiq for chronic pain. It’s the only medication that has help with the pain. I can actually get out of bed and go outside with my kids. The only problem I have is that I lost my insurance and did not have the thousands of dollars it costs.
After months of research, I found a discount company that will pay for my Actiq, generic. There is a small monthly payment and a $15 copay, but that’s nothing compared to the actual cost.
Anyone interested e-mail me at mmr8519@yahoo.com
This is a response for Toni, for June 7th. If no one has answered you yet. Since I have been back on the patches, they have been giving me the generic ones, they do not stick for beans… I use transpore tape. It is the plastic one that looks perforated. It has to be the 3M one, the other type, although more flexible, does not stick as well. I apply the patch, to either my chest, just below the collar bone or my upper arm (on the inside or on top of the muscle, not the outside of the arm), apply pressure for at least 20 seconds and then using the 1 inch tape, I tear that in half (so it is 1/2 inch) and put a frame around the patch. That works well except on the days that I am in water therapy. Since I spend almost 2 hours in the water on those days, not counting the shower afterwards, my tape has not been working as well. So recently I have been getting tegraderm and putting that over the patch, it is just a bit larger that the 100mcg patch, and the framing that with the tape. I still have to replace my tape after therapy, but it is enough to keep the patch from coming up. I tried it without the tape once and the tegraderm came loos around the edges and my patch came up by the end of therapy, it doesn’t do that with the tape added. I hope that helps… By the way does anyone know when they are going to approve Fentora for chronic pain. My pain management doc retired and the new one won’t order it because it was only approved for cancer patients, it worked so much better that the Norco that she has ordered to replace it… Thanks Rhonda
Wow!! My husband just stumbled on this website. Both of us have been on large amounts of Actiq & fentynal patch. Both of us have chronic back pain due to various reasons. I never thought that there are so many people having the same type of problems that we are. My teeth are horrible. I went to my Dentist & he was amazed at how fast that my teeth have rotted away. He suggested that we rinse with a floride rinse at least 2 times a day, and rinse with Listerene after every Actiq. But unfortunately, that doesn’t save half my teeth that either need extensive work or just need to be pulled.
We are going to check with our Doc to see if we can get the Fentora. Anything has to be better for our teeth than the Actiq. There was a rumor that Actiq would be coming in a sugar-free sucker, but still haven’t seen that.
Has anyone had problems with the Actiq or generic brand falling apart? I get some boxes that they just turn to mush, others work great.
On the subject of not getting your meds approved by your insurance, part of it has to due with the pharmacy that you go through. I have a wonderful pharmacist. He was able to work miracles to get our meds approved. For anyone who goes to a name-brand chain like Walgreens, CVS or maybe in a Walmart/Sam’s Club or grocery store, it seems that they don’t have the time to go the extra mile to contact your insurance company and fight for your rights to get these meds. They will tell you to go to your doc and have him submit a form, which usually gets lost in the system.
My suggestion is to find a small time/small town type pharmacist. They are there for you. Especially when you bring them the scripts that pay THEM the big bucks. They can call the insurance companies and let them know that you have tried everything under the sun and nothing seems to work for you. They have direct contact with the ins. co’s all the time. This is what I discovered a couple years ago. I thought going through a national chain like Walgreens was the best, so if I needed anything, I could stop in anywhere in the country and get it. But when it came to getting something approved, they didn’t want anything to do with you. “Go talk to your Doc” is what I got. I actually drive almost an hour out of town to my Pharmacist, and will continue to do it even if gas goes to $5 a gal. Because there is nothing like him around me.
Thanks for all your postings!!! I will continue to read on.
I don’t know why you’re all mad at the doc’s and the drug companies. It’s the FDA you should be mad at. They’re the one’s putting all this undue pressure on everyone over “narcotics.” How many of you have been filled with anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, and anti- seizure meds all in the name of anti-pain? Have you aver tried to get off of those? These “pain” clinics popping up everywhere trying to stick needles in you everywhere, put pain pumps in your spine, convince you, you don’t need a pain pill to feel better, just deep breathing techniques and to learn how to go to bed with four small children in the house while they charge you $450 for the 1/2 hr in the office, but the 2 & 1/2 hr waiting room to tell you that, visit. How many of you have been dropped by at least one doctor? By mail? I’m sorry your case is to complicated, I’ll no longer be able to help you. Our health care system is not in crisis it’s non-existant. The problem? They do what they want and we are worried about our teeth falling out (PAIN at it’s most excrutiating) and if we can read our books (Can’t read if you can’t concentrate). We care about our own silly individual wants the society of ME and they are collectivly ruining our ability to decide if we have a say in our own health care. Something as simple as if we have pain or not. I’ve been on and off pain meds since in my 20’s I’ve been called a junkie so many times I even started to believe it myself. I’ve done everything these Dr’s have told me to do and more.. They don’t get it! They have been taught to believe they know it all, they have been taught to protect themselves and their livelyhoods and if you think they are your friends, think again. If they thnk you are going to bring them down they will drop you in an instant. If one of their collegues tells them somethings about you they don’t want to hear, you are gone. Your lawyer is not your friend! If you are in litigation you are finished! Why do you think every new doctor you go to asks on the questionare are you currently in litigation? These people suing for every little thing are hurting you not helping! READ THE LABel!!! IF ITS A NARCOTIC YOU CAN BECOME ADDICTED TO IT!! IF YOU THINK YOU are NOT BEING AFFECTED BY THEM – THINK AGAIN….. EVER HEARD OF AN OVERDOSE?????? IT’s COMMENTS LIKE THAT THAT MAKE THESE DOCTORS LOOK AT US LIKE WE ARE NUTS!!!! IF ITS GOT SUGAR IN IT IT CAN ROT YOUR TEETH, ever talked to a child about candy???!!! AND JUST BECAUSE ITS A DOCTOR DOESN’T MEAN IT ISN’T A HUMAN AND IT DOESN’T LIE!!!!!!! Has Narcotic use made you use loose all of your damn common sense or what????? If you want control, take control of EVERYTHING! Don’t blame others for your mistakes!
I too have been on fentora for about 2 months, I feel it does’t work as well as atciq, but works better than durgestic, i’ve tried almost everything out there for 2 hip replacments, 1 knee replacment, and a spinal infusion.
personally i think 80mg oxycontin work the best but they have such a negitive connitation to them, my Doc thinks their only made for addicts.
