duragesic patch

[Guest guest]

Duragesic is the " trade name " for Fentenyl.....which is a form of general

anesthesia that is mixed w/other meds when you undergo surgery.

The reason why he said you " stay on it " actually is a controversial one. This

med along with other 'controlled' meds are psychologically addictive. In

other words, if your not in pain and your a recreational drug user and your

brain is bathed in this stuff all weekend or whenever..you will develop an

addiction.

For our purposes, and other who are in pain " legitimately " these meds work @

the peripheral spinal nerve level. The body " eats up " the med. Pain

Management is in it's infancy in this country and MD's in general are weak in

the knees about RX'ing anything more than Tylenol #3 or Vicodin.

I'm an RN, go to a Pain Clinic and have been on methadone in the past, and

now morphine for pain. I have tapered my morphine dosedown significantly over

the past 6 months to the point where I'm almost off of it completely.....it's

all very natural...it's just that my body doesn't need it (or as much)

anymore...I haven't gone into seizures/tremors or psycho.....lol....good luck

to you!

Ann

[Guest guest]

Hi,

This is new to me! Can you explain a little about it - what kind of med is

it?

Thnaks,

Christie

At 10:57 AM 10/18/99 EDT, you wrote:

>From: Radha21@...

>

>my doc, Dr. Enlander gave me prescription for duragesic patch for general

all

>over achiness, but once i start it, i think i have to stay on it and take

>everyday, which i dont want to do.....have any of u tried this patch, and

has

>it helped?

>Radha

>

>>This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I don't know about this specific patch, Radha, but one reason that

doctors ask you to take certain painkillers every day, whether you think

you need it or not, is that pain is easier to PREVENT than to FIX one it

starts. If you wait until the pain develops, it takes a lot more

painkiller than the level it takes to keep it FROM developing. And

sometimes once it develops, there's not enough painkiller on the planet

to stop it.

This is particularly true with fibromyalgia pain, which has a tendency

to radiate from the original tender point to a larger, and larger

portion of the muscle. Progressive approaches to pain control all

involve controlling the pain, which means stopping it before it starts.

You can't do this with some medications because they will drill a hold

in your stomach, or destroy your kidneys, or cause liver dysfunction,

when taken in large doses over a long period of time.

I don't know what is in the patch, but I suspect that's why he says you

have to take it every day if you are going to start -- he is trying to

keep the dose low.

BTW, most studies show that if you are truly in severe pain, and take a

drug like morphine, you are unlikely to become addicted! It has

something to do with the way the body uses it when you are experiencing

pain, and the way it uses it when it's just sort of added to a brain

that isn't identifying pain problems at all.

Schweitzer

mailto:schweit2@...

[Guest guest]

Keri--

What strength of Duragesic Patch are you on???

Is there any way you could be put on a lower dose? The weakest strength is 25

mcg. Can they maybe wean you down by decreasing your frequency that you

apply them?

My prayers are with you, I know it is tough.

Love,

Kate

Largo, FL

[Guest guest]

Why is your doctor taking you off the patch and you still with pain? That

doesn't make sense either. I am on Duragesic also, and granted I was in

horrible, horrible pain before the patch, and after the patch it did

elminate some of the pain, but just as you even with the patch I have pain,

but definitely not as bad as w/o the patch. Is his plans to try another

pain med? You definitely will be in a lot of pain if you are a Stills

patient and not have any pain meds, or at least I am w/o my pain medicine.

The anti-inflammatories help with the swelling and rash and some of the

pain, but the pain is so horrible you have to have an add-on therapy of

analgesic to help with my pain and I'm sure about any Stilligan out there

would agree. So maybe discuss his future plans for dealing with you pain,

because if you are still in pain w/the patch then chances are it is only

down hill from here w/o it.

Finicia

Duragesic Patch

> Hi All-

>

> Last night was the worst night in my whole entire life. (probably not,

but I've forgotten all the other worst nights in my life )

> Anyway my Rheumy is trying to get me off of my Duragesic Patch that I have

been on for the past 2 years. And his way of doing it was take Oxy (which

is just as addicting) ever four hours for the withdrawal symptoms and once I

am off the Patch then we will work on getting me off the Oxy. Okay that

makes sense (NOT!!!)

> So I decided that I will try to take my self off the patch without the

Oxy. Not good!! I was doing pretty good the first day, the second day I

was a little anxious and on edge, but not bad. Until that night I was out

of my flippin mind, to say the least. I couldn't sit, lay, stand still. I

felt like climbing the walls. I tryed everything I could think of, baths, a

massager on my back & feet, exercising, cleaning. My skin was crawling. I

couldn't stand it anymore around 2am so I decided to take an Oxy to see if

that would take the edge off and maybe I could get some sleep. Nothing, so I

took another at 3am .........Nothing. I couldn't handle it anymore. I had

to put the patch back on.

> I kept seeing these smoking commercials and how they need help to stop

smoking and here I am thinking that I can get off this drug, Fentanyl,

without some assistance from a pain clinic or at least a Doc that has dealt

with this before.

> Anyway, has anyone out there been on this patch before>? and if so how

did you wean off of it?

> Any help or advise would help. I am willing to try anything. But the one

thing that is in the back of my mind is.... what if my body still needs

these pain meds? What if I go off and have horrible pain. Becuz I do have

pain even when I do have my patch on.

> I would hate to have a flare while trying to wean off. I am stable right

now with all my meds so....

> I don't know I am starting to ramble so I will say goodbye.

> Thanks for listening and hope to get some good feedback.

