Dear Nikko,

"Percocet" is oxycodone and APAP. Oxycontin is timed release pure oxycodone. My limited experience with Oxycontin is that it works better than it should seeing that it is basically oxycodone. That is, the analgesic relief is better than that found from the same amount of oxycodone.

Oxycontin was available in generic form for about a year. However, Purdue won back its exclusive patent right to manufacture and it is now only available as brand name, "Oxycontin", rather than generic, "timed release oxycodone". The generic was inferior, in my estimate, so I have mixed feelings about this occurrence. It is enormously expensive, and has become significantly more costly over the past two years. I can't help but wonder if the manufacturer feels free to gouge patients because Oxycontin is so roundly condemned for being used recreationally on the street.