WHY CAN’T these doctors be more compasionate to our needs?
anyways feel better everyone
Brian
Hello, all. I can tell by the comments that I have read that we are an increasingly large sub culture of people who have been betrayed by our bodies, our physicians and health system, our courts and government, and yes, even some of our families. I, too, take narcotics for chronic pain. The specifics aren’t important. I could be any of you. However, something changed my life a few years ago when I was in the same place that a lot of you were. I had bought into the notion of fear. Fear of my doctor. Fear that what he says is final. And, just when I was at my lowest and thought that pain had absolutely controlled my life, and that pain this severe could not be justifiably lived through for any reason, another pain patient I did not even know, but cared enough to listen to me gave me this piece of advise: Change your total mindset on your healthcare. He suggested that I stop looking at my pain doctor as a doctor per se, and to start looking at him as an employee that could be hired or fired just like any other employee anywhere. Individually, we hire doctors and our insurance companies tell us to choose ” a primary care doctor.” This is to their benefit, not yours or mine. The advice I recieved encouraged me to fire my pain doctor if he wasn’t living up to my reccomendations. In essence, your interviewing doctors for the right to care for you, and by extensions, get your business. You are a customer in a service industry. Yes, doctors can drop you, but you can drop a doctor as quickly. Stop acting like victims and start saying no. Say no to the bullshit that you are an addict because you know what pain treatment works for you. Once I adopted this philosophy, I started interviewing doctors and if I got b.s from a doctor, I not only did not go to him again, but I did not pay him. I refused to because he did not provide adeqate pain control for me. The patients bill of rights in America includes the right to have your pain controlled adequatelly. Finally, I found a doctor that fit my requirements that I not be made to feel badly about my pain issues. I get the treatment I need now because I refused to take any crap from these people. Understand, we live in a capitolist society and that applies to physicians as well. There will always be a better doctor out there for you. As for paying for the Fentora, I stongly suggest that those of you who like the drug check into Cephalon’s patient assistance program on their website, http://www.cephalon.com. The customer service phone number is 1-877-433-6867. A substitute company handles the applications, but they are pretty helpful. It will take about two to three weeks for the paper work to be processed. Keep in mind, though, that the prescriptions all go to a mail order pharmacy in Pennsylvania. However, they provide a free account for overnight shipping. If my doctor sends it out on a wednesday morning, I recieve my meds by friday morning. They can also fill other Class two narcotics, and other medications that you may be on. For me, its just easier to have my doctors office to fedex both of my prescriptions to the pharmacy. I hope that I have helped in some small way. If you want to talk, email me at JThompson311@msn.com. For those of us who have achieved meaninful pain relief, it is our responsibility to help others who do not have the pain relief, because we were all once in the same position.
Thoughtfully yours,
Josh
I do not know where you live, but you could spend all day in the D.C. area “interviewing” doctors to “decide which one you want”. I have been screwed by so many pain management doctors that I have found that if you find one that will prescribe you the meds you need (opiates), you kiss his ass if necessary. They are so afraid of being sued, and rightly so. You have unscrupulous patients who get prescribed pain meds, then they go out and either drink while taking them, get in a wreck, and then sue the doctor for giving them pain meds. Or you get the jerks that sell them on the street. All this makes it hard for us AND the doctor who is afraid of liability. On the other subject, I only recently have been able to get the Actiq, and what a great med. When every minute can be agonizing, I used to have to wait for fast acting oxy to catch up to my 80 mg OxyContin X 3/ day. Now I still take the OxyContin, but take the generic Actiq 1200 for my breakthrough. It works in minutes! The 1600 does get me sick too, so if this is a problem, reduce dosage. I DO NOT agree that they should be charging the money they do though. I do not care if they put it in a sucker or not. If you think they deserve those profits (as a previous poster said), you must have stock in the company. There is NO REASON 1200 mcg of Fentanyl in a Tootsie Pop should be $35.00! The pharma companies are merchants of death who could care less if you suffer. And yes, I have health insurance, and my cost is minimal (by the grace of God, not my government. But it pisses me off to see the senior citizens in front of me at the pharmacy having to peel off $100 bills to pay for meds they have to have. Let them make their money on Viagra and other elective meds. Never stop writing your elected officials!
I have read all of these posts and for the first time i feel like people understand me…
I was brutally attacked in my dorm at college, the ass hole got off after a 45 min beating of me. I have chronic back and leg pain as well as unbearable headaches, how many of you know what its like to make the desion to not cry because it hurts worse and then some nurse who can take advil for her headaches tell the doctor your a drug seeker… of course if i could get the shit at home i wouldn’t be here! I was on actiq it rotted my teeth 10 cavities my dentist said the fast acting nature-of actip is what did it, sp you have to brush right away, i just picked up my first fentora dose and have not taken it yet as i only get five this month but from reading this forum i know i am not alone. I have blood clots so i go to a cancer center every week to get testing and treatment from a hematologist I see those patients in pain, however just because i dont have cancer doesn’t mean my pain isn’t important!!
Sincerely hopeful in texas
Hello to All the People that live in Pain…
I come upon this site when I saw at the bottom of the screen while watching LARRY KING, and only got a glimpse at the word of FENTORA, but could not find it again while watching Larry King?
So, I come on to the site of CNN and found a lot of talk about PAIN and FENTORA…
I too live in the body of Pain 24/7… It seems that most of you get better relief than I do? :(
I must say I do like my Pain Management Doctor as I do my P/C Doc. . But I think the biggest problem is that these drug addicts on the streets are the ones that make it harder for the doctors to prescribe medication to you for the pain.
I was drug tested one time and could not figure out WHY I was being drug tested (this was by my first main management doc) and had to pay for this. When I asked why are you drug testing me he said he had to do drug testing because he had a few patients (turned out to be about 123 patients), that he received reports on of SELLING their pin medication, and in order to catch them he was drug testing the young and old at random, Plastered on his sign in window he had already fired 123 patients for them coming back with none of the medication he prescribed to them!!
I was really upset that there are people out there that are in this God Awful Pain, almost begging for relief and these others selling their Medications for money and it puts us ALL in the category of doing the same thing. So, I can understand where these doctors are coming from when they think twice about prescribing to a patient, because their license are on the line! My first Pain Management doc said it best, “YOU CAN’T SEE PAIN ON AN X-RAY” so you have to go with the patients words and believe them…
Since it seems that everyone here are living in a nightmare of pain and how it is treated, I will throw mine in here too!
I will not go into ALL the operations but will give you a number, and that is; I have a total of 23 operations, 2 small heart attacks, 17 mini strokes, and had 2 pretty big strokes almost 2 years ago, 19 crushed vertebrae’s, and MS on top of all of this. I also have a very rare form of osteoporosis, that no one in the state of Texas can help me because they haven’t studied it, so I am bed-ridden at the age of 48 (turned 48 in July), I can’t stand and can’t walk, so it is in the bed 24/7, and I take for my pain; 33-30mg of MORPHINE in the morning and 3 at night (but I do not take them all at one time, I take one at a time and then go from there, so that is why I am not taking 100 mg.’s), SOMA, VICODINE ES, XANAX (supposed to take one 2mg twice a day, I only take a 1/4 or 1/2 at night and none during the day), FENTORA 800mcg twice a day, AMBIEN CR @ bed time, PHENERGAN through out he day, then come the PLAVIX and other meds for my heart.
I tried the ATIQ and it really did not work, and the after taste is horrible, and I also had a pain pump put in and my body rejected it, and when I say rejected it, my incision opened up and the pain pump this nice little silver looking thing that looked like some kind of radio(?), so I had a feeling about it because my body had already rejected breast implants (and NO there were NOT put in for appearance, I had to have them due to some many beatings from my first husband, but wanted to look the same as I did going in, and I did), plus my body rejected the mesh to protect my abd. area because my stomach was flipped up and split to reconstruct my breast. So, when it come to the pump I told the doc over and over that I have rejected a couple of things already and did he think I would reject the pump too? He never really responded to me, then after seeing the doc., I was asked by the Nurse have I ever rejected anything before… Well, I told her I have been screaming that many time already and now you ask after the hell I went through with the pump…
OK, I have not pump and have to take the drugs, my liver is so damaged from the drugs and I do NOT drink Alcohol, but have a bad Liver now (from the meds)…Go figure that one!
