Can You Cut The Fentanyl Patch In Half (Page 2) (Top voted first)

Updated

I asked my doctor the same question yesterday, she said "no", because once it hits the air, the strength starts to dissipate, or weaken. So she put me on the lowest dose, as I hope to get off them and all meds eventually.

54 Replies (3 Pages)

Page:First Page2Last Page
Earliest Newest Votes
21

I am worried right now about the WD, have been on 100 every 48 hrs for probably 3 yrs,before that I was on 50. I know I am ammune to them since they hardly take care of the pain, also on 10/325 generic percs,3 a day. It now comes time for the pain pump next week, they will be decreasing the patch after pump is implanted, my new script is for 50's afterward.for some reason I am so scared I am gonna go into WD even with the pump which will have Morphine. I had these horrible WD when they first put me on them, the nurse wrote the script wrong so I went 4 days of going insane. Wish I had of read this last night before I put a new patch on, I would of started reducing myself before surgery myself. I have 3 of these 100's left, next one I am gonna try to reduce ahead of time, 3 left so I will cut them,if I get WD,I will have to wait till after surgery,I have to much to get done this week

Was this helpful? 0
22

I am in no way being disrespectful but EVERYONE experiences are not the same. I am sitting here with my last patch that should have been changed at 48 hrs. I am on day 4 trying to get to the 30th when I can refill because two of my patches fell off after 1 day. I hate these patches but am very sick. I have never had a migraine when they fall offf,but the doom anxiety, cold sweats,body aches,leg jumps all that started within 2 to 4 hours of it falling off e erything time. I have degenerative disk disease,can barely walk anymore. COPD, Asteoarthritas,asteoporosis,diabetes just to name a few,but I swear my pain was never as bad before starting the patches,and I could walk even if painful. Now I can not walk when on patches barely to the bathroom,but when without them the withdrawl is killing me. I hate this never ending cycle. I stay in my room, barely leaving it or my house. I miss my life. I miss my family.

Was this helpful? 0
26

You are dead on regarding getting sick an hour after the patch falls off. Even if you had just put the patch on and it fell off. It takes a long time to build up the drug to any kind strength in ones body. Which means that it takes equally long for your body to decrease the amount in your body. If you got sick, it was for another reason.

Was this helpful? 0
27

Glad to hear all is well without the patch! I was 5 days without it while waiting for a prior auth. renewal and I felt more upbeat myself. I recently been diagnosed with low thyroid and read that Fentanyl and extended release opiates mess with adrenals and thyroid so I'm weaning off patch too. I'm out of my oxy and waited to run out to begin weaning off patch again. I tried a few weeks ago and my oxy use went through the roof. I did have an overall better sense of well being though. Due to no patch probably. By my refill appt. I am hoping to be through with patch. Funny thing is, I never noticed loss of energy until I was without them and noticed I was my old hyper self. I miss that and can't wait to get it back. The hard part is knowing how wonderful they are for chronic pain. I just can't stand the weight gain and low thyroid effects.

Was this helpful? 0
29

Hi my questoin is when you cut 50 mcg in half of transdermal patch can i still use the second piece? Does it work like the one i put directly on. Im so confused......

Was this helpful? 0
30

I have been on Fentanyl patches for 6 months an always have gotten the Actavis brand gel filled.Last week my pharmacy got a differant brand in called Aveva?They are like a piece of Foil.I put my second one on over the weekend.About 6 hours after putting it on i got real dizzy followed by a migraine headache and spacey feeling??This has never happened with other gel filled patches.I was wondering if i could Cut them in half so they aren"t so strong?The other brand has never affected me like these have.I got on patches so i wouldn't have to take so many pills an heard how the patch helps with pain relief.But i sure can't handle feeling like that again.

Was this helpful? 0
32

I want to get off opiates for chronic pain including fentenyl patch.
What will help my pain, tho????

Was this helpful? 0
35

How do I know if my 75 mcg Fentanyl patches are the Mylan matrix that your saying can be cut or the gel pads? I've read the box and instructions in the box and I can't find mention of it anywhere?

Was this helpful? 0
36

How do I know if my patches are Mylan or gel? I can't find it in the info in the box anywhere?

