Methadone manufacturers

[violetta254]

My RLS was pretty well controlled with 10 of methadone for about a year and then a few months ago, I started to have many more symptoms. I have been waking up a few times each night with RLS and using massage and cupping and occasional dose increases and just generally getting much less sleep. Nothing really seemed to get me back to 6+ hours of sleep not matter what I did. Then I checked the manufacturer of the new pills I got 3 months ago and it had changed from Mallin-something to Vista Pharm. The tablets were round instead of rectangular and difficult to cut because they became a powder when cut. I worked with my pharmacy and neurologist to get me back to the M... manufacturer and within 3 days, I am sleeping 6+ hours uninterrupted. Also, I was having stomach cramps and diarrhea with the Vistapharm tablets. This really shouldn't happen but the V pills just don't work. I am not quite sure how to deal with this, I am doing better now but many people are still getting these sham pills. It really makes me mad that that could happen. Check your manufacturer if suddenly you have way more symptoms.

[Joolsg]

I have exactly the same issue with some brands of Buprenorphine. Without fail, Accord brand covers my RLS 24/7. Sandoz, prefib and Morningside only cover me for 21 hours a day and I get 2 to 3 hours of RLS every evening.My pharmacist is aware of this and does his best to source Accord brand.

I think it is quite common, although big pharma denies it can happen.

[LotteM]

Thanks for posting. This is something we not always think of when our treatment fails partly. I didn’t. Thought I had done too much or too little, eaten something different, etc. As RLS symptoms do change in intensity at times.

Like Jools, I also have problems with some buprenorphine brands, although I use patches. The Teva ones work well, within a day and usually last 7d. Sandoz didn’t (took ke 3-5 months to realise what was going on). And now testing Glenmark. Doesn’t work yet on the first night and reduced effectiveness from night 4 onwards. And currently Teva is unavailable until mid October. Sigh…. Fortunately I still have a good stack of Temgesic (bup sublingual pills 0.2mg) and often adding only half a pill suffices to calm the legs.

So let’s get out the word that if your med doesn’t work as it is supposed to, also think of this possibility, that your current brand doesn’t suit you, but another brand may work better.

[TheDoDahMan]

Wow - this kind of scares the shucks out of me. I've always believed that generic was the same as brand named - am I to no longer have faith that that is true?

[violetta254 in reply to TheDoDahMan]

Do not have faith, I had the same problem with brands of pramipexole in the past. I had to change from some white pills to some blue ones because the white ones never actually worked. (that was, of course, before all the DAs stopped working with augmentation). That is probably what got me to thinking that the brand could be the problem. Many of our drugs are made overseas. Who is working on quality control in these third world countries? Most of them are probably okay but if you have a problem, I am not sure how you get a drug tested for contents.