> Love & Support-

> Keri In CA

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Why is your doctor taking you off the patch and you still with pain? That

doesn't make sense either. I am on Duragesic also, and granted I was in

horrible, horrible pain before the patch, and after the patch it did

elminate some of the pain, but just as you even with the patch I have pain,

but definitely not as bad as w/o the patch. Is his plans to try another

pain med? You definitely will be in a lot of pain if you are a Stills

patient and not have any pain meds, or at least I am w/o my pain medicine.

The anti-inflammatories help with the swelling and rash and some of the

pain, but the pain is so horrible you have to have an add-on therapy of

analgesic to help with my pain and I'm sure about any Stilligan out there

would agree. So maybe discuss his future plans for dealing with you pain,

because if you are still in pain w/the patch then chances are it is only

down hill from here w/o it.

Finicia

Duragesic Patch

> Hi All-

>

> Last night was the worst night in my whole entire life. (probably not,

but I've forgotten all the other worst nights in my life )

> Anyway my Rheumy is trying to get me off of my Duragesic Patch that I have

been on for the past 2 years. And his way of doing it was take Oxy (which

is just as addicting) ever four hours for the withdrawal symptoms and once I

am off the Patch then we will work on getting me off the Oxy. Okay that

makes sense (NOT!!!)

> So I decided that I will try to take my self off the patch without the

Oxy. Not good!! I was doing pretty good the first day, the second day I

was a little anxious and on edge, but not bad. Until that night I was out

of my flippin mind, to say the least. I couldn't sit, lay, stand still. I

felt like climbing the walls. I tryed everything I could think of, baths, a

massager on my back & feet, exercising, cleaning. My skin was crawling. I

couldn't stand it anymore around 2am so I decided to take an Oxy to see if

that would take the edge off and maybe I could get some sleep. Nothing, so I

took another at 3am .........Nothing. I couldn't handle it anymore. I had

to put the patch back on.

> I kept seeing these smoking commercials and how they need help to stop

smoking and here I am thinking that I can get off this drug, Fentanyl,

without some assistance from a pain clinic or at least a Doc that has dealt

with this before.

> Anyway, has anyone out there been on this patch before>? and if so how

did you wean off of it?

> Any help or advise would help. I am willing to try anything. But the one

thing that is in the back of my mind is.... what if my body still needs

these pain meds? What if I go off and have horrible pain. Becuz I do have

pain even when I do have my patch on.

> I would hate to have a flare while trying to wean off. I am stable right

now with all my meds so....

> I don't know I am starting to ramble so I will say goodbye.

> Thanks for listening and hope to get some good feedback.

> Love & Support-

> Keri In CA

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

ewilkie:

I use the duragesic patches following a somewhat confusing procedure. I had

much the same side effects you discribed when I used the 50MCG strength patches;

however, the 25MCG strength patches gave me very little pain relief. I am

therefore using TWO of the 25MCG patches on two separate 72 hour schedules

(calendar and the labels that come with the patches are required to keep it

straight).

I would suggest that you talk to your doctor about your side effects, and your

concerns related to them. The strength of the patches that you are using are

very likely too strong for you!

Hope this helps!!

S.

****************************************************************

In a message dated 4/24/2004 12:37:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time, ewilkie@...

writes:

<<Hi - I see that some of you out there are familiar with the

duragesic patch. I have started using them for about a month and

have since developed a shaky feeling inside. It is quite

uncomfortable and I don't like it. Has anyone else had this problem?>>

[Guest guest]

, I use the 100 Duragesic patches and, with no side effects and no

buzz at all, I feel that they are what really got me moving again. Just

remember, there was a recall, on the 75's only. It is a great med for chronic

pain!

Carole M. (the elder)

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

My computer is acting up so I don't know if my first message went

through. My question is, has anyone experienced withdrawal when

discontinuing the duragesic patch. Since my hip replacement my pain

is much improved and my pain doc said to go from 50mcg to 25 mcg. She

prescribed a clonodine patch (blood pressure med) that she said would

help with withdrawal symptoms. I read the archives and Carole M. said

she had no withdrawal. But I know we are all different and meds

affect us all in different ways.

Any suggestions on how to handle the withdrawal symptoms and how

long does it last? I'm trying to make this brief before my computer

gets goofy.

Many thanks for your help. Barbara

[Guest guest]

Hi Barbara -

I have been on the duragesic patch for almost 2 years. I went

off it briefly after a few months because it made me feel uneasy and

depressed. My doctor told me to just take it off and start on new

medication and I thought I would go crazy! I had to move constantly

and my arms and legs felt like bugs were crawling all over them. It

lasted bad for about 2 days and slowly I came back to myself over a

week. I stupidly let my doctor convince me to go back on it and I'm

still on it. I even begin to experience withdrawal when its almost

time to change the patch so my doctor's fix for that is to change it

12 hours early. As for what can help, I found myself trying

any other medication I had - Tylenol #3, anxiety medication, even

sleeping pills. I have only found one other person who has

experienced withdrawal so here's hoping your one of the lucky ones.

Best of luck, Elaine

>

> Hi All,

>

> My computer is acting up so I don't know if my first message

went

> through. My question is, has anyone experienced withdrawal when

> discontinuing the duragesic patch. Since my hip replacement my

pain

> is much improved and my pain doc said to go from 50mcg to 25 mcg.

She

> prescribed a clonodine patch (blood pressure med) that she said

would

> help with withdrawal symptoms. I read the archives and Carole M.

said

> she had no withdrawal. But I know we are all different and meds

> affect us all in different ways.

> Any suggestions on how to handle the withdrawal symptoms and

how

> long does it last? I'm trying to make this brief before my

computer

> gets goofy.

> Many thanks for your help. Barbara

>