Fentanyl

[fulltree]

Fentanyl is currently the strongest narcotic available in the united states,I use a Fentanyl transdermal patch that supplies me with 75 MCG per hour and i change the patch every 48 hours.

When i change my patch i have to very careful in disposal because there is still enough of the drug in the patch that if a small child stuck to themselves it could be fatal,my service dog would die if he ate it or a drug addict who did not know how much was to much could scrape the inside of the path with a razor knife or Exacto knife and fatally overdose this drug is no joke.

But for a sizable group of Chronic Pain Patients this drug gives them relief of enough of their pain that they can participate in ADL's and have a more normal life.

[Garyis]

Originally Posted by fulltree

Fentanyl is currently the strongest narcotic available in the united states,I use a Fentanyl transdermal patch that supplies me with 75 MCG per hour and i change the patch every 48 hours....

But for a sizable group of Chronic Pain Patients this drug gives them relief of enough of their pain that they can participate in ADL's and have a more normal life.

I agree, I change mine (100 MCG) every 72 hours because that's what my insurance company pays for. Why not leave the first patch on for 72 hrs. and still put the next patch on at 48 hrs. as this would give you an added dose?

[fulltree]

Hi Garyis i actually do leave them overlap for a day's time, iterating Question for you i notice when i change my patch i have a "bread" like smell from my skin so then i smelled a few patches and WOW it was not "bread per see once i smelled the patch it was a very heavy Yeast smell,am i alone in this or do there have the same thing ? i don't have any like topical irritation or yeast infection or anything so i believe its harmless but i always wonder if this happened to others??

[Garyis]

full tree,

I don't know if the smell is like bread, but it stinks, nasty. I wash off the area with warm water and an antibacterial soap. I think it is because the area is closed off, no air circulation, the mixture of sweat and the juicy substance the medication is in - all stirred up wow! I'll pay attention next change and sniff to see if I can get a bread oder. That would be a sad thing because I have a remembrance of a bakery near my house when I was a kid that had the smell of fresh baked bread in the air every morning. The smell was so nice, I'd hate it if my arm had that same smell, or would I?

[duge]

I was on one for close to 6 years! Had to get off because I lost my prescription card, one of the hardest things I've done!!!! but can tell you that's there's NO worry about someone or a pet getting hurt by one or anyone stealing them from me either!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Garyis]

Originally Posted by duge

I was on one for close to 6 years! Had to get off because I lost my prescription card, one of the hardest things I've done!!!! but can tell you that's there's NO worry about someone or a pet getting hurt by one or anyone stealing them from me either!!!!!!!!!!!!

What were some of the physical effects of going off the fentynal?

I heard that serious reactions could occur if one quit cold turkey.

What did your pain do after going off the patch?

I'm cutting back from 100 to 75 - then the plan is to go to 50 then 25. The cost to me even with RX insurance when I get into the doughnut hole is more than I can afford. I heard of one man who had been using them for 5 years and decided to cut back to see how much they reduced the pain. He said that the difference was minimal!

[avictoria]

Please I hope you're doing this under your doctor's supervision. The general rule for an opiate taper is 10% per week. You might want to do a google search on fentanyl withdrawal. If you decrease too quickly you might have some very nasty withdrawal symptoms. Your doc should be involved in this.

[duge]

Originally Posted by Garyis

What were some of the physical effects of going off the fentynal?

I heard that serious reactions could occur if one quit cold turkey.

What did your pain do after going off the patch?

I'm cutting back from 100 to 75 - then the plan is to go to 50 then 25. The cost to me even with RX insurance when I get into the doughnut hole is more than I can afford. I heard of one man who had been using them for 5 years and decided to cut back to see how much they reduced the pain. He said that the difference was minimal!

I DID do it under my Dr's supervision!! I went fro 50's to 25's then to 12's took me 5 months and the first try to get completely off them didn't work. I was on them for like 5-6 years. I had shaking spells while laying in bed felt sick to my stomach and kinda weak also. my pain level never increased really when I got off them but then again NOTHING has ever helped it either so at least now I got a clear head!

[Garyis]

Originally Posted by duge

....... my pain level never increased really when I got off them but then again NOTHING has ever helped it either so at least now I got a clear head!

Yes! This is what I'm hoping for, that the pain level doesn't increase, AND, I would be off the fentynal! I could use a clear head. And yeah, NOTHING has ever helped it either.

Thanks for the input on this.

[Geoman]

I've heard from many sources that you can't cut the patches, but I'm not convinced of the reason for this. I've heard it's because the patch won't work correctly, but think that's it's probably more to do with the potential abuse. This seems like the best way to taper down gradually, and I've done it before when I was trying to cut down (prior to being warned against it of course) and I had no problem at all. If I get to a position where I feel I can come back down off it a bit I will definately cut slivers off rather than being force to endure a 25 mg (or 12 mg) drop just because that's all that they market.

Geoman