Oxycontin OC vs Oxycontin OP
Oxycodone (Oxycontin) is a drug used to relieve pain. It is a semi-synthetic opioid analgesic made as a way to improve other existing opioids, such as codeine and morphine. Oxycodone is generally prescribed to provide relief for moderate to severe pain. The analgesic property of this drug is due to the decreased pain reaction, alteration of the perception of pain, and improved pain tolerance. Oxycodone, being an opioid analgesic, can be habit forming especially when used improperly. Opioid analgesics like Oxycodone are drugs that people commonly misuse and abuse due to their euphoric effect. Often, drug abusers can also acquire them illegally without any prescription, and this is usually a crime punishable by law. Some patients may fake chronic or severe pain just to get a prescription of the drug and simply get away with it.
Oxycontin is manufactured by Purdue Pharma and is formulated as a time-release drug for which it gained the label Oxycontin OC (“OC” for Oxycontin Continuous). Many of those who are prescribed with Oxycontin OC may return to the pharmacies to get a refill only to find out that there have been changes in the drug they are taking. Pharmacies now do not dispense Oxycontin OC but instead they dispense a newer version of Oxycontin which is commonly referred to as Oxycontin OP (“OP” for Oxycontin Purdue). In addition, pharmacies that want to reorder a stock of Oxycontin OC will have no choice but to automatically receive the OP version. But just what is the difference between these two formulations?
Oxycontin OC is the original version of the brand Oxycontin. As previously mentioned, it is a time-release form of Oxycodone that is used to treat chronic and severe pain. It contains a large amount of the active ingredient and is considered one of the most abused prescription drugs in the U.S. Drug abusers abuse the drug by snorting or ingesting crushed tablets or using water to dilute the drug and make it into an injectable form. This gives them easy access to the opioid “high.” Crushing Oxycontin OC or diluting it in water defeats the purpose of the time-release formulation and, at the same time, releases a potentially fatal dose to the user.
To minimize or avoid the problem of drug misuse and abuse, Oxycontin has been reformulated with a tablet stamp “OP,” which stands for “Oxycontin Purdue.” This version of Oxycontin contains the same ingredient as the previous version but only with added ingredients. The reformulated drug is extremely hard and is almost impossible to chew. When they do get crushed, they are still not fine enough to be snorted; it could just be an obstruction to the nasal cavity when users plan to snort them. The new pill is covered with a special coating that makes it difficult to chew, break, or dissolve, decreasing the incidence of opioid analgesic abuse. All in all, Oxycontin Purdue is manufactured to deter drug abuse.
Summary:
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“OC” stands for “Oxycontin Continuous” while “OP” stands for “Oxycontin Purdue.”
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Both formulations are bioequivalent, which means that the rate and extent of absorption for both drugs are the same.
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Both Oxycontin OC and Oxycontin OP are opioid analgesics used to relieve moderate to severe pain and contain the same active ingredient, Oxycodone.
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The OC formulation will no longer be available in pharmacies as it will be automatically replaced with the OP formulation.
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The OP formulation is made with added binders to make it harder, making it nearly impossible for misuse and abuse. The OP formulation is not chewable like the previous OC version.
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The Oxycontin OC pills are stamped with the letters “OC” on one side of the tablet; in contrast, the letters “OP” are embossed on one side of the Oxycontin OP pills.