As hardheaded as I am I threw all the meds away because I was not taking them anymore, HUGE MISTAKE, I was not smart enough to know my body was already addicted to them, no matter what my mind told me, I advise NO one to ever do that, I knew what pain was after throwing my meds away, even though I can’t get below a 5-6 on the pain scale, it was really actually working, I just have so much pain that I just thought I was not really getting relief, I WAS though!
I have read where so many have a hard time with the cost of these high priced meds., if it was not for my husband staying in the military until he retired, I would be in the same shoes as you all having to pay the high price :( I pay only 9.00 for name brand and 3.00 for generic but I have seen the price of the meds without insurance, and NO WAY could I ever afford to pay that and I added it up one day per month what it would cost me if I had no insurance, and it was exactly $3,157.23 (that includes ALL my meds not only the pain, ALL of them). I know I would be living in so much pain I would not know how to get out of it! I receive NO SSI (they said if my husband made over a thousand dollar a month that took me out of receiving SSI, now for the Disability I get NOTHING because I have never paid in to taxes, I was a stay at home mom and by doing that it get nothing. So, everything depends on my husbands income.
But there are so many that take more than they should, they put a label on the meds for a reason and it is up to the patient to obey the rules of the Doctors that prescribe it, it is those people that abuse it and it is those that sell their meds that make it VERY HARD to get the proper Medical treatment.
It was to the point that my P/C Doc wanted me to go into a Nursing home, now I was 47 years old at that time (but in 2007), because they can treat me on a nursing level and around the clock… I would not see it…
I can go on and on and even write a book on PAIN…ABUSERS…SELLERS, so blaming it on a doctor that one dies from the meds or it brings harm to them is no more than the Patient’s fault, and that goes back to the reading the label and take it as you are supposed to take it! The doctors are taking the word of the patients and trying to help them and they do not know who is all abusing the meds prescribed. I can go into the waiting room and pick out the ones that are selling it and abusing it! And it makes me sick to see those people out there probably getting meds for their own high and making it bad for us that live in hell from Pain!!!
Just Saturday I went to the Pageant my granddaughter was in and this man asked me do I go to the doctor in Vidor???? I thought where did that come from, I told him no, but I could tell by his limp that it must be a Pain Doc. in Vidor he goes to or used to go to, it is those things I do not like to talk about. I guess being in a wheelchair I must be in pain to him, and I was, but to just be so bold to asked that question told me something about this person….. Oh! My granddaughter WON Tiny Tot Miss, East Texas, and many other titles (she is only 21 mo old, but a ham and a half)…
I do pray for you that live the life as I do, and I pray you get the help that you need!
I am here is anyone ever wants to talk about it… I live it and understand where you all are coming from….
HERE IS A HUGE HUG TO ALL OF YOU, and HOPE YOU ALL FEEL BETTER!
Take Care……..Leslie from Texas
luv4beanies@gt.rr.com for those that might want to talk!
MY QUOTES:
“HATE ME IF YOU WANT….BUT, LOVE ME IF YOU CAN”
“FAMILIES ARE LIKE FUDGE…MOSTLY SWEET…WITH A FEW NUTS”
Does anyone know the company that offers financial assistance on the fentora or actiq painkillers. I have been suffering from a failed artificial disc replacement. That jacked open my spine 100% to much and knocked my facet joints out of line causing abnormal loading on the joints. Not to mention disc herniations. I have no insurance and need help with presciption assistance.
Jason Graham
dawg557@yahoo.com
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
For those of us who use the Duragesic patch but have trouble keeping them sticking on, I have been having success using a patch called Bioclusive (a J&J) product. The Bioclusive dressing completely covers the Duragesic patch and keeps it dry and on securely.
Not cheap, but it works well. It is not permeable to liquids, but it is air permeable.
If any of us are using Fentora but finds that it irritates your gums, putting a little smear of Maalox on your gums helps to remove the acidity and irritation. The nurse who told me about using Maalox said that you should use “Sugar Free Maalox”. I couldn’t find it anywhere and when I asked my doctor about it, he laughed and said that all Maalox is sugar free.
Hope this helps somebody!
Good Pain Free Living to all of you!
Actiq is not the answer to anyone’s problem. In fact, such as kat and dennis have mentioned in their posts above, the side effects are terrible. Users have experienced financial issues, dental injury, experienced overdose resulting in hospitilization, and even death. Kat, your comment about the cavities is all too true. You do have legal rights, click on my name above for more information
D.
Hey everyone… I was on actiq for several years. Yes I did lose my teeth, mostly because the docs were afraid that the dental problems would turn into problems for my implants in my back. I had a 6 level fusion. Then ater my rods came loose, and long 2 year wait for approval for surgery, a repair of 3 levels. Actiq worked great. entora works better. My guess is that this lawyer, Daniel, just above me hear, does not live in pain 24/7 like many people here do. Yes, we continue that med even though it costs our teeth because it helps us to be able to pretend like we have a life to live. Where other meds have failed, these have really helped. Now, about everyones teeth… Both the Fentora and the Actiq can be made at a non-formulary pharmacy with no sugar. The cost is lower so the insurance company is usually okay with it. The Actiq taste took a little getting used to but it is worth it to save your teeth. Now, does anyone have any idea if and when the fentora is going to be approved for chronic pain? My last pain doc ordered it, but he recently retired early and the new doc and her group will not order it for non-cancer patients. I worry about the FDA getting touchy about the deaths. Sounds like they were people who should never have had it ordered for them… For the insurance agent that started this page. I am sorry that the cost of the medication seems not worth it to you. But consider, if the client is able to move about better, they are better able to do their wn ADL’s, comply with their PT, increasing their strength and their endurance. This may not help them get completely off meds, but may help to decrease the amount that they need. Or you can insist on the cheaper meds that don’t really help with the pain and deal with the fact that the person will become less able to do all of the above, becoming more dependent on other services that are paid for by the insurance company to get out of bed, get their house clean ect. Seems like the trade off equals off there somewhere…
Are you people really in pain? Ever heard of dentures? If I could maintain a pain level of 2 or 3 I would not only give up my teeth but my right arm. Also, it’s not the Doc’s, pharmacies or insurance co.’s that are the problem, it’s the DEA. The answer is to write your Representatives in DC and tell them PAIN meds and the DEA don’t belong in the same category.
pain meds and DEA do not belong in the same category
I never realized how many others live with chronic pain. I actuallu stumbled on this site looking for info on Actiq and dental trouble. I’ve been on Actiq and Duragesic patches for around 5 years. Too bad I didn’t find out about the sugar content until my teeth had mostly rotted out. I went to a dentist that told me around 80% of my teeth are cavities. It’s supposed to cost $18,000-$19,000 to fix them. I can’t afford that so I’ve just been watching them fall out. I go to the dentist when I get abscesses. They actually shatterinto little pieces when I eat on occasion. The really crazy part is that I still would NEVER stop taking my actiq!