Was this helpful? 0
37

Thank you so much! I'm not anti-fentanyl--it was the only med that worked and enabled me to work after my almost life-ending accident where I broke my neck 16 years ago i also have Lupus and RA. . I realized Im dependant, not addicted psychologically. Never a recreational user, not even marijuana. My issue is i am now attached to the medical establishment I detest, as people are appropriating disability and using our meds on the street. Because of this I have had doctors be very nasty to me, way past the line I'd even consider a co-worker to go. I'm a Ph.D canidate, and am currently working on a field study of my development that one of the most prestigious universities has agreed to publish, if completed. My old pain management group has shut down--I called the doctor on his cell--not only would he not speak to me he would not acknowledge I was a patient--the entire point of getting those records was to show pain management I was a model patient. I'm also very concerned for my non-narcotic Humira--it's incredibly expensive and I can no longer pay high premiums, and doctors are hesitant to prescribe due to cost. Everything is about money. I'm trying to divorce myself as much as a person in my condition can.

SO, I looked up cutting patches online and found this. I waited until I was in semi withdrawal and cut the 100mcg patch into one 75mcg and one 25, put on the 75. I feel pretty alright! My goal is to get to 25, maybe with Dilaudid as needed, or maybe just dilaudid, maybe morphine. Not sure. Just less dependant on this damn system! I even had to take sick leave once because the house I share with my husband was burglarized and vandalized--all our meds were gone. So, I bring my police report to the doctor, and say hey, if you don't believe me you can call the officer in charge, my house was a crime scene! She looks back, sneers, throws, I mean THROWS the card and report at me saying I COULD'VE FORGED IT!!! Obviously this could be easily figured out by one phone call to the police! Then she says 'we don't refill 'lost or """stolen""" medications, you'll just have to wait, and refers me to a psychiatrist. I'm a Christian scientist, so that didn't sit well with me, especially as my religious beliefs had already thoroughly been discussed. So, I'm thinking surgery, nerve blocks, epidurals...slowly get the hell out of this satanic beaurocracy. My stomach is cramping, but not like yesterday when the cramping was violent. Can anyone tell me how long before going down again? Should I go straight to 50, or 62.5? Please let me know. Thanks!
Ayasha

Was this helpful? 0
38

I hope you feel better soon. My son was in Iraq.. Thank you for your service. I will soon be cutting down from 10 years of Milan fentanyl patches. I am determined to get off. I have RA and severe back arthritis. I have been treated mostly well, but this past spring, As a nurse for 30 years, I was badly treated by a cardiologist after I had emergency pacemaker surgery where ther was extreme swelling bruising and nerve impingement. I have worked with addicted patients for many years and have never treated my patients as badly as the electrocardiologist treated me when I had an unusual postop pain situation during the postop period. I had heart block and SA node "sickness." I was appalled at how I was treated and I am, for this reason and others, ready to try my life with RA without these Mylan fentanyl patches. I am going to so the cutting patch technique as my patches are no reservoir. I will be doing this with the help of my doctor and I hope she agrees. I had some Clonadine once, a bp med! And it made me sick so that is not an option as a help to WD symptoms. Best wishes to you and please wish e luck also,. It's frightening to get off, but worse to stay on.

Was this helpful? 0
39

No way. I feel withdrawal pain withint an hour and after 2 hours I curl up in a ball.
50mrg for 4 years

Was this helpful? 0
40

I was on 75 µg of fentanyl for over six years. I am going on 2nd year of weaning off all this crap. I get terrible withdrawl symptoms. I have use the Mylan patch which I have been able to cut in half with no problem. I am now down to 16 µg every 48 hours. Over the years I noticed the patch wearing off in about 48 hours. It never lasted to 72 hours. I would break out in the hot sweat have heart palpitations shaking twitching and not able to sleep. I can't wait to be completely off of does fentanyl patch. I will be taking Norco for pain and acupuncture and topical cannabis cream. I have taken clonidine several times due to an increase in blood pressure from the with drawl. I hope this information helps you and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. I have been dealing with chronic pain for over 30 years, I am a nurse and an advocate for patients in need of info. I have been given several different antidepressants for pain but none of them have help the pain. Effexor actually increase my body temperature and I had terrible sweating episodes from taking that. My doctor suggested Cymbalta and I declined. I am On no anti-depressants at this time and I am not in a fog anymore. I would just highly suggest that you read up on any of these antidepressants that can "help your pain also. Sometimes the side effects of these medications aren't worth it.

Was this helpful? 0
41

I just need to know if it's dangerous or not? Please let me know as soon as possible.

Was this helpful? 0
42

Hi Tom from Idaho! I read your post and I'm excited by your results... I recently discovered the correlation between my bouts of feeling horrible and the days I'd forget to change my patch. I was mortified to learn that I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the fentanyl patch... needless to say, I called my doc and said I want off of it, but understand I have to ween off to minimize the unpleasantness... I just wondered how long you took with each step down graduation? They jumped me up too 100mcg/72hrs in 12.5 or 25mcg increments, and going back down the same way makes sense, I just wanted an idea of how long to stay on each step? My doc doesn't seem to be real helpful in my desire to get rid of this poison,so I may have to handle it on my own...

