View All General Comment Abuse Story Death Story Chronic Pain Story       Please sign our Guestbook Name:Toni - 19 yrs. Email:[email protected] Type:Death Story Date:7/21/2005 I recently lost my brother to 'oxycotton', even sitting here typing this is more difficult than i could have ever imagined. It is so hard to not be snotty when people ask me how i'm doing but i can't help it. all that ever runs through my head when i hear that question is...'imagine losing your brother, best friend, father, protector, and room mate all in the exact same instant.' that's exactly what it was. He died on July 4th 2005, a little over 2 weeks ago.......one day after his 24th birthday. all i can think to myself is 'why?' why him? why MY brother? why? he was such a wonderful person with the biggest heart of gold. he touched everyone he came into contact with. he was always so considerate, polite, thoughtful, kind, and loving. he spent his last months of his life helping and protecting me and now it's so hard to grasp the idea that i will never ever get to pay him back. to realize that there will be no more late nites of reminiscing. to realize that he won't be there to make me laugh on my bad days. oxycotton is a horrible drug and needs to be regulated better....way way way way better. it makes me wonder if the manufacturers even ache when they read these stories....   Name:kyle Email:[email protected] Type:Death Story Date:7/20/2005 i never thought i would use a drug such as this, in the winter of 2003 i tried oxycontin for the first time...and it only takes one time to send you down that dead end road. i wish i could go back and see the path of self destruction i was about to put myself on...once you are addicted to oxycottin you dont think about anything else. This is a drug so powerfull it will make you lie, cheat, and steal from the ones that love you the most..for six monthes i used it daily...i lost everything but the shirt on my back... and i lost the most important thing in my life...my best friend, he was only 22yrs old...because the power of the addiction he couldnt stop...he told me he knew it was going to kill him.... is this someones destiny...to die at 22????????? the last time i ever used oxy i took three eighty milagram pills...the next day i felt luckey to be alive...that was the day i decided never to use again...i tried to help my friend, but it was too late...that phone call will haunt me forever... is it worth it????? zachary scott diedrich 1-6-82 4-16-04 we miss you oxy kills and takes a part of your soul youll never get back   Name:Thank God Email: Type:Administrator Date:7/14/2005 Government orders halt to painkiller sales LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration ordered a halt to sale of the narcotic Palladone on Wednesday, citing potentially fatal reactions when the potent drug is taken together with alcohol. The FDA approved Palladone just last September. It is a once-a-day version of the old painkiller hydromorphone, made in a way that allows the capsules to dissolve slowly over a 24-hour period. But data from a new study by the drug's manufacturer shows that taking Palladone together with alcohol can harm the capsule's slow-release function, rapidly dumping the narcotic into the bloodstream and potentially causing a fatal overdose, the FDA said. Maker Purdue Pharma agreed to suspend U.S. sales of Palladone pending further discussions with the FDA about the risk, the agency said. Like many narcotics, Palladone's label already warns against alcohol consumption while using the painkiller. "But the current formulation of Palladone presents an unacceptably high level of patient risk," said FDA drug chief Dr. Steven Galson. "Even one drink could have fatal implications." The FDA said it has no reports of serious reactions among users yet, but the drug is too new to have been prescribed very often. About 11,500 patients have taken Palladone, said Purdue Pharma spokesman Jim Heins. The company asked drugstores and wholesalers to return unsold capsules. Patients aren't being told to stop taking current supplies, but in a public health alert issued Wednesday, FDA urged them to consult a physician for alternative treatments. Anyone continuing to use up their Palladone supply should not drink any alcohol - or take other prescription or over-the-counter medicines that contain alcohol. FDA's reaction was unusually quick, coming just five months after sales of Palladone began and before the problem had come to public attention. But it comes at a time when federal regulators are being urged to more aggressively ensure the safety of drugs already on the market, pressure that has increased since Merck & Co. yanked its pain reliever Vioxx from the market last year because of potentially deadly heart trouble. Purdue Pharma also makes the controversial long-acting painkiller Oxycontin, and it had waged a long battle to market Palladone because of concern that long-acting hydromorphone, too, might be abused. Consequently, the company had limited initial Palladone sales to doctors experienced in prescribing opioid painkillers. The drug is for moderate to severe pain, caused by cancer or other conditions, in patients who need round-the-clock relief. Oxycontin tablets are made in an entirely different way than Palladone capsules, which package together individual controlled-release pellets of hydromorphone. ON THE NET Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov Purdue Pharma: http://www.pharma.com

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