Before Actiq I could hardly get out of bed most days. Now I can live a relatively “normal” life. My onle regret is that I didn’t know about the sugar sooner. Now I brush my teeth before & after every Actiq. But it’s too late. I did try Fentora. I hated it. One thing I love about Actiq is that I can use part of an oralet if needed and pick it back up later. I couldn’t do that with Fentora. Also, the Fentora tasted terrible and wouldn’t dissolve in my mouth. After 1 1/2 hr I spit it out.
Any ideas about the dental problems with Actiq? For those of you that had that problem, did you seek any kind of compensation? And if I did that, would I somehow lose my Actiq?
Also…when I strted the Actiq (namebrand) it was around $2000/mo for my dosage/qty.
Now it’s $8000/mo for the generic.
No wonder the insurance companies don’t want to pay for this medicine. Which means people like us that are in real pain can’t always get the medicine we need. Urghh.
Anyway, thanks for letting me know I’m not alone.
I have been Actiq for 3 years and it is the only medication that keeps me out of the hospital and the closest to a normal live I can have. My problem is when I moved to Florida it is really hard to find doctors that prescript it. Does anyone know of any good doctors in Florida or what do when Dr want to stop this medication when the others med’s do not work? Thanks
hi, pain sufferers I am lucky for good doctor I take 2 80mg oxy contin at once 2 30mg roxicodone at once 2 norco 10/325 at once 1or2 valium at once an 3 methadone at once if needed & 1 bontril to get weight down have aurthritus in both knees you could email me at bristolm76@yahoo.com with any questions ps that is what I must do to make it 8 hours at work to get bennifits for meds & I must chew up one of the 80mg oxys and that just gets me by has anyone tried demerol was thinking of giving that a try also Mark arthritus patient.
Hi everyone, I wish you all the best, truly. I did notice that one or two people asked about the Fentora patient assistance program. Again, it is managed through the manufacturer, Cephalon. There is a toll free number 1-877-4FENTORA. They have some paperwork that requires you and your doctor to fill out. You will have to meet some financial criteria, particularly your income. Also, it matters about whether or not you have prescription coverage. For instance, I have medical insurance through my University, but I have no prescription coverage. Because I work so little and my income is so low, they gave me the coverage with no problem. There is no copay, and you get 30 day supplies at a time. You only need to reknew once a year. More importantly, there is no limit on quantity or dosage like there is with some private insurance and medicaid/medicare. I take 8 of the 400 microgram doses per day. Wholesale, thats 200 dollars per day, and 6000 dollars per month, and 72000 per year…$72,000 per year for a prescription. Thats a pretty good income for most people. I hate the greed involved with this, and as much as I hate to say this, those of you who are critizing the pharmaceutical industry need to keep this is mind: Yes, Actiq/Fentora are way overpriced. However, if pharmaceutical companies did not charge what they charge, they could not go on to develop several hundred billion dollar retroviral drugs for AIDS. They could not pay to develop vaccines against HPV, and treatments for shrinking tumors. I have a background in chemistry and I can tell you that in the Research & Development departments of Pharmaceutical companies, they may looks at thousands of chemical compounds to find just one new medicine; and even if they happen to find a promising new chemical compound, it takes years to get through the various stages of testing. I have seen development costs of just one drug reach as high as 800 million dollars…for one drug. But that one drug will save a lot of lives. Still, there is no doubt that Actiq and Fentora are way way overpriced and I feel that it is a symptom of the Company, rather than the industry. Cephalon completely owns the market for breakthrough pain medicines with fentanyl and as such they charge as much as they want to. But, in the end, these profits will be put right back into research and development for the next wonder drug. Some companies are looking at chemical compounds in poisons produced by snakes that will completely shut pain down without opiates. Yes, its expensive, but if the government starts to regulate American pharmaceutical companies, then they will no longer have the impetus or the cash flow to research, develop, and test those new life saving drugs.
Alicia: I really feel for you honey. The bad news, from what I have been reading about, is that Florida is one of the truly backwards states when it comes to pain control. It all starts with the state law enforcement. The Floride state narcotics task force has been going unusually hard after doctors and patients,particularly patients in the past few years. I have heard horror stories about this task force rail roading patients and doctors. For instance, I know there was this one guy who moved to Florida from New Jersey, I think. When he moved to Florida, his doctor agreed to mail him his prescriptions in the mail so that he would be able to get his meds until he found a new doctor. When the doc mailed the scripts, he left them undated. Well, the overzealous pharmacist who filled the prescriptions called in this task force, and they started to investigate this guy. One day, they raided his house and found all of his old pill bottles under his bed. Instead of realizing that they were just old pill bottle from months past, the task force charged him like a drug dealer…I believe the guy got like 30 yrs for a real bad trumped up charge. Prosecution like this has got docs running scared moreso in Florida then any place else. Another reason that you are having a hard time finding prescribers is that Florida is also bass ackwards in its prescribing laws for mid level practitioners. In most states now, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants can get prescribing rights for most drugs, up to and including class two drugs. In florida, NP’s and PA’s can’t even write a prescription for an antibiotic. This lack of prescribing rights means that there are not a lot of docs to go around. The ones that are willing to treat pain are completely booked and unwilling to take new patients. Other docs are so scared to treat/prescribe because of the overzealous prosecuters in Florida. I really think that your best bet is to go out of state and to fill your scripts out of state as well. Compile a list of some possible doctors to interview, and do some research on their history. Do they have any complaints against them? Have they been sued? Do they have a good reputation with the local Better Business Bureu? I wish that I could help more. I do agree with the founder of this blog that the best that we can do is to write our polititians and tell them of our plight; that the DEA has no charter to dictate standards of medical practice in America. I wish you luck, Alice.
