What is the UK equivalent of Oxycontin?

[LindorDoubleChoc]

I haven't watched the film and documentary series about the USA problems with addiction to common painkiller medications, but I know they exist (and I do intend to get round to it when I can handle some grim watching).

I caught a few minutes of Jamie Lee Curtis talking about her Oxycontin addiction and I think Matthew Perry was also addicted before getting into ketamine (?). So I can understand it and get a handle on it - what would be the equivalent drugs in the UK?

I think it's got a similar name here

Do you mean the Netflix series? It's not a hard thing to watch. Strangely paced, I would say. I don't know how true to life it is. What struck me as odd is that the findings of one research study were taken as a basis for so many things.

to be honest, the hardest part for me to watch was the very beginning incident that led to the main character taking painkillers.

in some ways, I'm not the best person to ask, though. I do recognise that if I've been given something like that with my spinal injury, I might be an addict but I don't know - I wasn't terribly affected by other dramas about addiction, and there was one that really upset lots of people and I can't remember what it was.

The hardest thing about that one was that there was a scene where a lady was having some sort of hallucinogenic panic attack at the doctors - and it just looked like how things often were for me when I was at the doctors for regular appointments for depression and anxiety

Sorry for that ridiculously depressing input on a Friday night 😂 no wonder I feel old!

It’s just a brand name for oxycodone. Oxycodone is available in the U.K.

Same thing. We don’t dish opioids out Willy nilly.

Also see: fentanyl

Even codeine is closely monitored.

Yes, I had all sorts of painkillers offered to me with the spinal injury, I was actually really surprised - they kept upsetting my stomach really badly so I couldn't take them but there was a lot of concern about that - like a feeling that I should take them, which surprised me.

However, if I'd been offered anything based on that, I probably would've given it a go. I was offered codeine though but it is much weaker isn't it?

Probably should've stocked up because I have a feeling they'll stop that soon.

Yes, I know codeine is very closely monitored having had to take it myself at various points, as well as Nurofen Plus and Co-Codamol. I know that the latter two are limited to 3 days worth at the pharmacy ( have had for dental pain and post C-section). I have been prescribed codeine only by hospital for gallbladder pain.

So - is Oxycontin the same as Codeine, or is it like Codeine plus another painkiller, or is it something altogether different? That's my question.

The whole pharmaceutical industry is a massive con, focused on getting innocent people hooked onto brain altering chemicals. There are many threads on here from people taking horrendous cocktails of medication that they're dependent on to function. Legal drug addiction. Pain killing drugs only work for a very limited period of time, 6 weeks isn't it? Yet people are given them for years.

@LindorDoubleChoc no, OxyContin is much stronger

I think, if you look at the chemical isotopes, it's close to fentanyl.

By the way, I remembered the name of the drug film - it's Requiem for a dream.

If you're looking at watching the Netflix show Painkiller, it is a much gentler watch. than that film. I did have to completely skip out some graphic bits of the film - but those don't seem to be the scenes that upset people.

I am hugely oversensitive, so I think you'll be alright with the Netflix show.

We had OxyContin here for a brief time. I was administering it to patients when I worked at Spire. Then as quick as it appeared, it disappeared.

This chart shows the relative strengths of them. Codeine metabolises to morphine, but only if you have the required enzyme (not everyone does).

I think OxyContin is a brand name. Oxycodone is the drug. My mum was eventually given it when she had terminal cancer and morphine wasn’t touching the pain. It is prescribed in the uk but not in the same way it is in the USA as I understand it. My mum had to be in fairly excruciating pain and I had to make a lot of noise to get her pain managed properly.

Dopesick is a great series, think it's on Disney. Michael Keaton is terrific, as are the other actors.

They talk a bit in that about the pharmaceutical company breaking into Germany with their drugs but after market research it seems that Germans just don't take painkillers like the US. Better all round healthcare I guess.

It is a form of oxycodine which is available on prescription but heavily monitored in the UK.

The UK regulate opioids more heavily which has helped to prevent the same level of addiction issues. Although we have a worryingly high rate of opioid prescription

I strongly recommend you watch Dopesick with Michael Keaton it is fantastic.

I take high-strength codeine due to a knee issue and that is highly regulated. That is stronger so I assume more regulated.