Was this helpful? 0
43

Hi Tom , sorry to hear you're having trouble weaning off the Fentanyl. Sadly most of my doctors did not know the best way to wean off the patch. One doctor told me I would need to be admitted into the hospital to withdraw off this medication . My doctor wanted me to jump from 75 µg to 50 µg over two months and I said no .that the with drawl symptoms were too severe. You do need to be consistent with the times you change the patch. I was on 75 µg two years ago and I am now down to 16µg of fentanyl. I cut a 25 µg fentanyl patch into thirds . Mylan Brand only. Unless you want to constantly end up in the emergency room with high blood pressure ,panic attacks, and a host of other symptoms I would definitely take your time when weaning off this crap. I think in the beginning I went from 75 µg to 62 µg every 72 hours then realized that it was wearing off at 48 hours so I would change the patch sooner. After each dosage decrease I would stay on that for at least two months before decreasing . Sometimes I have to delay decreasing the dosage due to illness or other medications. I am at 16µg now and cutting them accordingly and now tomorrow I will start at 12 µg and hopefully in the next three months be off of this crap . Then I will be weaning off Valium which my doctor gave me over 10 years ago for muscle spasms. It is by far the worst drug to get off of . Good luck to you.

Was this helpful? 0
44

I failed to mention that I am making sure to take my Norco consistently every eight hours to keep me even doubt so it's not such a roller coaster ride getting off of the patch. I am also supplementing with Motrin/ibuprofen and cannabis topical cream.

Was this helpful? 0
45

So sorry to hear all the pain you're going through but it's so common with this medication. It's happened to me one too many times and why should we have to suffer with the with drawl ? My doctor put me on Fentanyl over 10 years ago. I was able to get two extra patches and explain to the doctor that they would either come off in the shower or I sweated them off. My doctor at the time would give me 12 for the month. It's worth a shot asking the doctor. But the sooner your off of it the sooner you get off that roller coaster ride from this medication . The heart palpitations the sweating in the leg twitching teeth clenching and whatever other symptoms that you may have hopefully will dissipate wants the patch is out of your system for good. I was at 75 µg and I am down to 16 µg and can't wait to be off of this medication but it has taken me over two years to get to this point safely.

Was this helpful? 0
46

I took half 25 of mylan will i be ok i have never taken it before I ran out pain meds..my aunt have me half one

Was this helpful? 0
47

Thank you, that's just the info i'm looking for because my 109 mcg jump seems to be too powerful for me.

Was this helpful? 0
Page:First Page2Last Page

More Discussions:

Can you have withdrawls from oxycodone when switching to fentanyl patch?

Seven years of back pain with long history of muscle relaxant and more recently oxycodone and lorazepam. Docs finally di...

15 REPLIES
how long after taking a suboxone can you use fentanyl patch

Ok..so I've been on Suboxone 8mg strips for 2 years. However, I've been only taking 4mg a day starting a week ag...

7 REPLIES
Can You Take A Non Gel Fentanyl Patch

i have half of a 50mg fentanyl patch and im wondering if you can take it? ## It is not safe to do this with any medicati...

2 REPLIES
can you take tramadol with a fentanyl patch on

I have a client who wears fentanyl patch. Can she take tramadol while wearing this patch? ## Yes, there are many occasio...

25 REPLIES
If A Tablet Is Scored Can You Cut It In Half For The Dose

I have some Metformin Hcl 1000mg tablets. My dose has been reduced to 500 mg. Is it safe to cut the 1000mg ones in half?...

4 REPLIES
using fentanyl patches after they get wet

People are talking on a site about sucking on F patches.if I lose one in the shower its no longer good after being wet.h...

3 REPLIES
Taking Fentanyl patches has Significant Consequences

Before you begin taking Fentanyl patches (commonly called Duragesic Patches as well as a host of other manufacturers nam...

1 REPLY
Stopping the 12 mcg fentanyl patch

I can't seem to find a straight answer. I'm stopping the 12 mcg fentanyl patch (with Drs instructions). I have 7...

5 REPLIES
Trying to kick the Fentanyl patch

This is my 1st post ever, anywhere. I am trying to get off Fentanyl. 7 years ago I was Rx'ed 25 mcg patches every 72...

8 REPLIES
can i fill my fentanyl patches in florida if it was written from dr texas

Can I get my fentanyl patches filled in Florida if it was written in Texas? ## Hi Debra! Some pharmacy's will do it ...

2 REPLIES