I fell at work in 92, busted my liver, couple of ribs, and tore my shoulder up, I ‘ve been on pain meds since 92 except a short time, I was on stared on methadone in 95,18 10mg a day, then morphine, oxycotin, in 2000 I was put on actiq with methadone, in 2001 I was put on Actiq, 4 1200 mcg 100 mcg dugesic patch, 3, months later 6 1200, mcg daily, At this point i had 18 shoulder surgeries, then a partial implant, then 3 months later full implant, thn tthey added a 50 mcg duregesic patch with the 100, my pharmacy bill was almost 9 thousand a month, sevral time i was cut back because W/C wanted somthing cheaper, so it would be 4 Actiq, then back to 6, then to fentura, back to 6 1200s 100 , and a 50 duregesic patch, in feb 07 , my dr,Told me W/C had received a letter from the FDA, and that Actiq was for cancer break thru only, and that i had to come off of it, I called the FDA, they said workmans comp or my DR, was telling a lie, they do not deal on a individual basis,
and it ws not the DEA, an he said that all the surgeries I had , that if i had been written twice that amount, it would have never been ? even though it is for cancer break thru only,it can be prescribed,as long as you meet the need, as for severe chronic pain, migraine, whatever, I called the MFG, Cellaphon, the makers of Actiq, and fentora, they told me the same, I was cut to 4 a day feb, march cold turkey, then after it was time that I ran out, W/C got me a pain dr, my old doc was gone, this was around april, from feb to april my teeth were pathetic i would wake up with a tooth or part in my mouth, by the time you could see there was damage to the tooth it was destroyed, the inside eat up, there broke, in fron 1 is thin as a – ,my new pain doc looked at me and said man you got the worse case of Actiq poisoning I have ever seen, I said call W/C so they’ll fix my teeth, he said thats not his job, then proceeded to tell me about , beinga candidate 4 a new drug suboxone, I was told it stopped withdrawals immediately and it was 4 times stonger 4 pain than any opiate, with no opiate side effects , I was never offered any opiate, or anything else , the suboxone almost had me committing suicide, W/C states since i tried it i am bound to it, so I am having to pay 4 my pain doc and meds, i finally got them to send me to a dentist, he said if he did not know better he said it looked like meth had caused it, this is my dentist they sent me to, a month later I was sent to another dentist, he said it was caused by dry mouth, an that was what the actiq caused, he said maybe if i would have brushed more and flossed more i could have prevented it , then he said you were probably fighting a losing battle, a month later I was sent to a oral surgeon, he was telling me all they were going to do for my teeth, and lieing every breath, I called W/C a mo. later they said they were not going to fix my teeth,that i had a tooth to rot 2 years before,that was when they started to rot, I told both dentist, they said it did not matter, I was on the Actiq over 3 years when it rotted, and i believe it was a root canal that i did not have capped, i have a appointment with her to make sure, all my teeth are bad,uppers and lowers, when iwas on the actiq there was no waring label on the box, they started before i was took off, if anyone has any suggestions on how to get help , please do so, my attorney that settled my W?C case is not helping , any suggestions thanks for allowing me to post on this site, God Bless, & God sSpeed
To ceenmyteeth above, if ther was not a warning label on the actiq from the mfg, then your lawyers can go after them for your dentist bill. Every med has to have the side effects or warning labels on their meds, they are responsible for that, not w/c. I have been on the frntora for just 1 day now and still trying to see how it is working for me. I take 250 mcg every 48 hrs of the fentanly patch and was taking 8 mgs of dilaudid for b/t pain. my body became to used to the dilaudid, that no dosage worked for me anymore. My Dr. put me on the fentora 800 mcgs w/the patches. I have mediaid as well as medicare part d because I am disabled. th insurance won’t pay for the fentora because of the “cancer” label. My Dr. gives me coupons that she gets from the makers of fentora, and I use them. may I recomend to all of you to go to the American pain Foundation website. they have A LOT of info and help in all these matters. who to contact, housing, insurance, doctors, etc….hope this helps…
Hello my fellow pain sufferers, I am an x-ray tech that caught a patient that was falling seven eight yrs ago. I did not report it because Idid not want to be fired. I have had numerous x-rays, CTs, and MRIs, I have seen the other side of things (the caregivers point of view) and I feel pretty much screwed. I have three hurniated disks, ddd, abnormal bone growths that are making my spine unstable, and have gone through a RF ablation to the nerves in my Lumbar spine that actually made my pain more intense down my legs. The doctor that did that procedure (whom was actually only a anesthesiologist) left town after he did this to me. He did not leave me in the care of another physician, he just left without telling me. So I finally found another M.D. that basically said either have surgery or get on pain meds. All the M.D.s that I work with told me that I would have a fifty fifty percent chance of coming out with the same pain, or worse the same pain plus surgical pain, so I choose not to have surgery because I’ve also seen what they do to you in surgery. I’m now on 150 mcg fentanyl patch, 60 mgs of morphine pills, and they don’t give me anything for breakthrough pain, I am suffering so much, I want my M.D. to give me Actiq, do you all think he will? Please help, I’m on the verge of ending my suffering…..
If anyone has ANY ideas please e-mail me @ xraygirlmichelle@comcast.net, thank you so much…..
I tried Fentora for the first time today. I am not a cancer patient but I have a spontaneous inoperable intracranial carotid dissection with a blood clot behind the blockage. I have been in excruciating pain since last Feb, 2008 due to the fact that the dissection lies on my cranial nerves. I have never had chronic pain so I feel for everyone here. My question is this, has anyone here taken fentora for this kind of medical condition? I know carotid dissection is rare but fentora seems to work for the breakthrough pain. I really like fentora better than the morphine injections because I seem to be able to funciton throughout the day. What is the difference between Actiq and Fentora? Does one work better over the other? The reason I ask is that even though fentora works well for the breakthrough pain, it doesn’t seem to work very long.
Thanks for your help
Actiq and the generic form are dangerous. I had a back injury in 2003 in Wyoming. I was perscribed Vicodin ES 5 times a day for my l5 s1 injury. I have a grade 3 spinedlowathisis. My disc is gone. My nurologist was giving me lower back injections with a steriod and pain meds as well in the injection. He also perscribed the ES. Flash forward to 2007. I’m back in home in MI from LA for work, my doctor there percacet and then ACTIQ 400 mcg, once a day. Then it became more as the conditioned worsened. After taking the Actiq I noticed my right leg and ankel swelled, but thought nothing at the time. I came back to LA. My doctor in LA then switched me to Actig 600 mcg 4 times a day for pain. One morning I took two of them about 3 hours apart. I then had to go to work, so I drove off. I was stuck in traffic on the 101 and I stared to feel weird, then shortness of breath, then I felt like I was going to explode. That is the only way I can describe it. Has this happned to you and what could of caused it? Now flash forward to May 2008. I went back to the Actiq, but only 200 mcg. My legs both swelled and my right ankel did too, bad, like a soft ball. I ened getting cellulitus because of the Actiq. I eneded up being admitted and treated, but still the gave me iv diladid and actig 200 every 6 hours for leg and back pain, not knowing that the Actiq was the problem. Flash forward to June. I return to the ER for the same problem, so they did another chest xray and blood work. Liver, Kidney’s fine. But they found that a Cyst had formed on the sack that covers the heart. Not only did it form there, it also attached itself to my right lung. I had to have immediate surgey. They had looked at previous xrays and labs, even chcked for Lupus and HIV, but nothing, but the xray showed a smaller cyst and the Actiq caused it to grow, and Actiq was the cause of the cyst which was 5 inches by 2.1 inches before they removed it. A combination of steriods and Actiq are to blame with teh Actiq speeding up teh groth of the cyst, which was choking/putting pressure on my heart when taking the Actiq. I’m currently seeking proper legal counsel to start a lawsuite against the makers of Actiq and my x doctor who perscribed both of them at the same time. Can you help?
Back in 2002, I injured my back on the job causing 3 herniated discs in L 3,4 5. I sought pain reief in 2004 from a MD who specialized in Pain mgmt and back problems.. After many epidurals, rhizomotmies and multiple types of pain meds (which were not working) he prescribed me Actiq 800 mcg..1 4 times a day. I continued on Actiq (fentynl citrate) for over a year and a half, and in that time, my teeth went to HELL. They decayed beyond belief right around where the lollipos rest and obviously the sugar in the Actiq flows thru your mouth, I do not drink sodas, eat sugary items and have always taken care of my teeth..until Actiq Attacked. I have had to spend thousand and thousands of dollars (and I still am not done because I am almost broke and on disability) and still need alot of work done to repair the damage that Actiq causes because of the sugar content in its ingrediants.
