This is my first post, but I've been lurking for awhile since the new Oxycontin OP's have come out. I suffer from severe bone and joint pain from head to toe and my previous regimin of Oxy 60mg 2x day plus Norco for breakthrough was doing really well. I had never abused my meds except for occaisionally chewing them when i needed immediate relief. My doc switched me to Opana 30 ER 2x day plus the Norco. The Opana does nothing for me orally. I was so miserable, so I ended up snorting the Open, which was great but I wish I had never done that because I ended up taking them that way everytime. I have been on them for 3 weeks now.
When I read about the silicosis today I was horrified and have been having panic attacks all day. I researched every article I could find and then it occurred to me to look up the MSDS (I didn't see it mentioned here so I apologize if it's already been addressed).
According to the MSDS profile for SMCC regarding inhalation, it is a non-hazardous nuisance dust. The link to the MSDS is below:
http://coretecholding.com/files/produits/fiches_securites/msds-prosolv2.pdf
Kikkiji this is very interesting information, thank you.
Just a couple of follow up points that you should be aware of:
1. Doing one pill a day for 3 weeks isn't going to give you silicosis, even with the worst case numbers I posted before... but doing daily it for months to years could.
2. Despite the fact that the MSDS says it's a nonhazardous dust,
it still lists the maximum safety exposure at 5 mg/m 3 respirable fraction.
I initially based my safety calculation on a maximum safe exposure of 0.1 mg/m3, and came out with numbers that showed 1 Opana pill puts you just over the maximum safe daily exposure to silica.
Based on the 5mg/m3 number in that MSDS we get 45-50 pills of Opana putting you over the daily safe limit.
3. I looked up the MSDS for regular amorphous silicon dioxide (which does cause silicosis), and the safe levels were
6 mg/m3. In other words, SMCC is still more dangerous than pure amorphous silicon dioxide (but probably not as bad as pure microcrstalline silicone dioxide).
4. The 0.1 mg/m3 safe exposure for microcrystaline silica was developed empirically from people working with the substance in mines over decades. Data with that level of detail for SMCC probably isn't available, so at the end of the day, you need to ask yourself if you trust your health to those numbers. Even if the risk is low, is it worth the chance of getting a lethal lung disease with no known cure?
My advice: Have an honest conversation with your doctor about the Opana not working for your pain, and try a different medication.