Ginny/Duragesic

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/18/2004 4:59:58 AM Eastern Standard Time, RSD-CRPSofAmerica writes:

I had a question for you. I am on MS Contin and because I am getting alot of breakthrough pain my dr wants to switch to me to Oxycontin at a higher dose because with MS Contin you can only go up 15 mg at a time and with oxycontin you can go up 5mg at a time. I am allergic to most tape and patches..because of the glues. I was allergic to the lidocaine patches they really irritated my skin. Is the duragesic patches like that? If they are I guess that's why he isn't contemplating starting me on something like that and wants to continue pills with me. Wish I didn't have such sentative skin sometimes..Hugs..Ginny

Hi Ginny,

I have never had any problems with the Duragesic patch irritating my skin. I too have quite sensitive skin. When I am in the hospital and they put any tape on my skin I get a rash. I don't know how but those things (the Duragesic) stick through anything but they do! I sit at the beach and wade in the gulf and it has never fallen off. When I had shingles I used Lidocaine patches and they irritated my skin quite a bit. I would get red and itchy, not good on top of shingles. Maybe you could just try it and see how it goes. I am very happy with the Duragesic because it gives a steady dose of the med and I don't get the peaks and valleys that I did with the MSContin. I also take Dilaudid for breakthrough pain. This too works very well for me. I am on a very high dose now because my body has become adjusted to it. I take twelve mg every 4-6 hours as needed for pain. It comes in four mg tabs so I can take less if pain is not so bad. I get 270 four mg tabs/month. This seems to work out well, I never have run out. I got lucky and have the greatest pain mgmt doc. He is caring, compassionate and truly interested in what is going on with me. I have been with him for just over four years now and would not trade him for anything.

Do you get a lot of breakthrough pain? If so what do you take? I don't know if you have ever tried Dilaudid but it works quite well, well at least for me but we all respond to meds differently. Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, Take care, Love Jai

[Guest guest]

Jai,

When I get breakthrough pain I take oxycodone 5/325 1-2 pills every 4-6 hrs. When i was first on the MS contin it took me 3 months to go through 45 oxycodone...now I take at least 2 pills every day if not more. I have a high pain tolerance because I have been I had chronic pain now for at least 15 yrs. I can not remember one day without pain for at least 15 yrs. I used to be at maybe a 3-4 everyday for maybe 10 of those years..but for the last 3 yrs I don't remember a day without having at least a 5-6 pain level. Now I am at a 5-6 pain level for about 6 hrs a day..mostly I am at about a 7-8 pain level. With the injury to my right hand and wrist which is the limb I am mostly affected by the RSD I have been at a 9-10 pain level since last monday when I fell..even with oxycodone every 4-6 hrs I can maybe at best get down to 8 for pain. I am on a relatively low dose of ms contine 15 mg 2 times

a day...but the next dose is 30 mg twice a day. He wants me to take 20-25 mg of oxycontin istead of going up that much at once with the ms contin since I do have a history of very ow blood pressure and when i first started the ms contin my blood pressure was immeasurable alot and then got to my norm which is 60/40. I have noticed and so have my drs that my blodd pressure for the last couple of months has been running high...last visit it was 127/91. He doesn't know if the RSD is making me have high blood pressure or the pain I am in...so he wants to be careful with narcotics and adding a very high dose all at once. I just need at this point some good pain relief..I can live a very good quality of life at a 5-6 pain level...but 7-8 almost all the time is too much even for me. My dr says I'll have good days and bad days which I know..but he doesn't seem to realize that almost everyday is a bad day lately. I see him in another 4 weeks

again to discuss what to do next..but I am really considering calling him sooner if I can't get some relief. I get a rash frm tape..even paper tape..and I got a rash and even some sores from the lidocaine patches. I am glad to hear you have a similiar reaction to those things too and not to the duragesic patches. At least that gives me hope that i won't react badly to them if he prescribes them..I know he was reluctant to because of my past history with adhesives. I wish I could have 70 degree weather right now..we are in the low 20's today with a snow storm supposedly today til tues. Hoping we don't get it..because there is another snow storm scheduled for thursday..either way it will most likely will be a white christmas here. I hope you have a great weekend..Hugs..Ginnyjaismonkey@... wrote:

In a message dated 12/18/2004 4:59:58 AM Eastern Standard Time, RSD-CRPSofAmerica writes:

I had a question for you. I am on MS Contin and because I am getting alot of breakthrough pain my dr wants to switch to me to Oxycontin at a higher dose because with MS Contin you can only go up 15 mg at a time and with oxycontin you can go up 5mg at a time. I am allergic to most tape and patches..because of the glues. I was allergic to the lidocaine patches they really irritated my skin. Is the duragesic patches like that? If they are I guess that's why he isn't contemplating starting me on something like that and wants to continue pills with me. Wish I didn't have such sentative skin sometimes..Hugs..Ginny

Hi Ginny,

I have never had any problems with the Duragesic patch irritating my skin. I too have quite sensitive skin. When I am in the hospital and they put any tape on my skin I get a rash. I don't know how but those things (the Duragesic) stick through anything but they do! I sit at the beach and wade in the gulf and it has never fallen off. When I had shingles I used Lidocaine patches and they irritated my skin quite a bit. I would get red and itchy, not good on top of shingles. Maybe you could just try it and see how it goes. I am very happy with the Duragesic because it gives a steady dose of the med and I don't get the peaks and valleys that I did with the MSContin. I also take Dilaudid for breakthrough pain. This too works very well for me. I am on a very high dose now because my body has become adjusted to it. I take twelve mg every 4-6 hours as needed for pain. It comes in four mg tabs so I can take less if pain is not so bad. I get 270 four mg

tabs/month. This seems to work out well, I never have run out. I got lucky and have the greatest pain mgmt doc. He is caring, compassionate and truly interested in what is going on with me. I have been with him for just over four years now and would not trade him for anything.

Do you get a lot of breakthrough pain? If so what do you take? I don't know if you have ever tried Dilaudid but it works quite well, well at least for me but we all respond to meds differently. Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, Take care, Love Jai