[Saffy]

Wondered if anyone else was on this ... it's a conbination of Oxycodone and Naloxone .. supposed to give you less side effects than Oxycodone on it's own.

I'm presently taking 40mg (12 hours release) twice a day .. with Oramorph for breakthrough pain.

[mrsD]

I believe when opiate drugs are mixed with naloxone, for oral use, it does NOT change side effect profiles with the opiate.
That opiate will still cause sedation and constipation, etc.

What it DOES do is prevent grinding up of the drug, to inject or snort it. The naloxone prevents the rush, that would occur from abusive use. It is a deterrent only.

[els_858]

Hi

The naloxone in targinact is there to block the opioid receptors in the gut, not to stop people snorting it. The mix up may be that naloxone is also used to counteract a heroin or morphine overdose. It's a much lower amount in targinact so it doesn't block the oxycodone which works at the opioid receptors in the nerves/brain, just helps stop constipation that you may get with other opioids.

I'm a neuroscientist by the way, hence being able to rattle off all this stuff!

Originally Posted by mrsD

I believe when opiate drugs are mixed with naloxone, for oral use, it does NOT change side effect profiles with the opiate.
That opiate will still cause sedation and constipation, etc.

What it DOES do is prevent grinding up of the drug, to inject or snort it. The naloxone prevents the rush, that would occur from abusive use. It is a deterrent only.

[mrsD]

The amount of naloxone in Targin is much higher than in a product we already have in US called Talwin NX . Talwin NX was made to avoid abuse potential. It has only .5mg of naloxone in it.

Targin and Targinact are not available in US yet.

Targin comes with 2.5mg, 5, 10, and 20mg of naloxone depending on the dose of oxycodone included.

These amounts of naloxone are enough to deter abuse from pulverizing and injecting or snorting the drug combo.

This article explains how Targin works. It is both less abuseable and perhaps helps with opiate induced constipation. But other side effects of oxycodone would not be affected... sedation, habituation, etc.
http://www.dauphinclinicpharmacy.com/2010/11/29/targin/
This article comes from Canada.

This drug combo is not available in US yet.

[Saffy]

Many thanks for the replies here. My doctor took me off of this because of side effects .. and informed me on Monday that it is now "off the market".

[Dr. Smith]

Originally Posted by Saffy

Many thanks for the replies here. My doctor took me off of this because of side effects .. and informed me on Monday that it is now "off the market".

If you don't mind, what side effects were you experiencing? Thanks.

Doc

[Saffy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Smith

If you don't mind, what side effects were you experiencing? Thanks.

Doc

The side effects certainlt aren't as bad as if you are on pure Oxycodone .. but these were what I had.

Anxiety
Dry Mouth
Inability to pee .. I used to sit there for AGES !
Stomach pain
Hot and cold sweats
Mood Swings
Head pain - not headaches, just pains in my head.

I also found that I was having to take higher and higher a dose much more regularly than on other drugs.

[waltzingmatilda57]

Originally Posted by Saffy

Wondered if anyone else was on this ... it's a conbination of Oxycodone and Naloxone .. supposed to give you less side effects than Oxycodone on it's own.

I'm presently taking 40mg (12 hours release) twice a day .. with Oramorph for breakthrough pain.

I have been using Targinact for over 2 years now with great success. I take 30mg twice a day and it is the only decent pain relief I have found for severe, chronic pain relief following major spinal surgery and ongoing problems since somebody drove into back of me two years ago! I occasionally top up with co-codamol forte for breakthrough pain and just grinn and bear it the rest of the time!

Keep going with it, give it 3 months and if it doesn;t work then ask Gp to wean you off it and try an alternative.

[Dr. Smith]

Originally Posted by Saffy

The side effects certainlt aren't as bad as if you are on pure Oxycodone ..

Wow. Offhand it looks like the only one you missed (or that missed you) was constipation, but that's what the drug was intended to eliminate (no pun intended ) anyway.

I know quite a few people who are prescribed oxycodone in one form or another, and for the majority, constipation is the worst S/E, and the benefits (for them) outweigh the others. It's unfortunate that some folks can't tolerate it; I know it has changed many lives for the better, and I hope your doctors are able to find something that works effectively for you w/o the nasties.

I've been googling - uneventfully - trying to find out why Targinact was pulled off the market in the UK; it seemed to have some promise/potential. I wonder if that will have any effect on its trial/release in the US(?)

Doc

[lesleyit]

Originally Posted by Dr. Smith

Wow. Offhand it looks like the only one you missed (or that missed you) was constipation, but that's what the drug was intended to eliminate (no pun intended ) anyway.

I know quite a few people who are prescribed oxycodone in one form or another, and for the majority, constipation is the worst S/E, and the benefits (for them) outweigh the others. It's unfortunate that some folks can't tolerate it; I know it has changed many lives for the better, and I hope your doctors are able to find something that works effectively for you w/o the nasties.

I've been googling - uneventfully - trying to find out why Targinact was pulled off the market in the UK; it seemed to have some promise/potential. I wonder if that will have any effect on its trial/release in the US(?)

Doc

Hi Dr Smith

Just to let you know that Targinact has not been withdrawn from the UK but a number of PCTs have decided not to fund it. This is purely based on the cost of the drug compared to the stand-alone opiate plus laxatives. I have been prescribed this drug by ny Pain Specialist today to replace Butrans which I have been on successfully for 8 months. The Butrans was great for the pain but caused me to have severe constipation. Macrogol failed to solve this problem. My Pain guy warned me that I should be prepared to fight with my PCT to get Targinact as it was the best thing for my situation.