If anyone knows of a lawyer that has a class action law suit going against the company that makes Actiq..PLEASE let me know! I am broke..and it is mostly due to the damage that Actiq caused permanent damage to my teeth..I have very few of my own left now because of that drug! PLEASE let mer know of a lawyer that has a class action going against the Mfg of Actiq..please.
email me at pam-i@hotmail.com please!
thank you, Pam
I need help! I am a cpp and have been on actiq for over a year. BCBS will not pay for my meds due to the fact that I do not have cancer. My Dr. has called them to plea my case to no avail. I cannot afford this medication but, along with oxycontin 80, it is the only combo that makes my pain almost livable. I need someones help and do not no where to turn. This is a matter of life or death because as most of you know, I cannot continue to live without the help of my meds. My personal email is jjbro2@yahoo.com
I am responding to the posted note by Pam on 7/24/08. Pam, I have been on Actiq for over 6 plus years. I have tried several different strengths. The only pain reliver combination I have had success with is Oxycontin and Actiq. Unfortunately, I have had the Durgeastic patch, morphine, Vicodin, Demeral, Valium, etc. I also have a pain pump in my abdomen. This was installed about 4-5 years ago or more. I have not had much success in pain relief. I was told to try the pain pump that I would be off the meds if this worked. No success. Don’t get me wrong, without the pump, I would probably be on a much higher dose. The Actiq however, as you can read the other entries, they RUIN your teeth! I have spent over $3K the past 2 years. I have lost 4 teeth and my sister whom has thwe same back disease but w/o surgeries like I have had, just had all her teeth pulled and dentures put in. She has such decay in her jaw bones that they can not fit her denture properly due to the fact of the lovely drug ACTIQ. Yes, we need the relief to function but we sure pay a price to our body and our loved ones and our pockets-$. Please give me any input with anyone else going through the same.
Thanks,
Terri
LISTEN UP EVERYBODY!
I am just a simple, middle class consumer suffering of you of a NON-Cancer chronic condition. I have a real big story, and so does my husband, but I will not bore anyone…
I have read MOST ALL of your comments. AND, I would like to address some of your issues.
ACTIQ vs. FENTORA:
Same drug, both dissolve in your mouth. ONLY 2 Differences:
1. NO IMMEDIATE TOOTH & BONE decay with FENTORA, however, with Fentora, YOU WILL experience the “DRY MOUTH” syndrome which IS PROVEN to initiate tooth decay.
2. Fentora’s made different, NO SUGAR,(and possible other additives) thus eliminating extra ingredients to dissolve, so it will hit you quicker than Actiq which ALSO means, Fentora LEAVES you faster! You may need a SMALLER mcg. w/ Fentora than Actiq, but more quantity. (leave this up to your Doc.)
LAWSUITS for TOOTH DECAY!
FORGET IT! This has already been taken to court, the manufacturer has corrected it’s “NOTIFICATION” issues, and The WRITTEN WARNINGS in ea. box gives DETAILED side effects. You WILL LOOSE! So I ask this,…
WHY do we not have the option to choose a “SUGAR FREE” product??? Oh, I forgot, this may be why FENTORA was developed. I am sure there was some type of a court order that initiated this new version.
OXYCONTIN and ACTIQ COMBO:
YOU ARE RIGHT! Yes, this is an excellent combination. I have been on opioid RX’s for over 17 years, I’ve seen them all! These two combination’s work wonderfully, only if you are ready to get your TEETH PULLED!! (from the Actiq)
A CANCER DRUG ONLY? Used to be, however, Actiq has recently been approved for reasons OTHER than CANCER!! Even my primary physician informed me of this, ironically, just 2 days from my reversed denial..(read on to see this fight)
WHY was it for CANCER ONLY? Because Cephalon received a GOVERNMENT GRANT to make this drug, if they did not state “FOR CANCER ONLY” they would have NEVER received the Govt. Grant and therefore would have had to PAY BACK the LOAN! NOTE: The govt. gives MULTIPLE grants for Cancer. Chemo Doc.’s receive kick backs for administering these drugs, even if there is NO HOPE, You may be told that your disease is “TREATABLE”, so give the chemo, report the statistics, use us as an experiment and get that almighty dollar. Who cares about the side effects, and sickness the already dying patient will have….IT IS ALL ABOUT MONEY!
INSURANCE DENIAL TO PAY???
Been there done that! My insurance went from Kaiser to CareFirst (Owned by BCBS) and they denied payment of Actiq. WHAT DID I DO? I FOUGHT! It took 2 months, I paid CASH for 1/2 of one of my Actiq RX’s. BUT I WON! It cost me NOTHING but TIME!
Take this issue to your states Atty General. IT IS THERE JOB! Make sure your Dr. is aware and ready to respond to any/all requests. I had appealed twice by myself and exhausted the appeals process, however, the Atty. Gen. had my request B-4 I appealed, it just took them that long to get it together. But I WON! I was approved for 12 months. SOOOO WHAT ABOUT MY RX I PAID “CASH FOR”? It isn’t over yet. My RX was approved from July to July. I paid cash in June, NOW my DR MUST call the Ins. Co. & request that my approval be back dated, i.e. approved from June to June. Hopefully I will be reimbursed my thousands I put out.
THE EXPENSE-RESEARCH FOR OTHER DRUGS:
All I can say is BULL! There are MULTIPLE means for these chemist’s to get funds for research. THE people donate, estates are left for research, non-profits raise money. Cephalon isn’t doing ALL of the research for new drugs, and you do not see ANY OTHER Opioid RX costing this much! Have you checked into the salaries and perks the CEO’s get? GO TO: http://aflcio.org and look under the CEO PAY DATABASE. THIS will explain ANOTHER REASON why our prices are so high!!!
LASTLY: WE ALL NEED TO FIGHT BACK! Yeah we all need affordable health care, but what about affordable RX’s? Cephalon HAD a financial program for ACTIQ, now they have one for FENTORA, but it will ONLY exist until they get a sufficient amount of patients DEPENDENT upon the drug. What will we do then? We will be mortgaging out your house,cashing in our 401ks’ selling our car, and what else?
Cephalon claims their drugs are expensive because of the packaging. What happened to the child resistant bottles offered at the pharmacy?
Can we not take our OLD bottles in and have them re-filled to curb expensis? and
WHY do we need EACH Lozenger individually wrapped? and,
WHY isnt Cephalon using RECYCLED materials if they MUST be packaged in this fashion?
So lets PULL IT TOGETHER people!
GO TO THE DENTIST BEFORE YOUR TEETH NEED TO BE PULLED!
CONTACT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL in the State where you live, OR the state where your insurance policy was initiated. WE MUST band together and FIGHT these HIGH Costs of an RX that helps us obtain some degree of a quality of life!
HAVE A VOICE! IT IS YOUR RIGHT, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!
I look forward to exchanging dialog with you in the near future.
Good luck and God Bless you all!
