Re: Fentanyl Patches

[Guest guest]

My patches didn't fall off or irritate my skin luckily. but after I'd been on

them for over 9 months I looked on the Internet and it said they were more

potent than heroin or morphine. But I was still in pain so I felt I must really

be in trouble to need so much pain relief.

I also thought that coming off them would be like coming off heroin with all the

horrors that entailed. Only years later did a physio tell it wouldn't because

heroin was injected but my Fentanyl released slowly through the patch. My GP

never explained this.

I managed to reduce three patches of 25 to three of 12 but now I'm a bit stuck

as we really want to reduce slowly, not by a whole patch at a time.

I'm sure they contribute to my depression. I feel so fuzzy and out of it on

them and I wish I'd never started them. I worry and panic a lot and just don't

ever feel like my old self.

But I'm on tramadol and an anti depressant as well but am still depressed. Does

anyone else have experience of coming off?

Thanks

Oliver

[Guest guest]

I came off Fentanyl this summer with morphine switch which mad me horribly ill,

They then started reducing the morphine to get me off that, % months later I

still have diarrhea and exhaustion and pain, The pain was horrible during

withdrawal! I am now on nothing due to losing my insurance

Cyrilla

[Guest guest]

Oliver,

I just wonder why you wish to go without pain medication. Seems if you want to

stop taking the patch form to get pain medication that you would need a pill

form to help control the pain.

Living with pain causes depression, as does living with stress of any kind.

Over time, pain takes control of our lives in every sense, it becomes the thing

on our mind since it's forever there to be felt.

Of course there's withdrawals to pain medications and I hope you are working

with your pain doctor to help you determine the best thing for you.

Jennette

[Guest guest]

--- =Oliver Hitch wrote:

>

> My patches didn't fall off or irritate my skin luckily. but after I'd been on

them for over 9 months I looked on the Internet and it said they were more

potent than heroin or morphine. But I was still in pain so I felt I must really

be in trouble to need so much pain relief.

Hello Oliver -

Just remember, a drug is only as strong as the dose it is prescribed in. The

smallest dose of the strongest drug won't be more potent than the largest dose

of the weakest drug. It's the DOSE that matters, not which drug it is!

For example, I was only nearly 4000 milligrams of one anti-seizure drug

(Neurontin) used off-label for neuropathic pain without experiencing any

improvement in my pain at all, but I'm only on 12 milligrams of a different

anti-seisure drug (Gabitril) and have great pain relief from it. You just can't

compare how " potent " a drug is without comparing dosages!

Don't let meaningless comparisons like that convince you to give up an effective

form of pain relief if it's working for you.

Cheryl in AZ

Moderator

[Guest guest]

Hi Oliver

I'm glad you've had success coming off Fentanyl this way. My experience was much

more involved and complicated. Now that I'm off of it though, I feel so much

better, and I'm sure the Fentanyl would have killed me eventually, or made my

life so miserable at the very least. I was already miserable, so depressed, and

my tolerance had increased so that I'd started changing my patches early, going

into withdrawal frequently.

I had a horrible withdrawal coming off Fentanyl. In fact, I had to be

hospitalized, particularly because I have severe coronary artery disease.

My doctor tapered me down slowly: every three days she would decrease the dose

by 25mg. I was on 150mg at the time. Took a while, but it worked for me.

Wish you the best in achieving your goal, and in finding adequate pain relief.

Glad your experience has been better than mine.

[Guest guest]

I just want to add that different medication act to different degrees on each

person. What works for one may not work for someone else. In addition, if you

are on other medications, they can potential increase or interfere with the

action of another medication.

Certain foods when ingested at the time of taking a medication can effect the

absorption rate. Before giving up on a medication, discuss it with the doctor

and pharmacist.

I ask if there is any thing I should be careful of taking with a new medication.

Your pharmamist is a great person to help you with that. Don't except that

every doctor is familiar with all the medications you are taking for other

conditions.

Wishing you all less pain. hugs, Tami