I got (was allowed) a couple of doses of the UK version on Oxy in the hours following my knee replacement in 2024. I don't think I'd have coped without it at that point.

And if Michael Keaton doesn’t want to watch it with you maybe just watch it on your own.

😂

The problem with the US prescribing model is that patients walk away with a big enough supply to become instantly addicted - as others have said, prescribing and represcribing is not tightly controlled. Part of it is the culture of the patient being able to demand what they want (fed by the advertising direct to patient) and in part by the amounts of money involved at every turn, so the Dr, insurance co., pharmacist, drug co all want you to take more.
NHS control & culture is completely different.

The Germans may well have made the right decision re:OxyContin but they have some medieval ideas about pain, healthcare and medication (I lived there for years). My gynae prescribed homeopathy for my irregular periods. Regardless of the nature of pain (dry socket, dental abscess, broken bones etc) it was ibuprofen or nothing. I’d be happy with a German style health insurance system - not a US one - so long as we kept the UK culture of avoiding ‘woo’ and needless suffering.

The book Empire of Pain is also an interesting read.

My DM is taking Oxycodone after having a bad reaction to Morphine. She has terminal cancer as well as osteoporosis in her spine and it has been the only painkiller that effectively manages her pain. I think it is similar to morphine as it is an opiate but is stronger and may have fewer side effects which has been the case with my DM.

I’m on dihydrocodeine which nobody really monitors me on, been on it since 2017
the issue I have had previously is nothing touches pain. At one point I was on the max doses of paracetamol, naproxen, dihydrocodeine, diazepam and oral morphine and no different

Here is the breakdown of what they are and how they fit into the UK context.

1. Oxycodone: The Actual Drug

Oxycodone is the generic chemical name of the medicine. It is a semi-synthetic, highly potent opioid painkiller.

• What it does: It alters how the central nervous system responds to pain. It is used exclusively for severe acute pain (like major post-operative recovery) or severe chronic pain (often in oncology/palliative care).
• The UK Equivalent: In the UK, it is a Class A, Schedule 2 Controlled Drug. If a GP or consultant prescribes immediate-release oxycodone, it is most commonly dispensed under the brand name OxyNorm (which comes in liquid or rapid-acting capsules).
• Strength: It is roughly 1.5 to 2 times more potent than oral morphine. In the NHS, it is usually prescribed if a patient needs strong opioid relief but cannot tolerate the side effects of morphine.

1. OxyContin: The Brand Name

OxyContin is simply a specific, branded formulation of oxycodone.

• The "Contin" part: The name is short for "Oxycodone Continuous." It was designed as a modified-release (slow-release) tablet.
• How it works: Instead of hitting the system all at once like a standard pill, a genuine OxyContin tablet is engineered to release the oxycodone slowly over a 12-hour period.
• The UK Status: OxyContin is available on the NHS and is prescribed for long-term, around-the-clock pain management. However, because it is a controlled drug, it requires strict prescription logging, and pharmacy stock is heavily regulated.

Nurofen plus can be bought from online pharmacies as can the lower strengths of co codamol. When I had shingles, I was prescribed 100 mid strength co codamol with a max prescribed dose of 8 a day which is a shedload more than 3 days supply, and got a repeat prescription when i needed it. Oxycontin is not the same as codeine although it is made from an alkaloid found in opium. Fentanyl is entirely synthetic.

Oxycodone is the active opioid ingredient.
OxyContin is a brand name, for the long acting pain relief. Usually given every 12 hours.
Oxynorm is for quick release usually given as breakthrough pain relief (4-6 hrs). They are semi synthetic morphine pain relievers.
They come in liquid, tablet, IV and sub cut form
It is also under the name of Targin, which is a combined oxy mix with naloxone which can counteract opioid induced constipation (which does happen!)
I'm a surgical nurse so see these medications on the daily. They can be very addictive. I see people drug seek these medications, setting their alarms at times to get these medications.

Dopesick with Michael Keaton was / is on iPlayer and as pp have said was excellent.
The British owned company were very clever in targeting doctors, hospitals, misrepresented the data, rebranded pain as always bad and lobbying the FDA etc as well.
There's also a Michael Connelly book where Bosch goes undercover which is very good but I can't remember the title.