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I agree that the new oxycontin OP is not as affective for legitimate pain patients as the original Oc I have used it for moderate to severe pain for my DDD, Djd, scoliosis, kyphosis with bone spurs and OPLL for at least 7 yrs. Its unfortunate that our pharmaceutical companies now have to ruin good pain medications that have been used for are now catering drug addicts instead of legitimate pain patients. I feel that more attention should be given to these patient instead addicts. The pill mills started this problem and legitimate patients. If these places were not allowed to open we wouldn’t be having these problems. Now that the true pill mills, meaning places that were handing medications these to non pain patients for a price at their offices insteads of having them visit a pharmacy to with a legal prescription. Now any doctor that prescribes enough medicine for us that are truely in pain need is called a pill mill also. That is not correct. Many patients that have had pain for several years its natural to get a tolerance to these meds and many people with pain are not getting their pain treated with enough medications to have any quality of life anymore. I think this horrible. No one should have to live their life in a bed because their meds have been reduced to such a minimal amount. This inhumane and should not be allowed. Every person has a human birth right in America to be relieved of ther pain. If you became addicted then you were not taking the meds as prescribed. Addiction is not the same as physical dependancy. Doctors know this and so does the govt. Addicts are a minority that are causing legitimt patients to lose their rights to pain relief. This needs to stop. True addicts should go into rehabs and the legal patients should be allowed the adequate amount of medicine they need for pain relief. Americans in pain ? You need to fight for rights to adequate pain care. This has become political and humane pain management needs to return. Anyone on this board that calls legitimate pain patients addicts needs educating about what Real pain is. You better hope you never have a need for it yourself. Pain is something that every human will have sometime or another. So before anyone starts discriminating against people that need opiate pain medicines better think real hard before they comment. You can cancer anytime and believe me, you will need relief and when you can’t get enough medicine to relieve it your going to wish you are dead. Keep fighting back and keep the rights to legal adequate amounts meds. Its not humane to limit to people and prescribe reformulated meds that don’t work for long pain patients. Be American and have compassion for people suffering with pain that’s not curable. Keep pain medication available for people that need it! 100million adults in America have chronic pain. Some not as bad others but that’s a lot of pain suffers. The population is very large in 2012. Be humane and stop pain! Treat addicts and make the anadote over the counter in pharmacies! Use your common sense. There is an anadote to take all this medicine out your body in minutes. I bet no one told you about that but its true! Narcon.they use it for overdose victims all the time in ER. So there is reason not to treat pain correctly!
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only reason goverment trying to stop misuse of painkillers is so that there herion the cia brings back from afghanstan will sell better and its workin too theres very little oxycodone on street an herion is expoding just like cocane did when they brought it in in the 80s they didnt care about ocs being misused they just woudnt have sold there herion as quick that they robed of poor afghan farmers!!
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Standing ovation for you!!! Heroin is on the rise now. It’s a shame that patients with long term, legitimate pain are put through hell, just trying to have a better quality of life and in most cases to work as long as possible. I agree Mike.
So now we pay for another person’s mistakes and we no longer matter. God bless you
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the nuts who do not need the pain medicine , that has not had 7 failed operations and need it, make it hard on the ones who do need it. i agree. pill mills that except cash only ( a lot of cash) should be shut down. suffer 24/7 as i and other for 30 plus years and the people who mdo it for fun would see. i myself went 30 years with back problems . never miised a days work but it took a toll on me, had a dr. who was a butcher and now no better than the day i first went to him. 5 back operations. i neck operation. not to say about 3 surg, on right arm. i had to travel to atlanta to have my neck reconstructed (6 level fusion) and completly 100 pecent perfect.. my back a different story. i am not on any opiates although some times i wish i could be.the dr. does not take my ins. now. do your home work on doctors. dr. james chappuis in atlanta is the best. not only as a doctor but a caring doctor who knows when someone is faking. ones in savannah, not much to say about them except they are 3rd rate surgeons.
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Yes,I too have lived with chronic pain now for 15 years,got my neck fusion four places,both carpel tunnel release,my back is also a mess,3 disc, protruding,scolosis, thoracic,and lumber not operational. I too agree pain depend is not the same as the addiction,and I’m tired of being treated like an addict. I don’t want to have to medicine to move,but I have to,I can’t just lay in bed all day. I have lost my job ,due to a urine sample which was positive for RX pain killing drug. I’ve tried to get on disability, that s not going to great,been six years now. Thanks for husband and his job. But it really takes two incomes these days to make it. I got all this other BS to worry about,now I can’t even get good pain meds. I’m with first writer, everyone experience s pain in lives at one point or another,I wonder how their going to deal with it.
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