Wow!! I am just blown away by this wonderful website. I thought I was the only one with the many problems mentioned. I have had neck surgery(failed with a plate)and am in pain from the neck down 24/7.The one kicker is that I actually worked at one time for a doctor’s office and those doctors actually talked to my then pain doc. I found out about it and changed pain docs.I eventually lost my job.My new doc is wonderful.I live on the west coast of FL so if any one out there needs a pain doc email me. What I find outrageous is the comments from people that think pain pts are drug addicts. Probably some are but the way i see it is I didn’t ask to be in pain and until these people have walked a day or even an hr in my shoes don’t condemn me. Also I have found out that due to half armenian/syrian descent other family members have this problem and I think that has something to do with it.Just a comment.Anyway I will say a general “webpage” prayer to cover everyone. Thanks for listening and feel free to email me.God bless each one of you and the docs that believe us
Has anybody out there been turned down for Actiq but been approved for Fentora. I have HMO by Aetna and because it’s listed as a cancer only drug Aetna rejected it. The Dr. gave me a voucher for 29 free Fentora 400s so I’m using those waiting on the Dr. to appeal. Anyway I wear Duragesic 100MCG and now taking 400MCG Fentora every 4 hrs. So far so good. Not omitting the pain but it’s better than the Opana and Duragesic. Any advice from anyone?
Thanks,
I was diagnosed in 2001 with Lupus.I had to leave my job of 23 years due to pain. The ins. Co. I was on was Aetna PPO. After 3 years of waiting for Social Sec. Disability I finally won(with a lawyers help) and trust me , he got his part. My problem now is I am on Medicare part A and B. With Shenendoah ins.to pick up what medicare doesnt cover. And also Sterling ins. for my meds. My meds. for around 6 years have been Duragesic patches and Actiq for the breakthru pain. If anyone is familiar with Lupus, it is a hateful disease. But now the Sterling ins. will not cover the Actiq, which I have come to depend on to have a halfway normal day. I dont know where to turn now. I feel pain constantly ,and sometimes it really gets to hard to bare. If anyone can help me please do…JadedAngel024@aol.com Thank you, Victoria
I AM VERY HAPPY TO HAVE FOUND THIS SITE! I NEED THE HELP OF ALL WHO TAKE ACTIQ!
MY DR. IS CUTTING ME OFF OF THE ACTIQ WHICH I’VE BEEN ON FOR 3YRS, D0 TO SOME PROBLEM (SO HE SAYS) WITH THE DRUG BEING PRESCRIBED OFF LABEL-SINCE IT IS ONLY INDICATED FOR CANCER PATIENTS THIS PARTICULAR DR’S OFFICE WILL NO LONGER BE PRESCRIBING ACTIQ FOR NON CANCER PTS. I HAVE M.S. AND HAVE BEEN ON THE FENTANYL PATCH AND ACTIQ FOR 3 YRS. I AM REALLY NERVOUS ABOUT WHAT IM GOING TO DO W/ OUT ACTIQ, THIS IS THE ONLY B.T PAIN MED THAT WORKS WHEN I CANT WALK DO TO PAIN AND LEG SPASMS; MY KIDS 9, 12 & 14 ARE ALSO VERY WORRIED BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW MUCH I NEED THIS MEDICATION. THE DR SAYS SOON ALL MD’S WILL STOP GIVING IT TO NON CANCER PTS. WHAT I’M ASKING OF YOU ALL WILL ALSO HELP WITH INS. COVERAGE. PLEASE CALL CAPHALON-ASK FOR THE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE DEP. TALK TO A NURSE OR PHARMACIST AND ASK THEM WHAT COULD BE DONE TO BROADEN THE INDICATION FOR USAGE OF ACTIQ. WRITE A LETTER TO CAPHALON AND YOUR ATTORNEY GENERAL EXPLAINING HOW ACTIQ IS HELPING YOU AND WHY IT NEEDS TO BE USED IN PTS WITH: M.S, R.A; NEURALGIA; FIBRONEURALGIA, SEVERE BACK PAIN AND ANY OTHER NEUROLOGIC PAIN. THE MORE PEOPLE WHO DO THIS THE BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING THE RESULTS NEEDED (A BROADER INDICATION OF USAGE FOR ACTIQ) AND THE FASTER IT WILL BE DONE.
IF ANYONE KNOWS WHY THIS IS HAPPENING OR IF IT IS HAPPENING TO YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW-WHEN I ASKED THE PHARMACIST AT CAPHALON HE DID NOT KNOW, USSUALLY IT IS THE INS. CO. THAT DENY THE ACTIQ DO TO COST. BUT LIKE I SAID MY DR SAYS IT HAS TO DO WITH A LAW SIUT FOR ”DISPENSING A DRUG WHEREIN THE USAGE IS NOT INDICATED” I’M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT IS HAPPENING I FELT LIKE I WAS GETTING THE RUN-A-ROUND. SO IF ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING…
OR IF ANYONE KNOWS OF SOMETHING I COULD DO PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU.
SINCERELY
NONNIE
I AM RESPONDING TO A POST ON SEPT. 3RD 2008 BY TERRI.
THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR INFO. 1 THING YOU LEFT OUT THAT I REALLY NEED HELP WITH BECAUSE I WAS TOLD CANCER IS THE ONLY INDICATION FOR USE OF ACTIQ YOU MENTIONED THAT THEY CHANGED THAT AND IT IS NOW USED FOR SOMETHING ELSE TO; WHAT IS THAT SOMETHING ELSE?? MY DR. CUT ME AND THE REST OF HIS NON-CANCER PTS OFF OF ACTIQ BECAUSE OF THE CANCER ONLY LABEL.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP WITH THIS, I DONT KNOW WHAT I’M GOING TO DO W/O ACTIQ-I HAVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND SEVERE LEG PAIN AND SPASMS TO THE POINT IN WHICH I CANNOT WALK AT TIMES AND ACTIQ IS MY HEREO. AGAIN ANY ADVISE IS YOU CAN GIVE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.
SINCERELY, NONNIE
FROM CT
I hate to correct anyone but this response is for Sue who mentioned that ACTIQ has been approved for Chronic not just Cancer Pain. IT IS NOT TRUE. Your Dr. is wrong! Cephelon the maker of ACTIQ and Fentora applied to the FDA to have the labeling on Fentora changed to include Chronic Pain. The FDA REJECTED the application stating that providing this medication for a wider audience would create too many problems. As for anyone who says that their Dr.s are telling them for whatever reason that they have to stop prescribing these meds because of W/C or FDA, They are lying!!!! ANY DR. thats right ANY Dr. who has a valid DEA number to prescribe narcotics can prescribe BOTH of these meds IF THEY SO CHOOSE. The excuses you are hearing are just that, they are afraid of investigation from the DEA, but if you are a legitimate patient(some of you listing your medical problems, holy cow I thought I had it bad) with documented pain, and the doctor keeps good records and charts, have nothing to worry about. If your doctor wont hike up his skirt and give you the meds you need then it is time to find someone else. Insurance companies are another story. Unfortunately their rules are their own and they can decide not to pay if they want. Good luck to you all. T
I have been on Actiq 400MCQ occassionally up to 800 mcq if needed for breakthrough for almost seven years I have never had to increase the dose and am able to work. After 20 years as a Chef I have a fused spine, developed avascular necrosis from steroid injections, I’m violently allergic to ASA, NSAIDs and recently diagnosed as a Hepatitis C patient from a bad blood transfusion. Which now rules out any more than 500 mg Tylenol a day. Along with the fused spine is a titanium hip and as of Dec. 1st. a titanium knee. I pay my own insurance but am disabled. They have yanked the Actiq twice and I’m at the end of my appeal process. My pain management specialist will write for Actiq and thinks I SHOULD be on it since it has the least side effects and doesn’t damage my liver . The last RX was for 400mcq and I could only afford 15 at the grand total of $589. He has me on oxycodone IR 5 mg and today changed to opanna, morphine which has made me deathly sick. Does any body have any ideas, answersx etc. At my spines end. Cordially bev
It was uplifting and heart breaking both to read the emails. This morning. I have contacted my state representative, and the state insurance commission. WIsh me luck. Also RXHope and partnership for rx assisstance will not help or cannot help.
hi I had a fusion done on my back and medicaid wont pay for the actiq, can someone pls help me?
Hello. I am new to this site but am SO GLAD I discovered it. Firstly my heartfelt wishes to all of my suffering brethren out there. I wish I had the proverbial magic wand to make us all better. My hopes and prayers are with you all. Secondly this is for “jharrah.” I am really sorry that you had a problem with Actiq. Maybe your body is allergic to fentanyl but I disagree with you vehemently about it being a “dangerous drug” more than other opiod or narcotic out there. Without my cocktail of medications which include 600 mcgs. of Actiq, I would be in the hospital for the rest of my life and never be able to leave by bed again. I myself have had adverse effects to medications that other people did not. This is why the pain specialist does “trials.” It took many many months of feeling like a “lab rat” to finally have a cocktail that works. I am on both Actiq and Fentora for the break through pain. Fentora does not give me the long relief that Actiq does but because Actiq ruins teeth, I try to hold on and take the Fentora during the night. Unfortunately many times I still have to use the Actiq anyway. I am also on Opana ER (extended release) as well. I am under the care of one of the top doctors in the country. I have a very rare illness that has no cure. I am in pain all the time the worst levels feel just like the worst part of natural childbirth potocin induced without the epidural (I had my two oldest children that way because the epidural did not work so I KNOW). I NEVER had problems until now filling the Actiq. I now have to sue the insurance company Aetna because they only want to pay for half of my Actiq doses. Thank G-d my father is a darn good attorney! Again my best wishes to you all. Most sincerely, Rebecca
Hi. I also am a 24/7 chronic pain sufferer.Multiple low back issues with sciatica. I have been with my pain management specialist for 8 years now. I have had multiple surgeries and injections.I’ve been on every medication you can think of,demerol,dilaudid,vicodin,morphine, oxycontin, the list goes on and on. My Dr. finally put me on the Duragesic patch and 600mcg. 4x daily of Actiq. This was the only combination that gave me relief of pain and my life back. The insurance I had through my employment( AETNA ) paid for my meds. no question. I recently have relocated from PA to NJ. for my husbands employment and was added to his insurance (AETNA). My husbands plan is refusing to pay for ACTIQ because I don’t have cancer and recently is now refusing to pay for my duragesic patches.It has been living hell fighting the insurance. I’ve been sick, through withdraw, I can’t even look for work until this is straightened out. I have lost quality of life.My pain level never goes below 5. I don’t understand how an insurance company that knows nothing of your personal health can sit and make judgement that you can’t have what your DR., who sees you, perscribes for you.It’s all CRAP!!
I have submitted multiple appeals and been denied.
I read Sue’s post from Sept. 7th 2008. Sue you said your PCP said this medication was approved for more than just cancer breakthrough pain? Can you please post what it’s been approved for and when.
Any help that anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.
I thank my dear friend for finding this site. It’s nice to write to people who truly understand what its like to live in pain.
I wish the best for everyone here.
If anyone has any info. that will help, please write to lisa@lastonecharters.com
Thanks Again.
I have an implanted morphine pump which doses me with 1 mg.per hour. My doctor wants to try dilaudid instead, but I am concerned about withdrawl. I have been through that before and believe me it was really awful. Have any of you made this switch and what kind of results did you have? I also noted in several postings that you had tried, or were waiting to try the “snail” goo. I did and it was awful. I couldn’t sleep, got up in the middle of the night and tried to bake a cake – box and all- in the microwave. I tried 3 times and gave it up. Thank you for your ideas and I wish you all well. Over the past 20 yrs, I have had a lot of procedures tried, so if you have any questions and I can help in some way please let me know.
the ladder fell as i was Electrition for city of ?Arm folded upbusted liver ribs , tore my shoulder, I have had 20 shoulder surgeries, I was on Actiq, I took 6 1200 mcg for about 5 years,4 aday aboout a year and a Half, and when i was on 6 a day, I was also on a 100 mcg fentynal patch, and a 50 mcg now my teeth is eat up, I never recieved a kit telling about dental prob.with Actiq Dr. did not inform me nor was there warning on the box untill last 2 months I was on it, aal. workmans comp refuses to pay for my teeth,Actiq best pain relief ever, but it eat my teeth up in little over a month
I’ve been on both Actiq and fentora the past 7 yrs. I switched due to the dental probs. 5 cavities, 1 tooth removed and 2 crowns. The fentora is the SAME thing people. You just miss your sugar high sucking on the stick all day. You can make an actiq last an hour but, a fentora is a 15 min. deal. Both have the EXACT same med. At first I really hated the fentora and I realized I was also withdrawing from all the sugar ( ea. Actiq is 180 calories, so 4-6 a day is 720-1080 of sugar filled calories you are missing.) Med. wise its the EXACT same thing. People are hooked on the sugar high also.
I have been sick for 20 years-long story but I have horrible pain a combination of interstial cystitis and central pain syndrome a very severe form of neuropathic pain caused when there is incomplete damage to the central nervous system. I am in the process of looking for the right docs who know about sneddon syndrome since I have been told I have a “syndrome” similar to lupus and ms which along with a pelvic fracture has caused the central pain syndrome.
Perhaps I should be looking for another site when I ask for any help with sneddon syndrome… a rare blood vessel disorder with this livedo skin thing that i have and cns symptoms- to keep things brief..
Central pain robs you of your ability to feel normal touch since very light touch causes the pain to intensify immensly.
Anyways I am blessed these past 5 years with a very talented pain specialist who has combined duragesic with methadone-that is better than morphine for nerve pain and other meds “a cocktail” it is called, I took actiq for breakthrough pain for 4 years and then swiched to fentora and than suddenly my insurance company refused to pay for either one since I don’t have cancer pain. This is ridiculous and it has and continues to cause me great stress, suffering and upset. When the breakthrough pain shoots up I can’t wait for oxycodone pills to be metabolized. For the present, I use liquid oxycodone so it can metabolize quicker. The fentora was much better. It was much more discrete and it didn’t make my head a little fuzzy. My doc won’t continue to write appeal letters because he knows the ins. companies are hiding behind the use suddenly being only for cancer. He tells me that the drug rep tells him that cephalon who makes it will soon have to let it be used for nonmalignant pain. He thought this past June it would change but it has not. He sends my insurance company all the studies showing how fentora helps non cancer pain
Does anyone know how to fight the ins companies? Does anyone have an insurance company that will pay for it? By
any chance does anyone have or know about sneddon syndrome?
– Any help would be greatly appreciated. My ins. company is healthnet or healthnet orange. I wish you all well. Thanks