Fentanyl 7 Months Off After Five Years Of Using The Patch (Page 2)

Just wanted to update and touch base with anyone wanting to stop using the patch or struggling through withdrawals. I was on the Fentanyl patch, ranging from 150 mcg to 25 mcg, for five years due to a rare debilitating, extremely painful disease called Dermatomyositis. This disease causes deep skin lesions and basically eats away the muscles of your upper arms and upper thighs and hips. It prevents you from doing anything requiring raising your arms above your shoulders, It also prevents you from walking up hills, stairs, etc. It eventually affects your lungs and swallowing. This disease crosses over with SLE and Fibromyalgia. I take 16 prescription drugs including a chemo injection and a med that is given to organ transplant patients to keep my body from rejecting itself plus the typical Lupus meds. When I was first diagnosed I was in so much pain they immediately put me on a 25mg Fentanyl patch. It was like a miracle sent from heaven. I could finally get out of bed. I was able to travel, interact socially, do chores, etc. Eventually, though, the 25mcg wasn't enough. The disease progressed as did my patch dosage. I refused to go over 150mcg. Little did I know my miracle from heaven would end up being a drug from hell. Over five years, I found myself going into withdrawals over and over. I would lose one and run short. I had a box stolen while staying in a hotel. My doctor went out of town without writing my prescription. Over and over things like that happened. I had surgery and the pain relief was non existent. More and more I found myself once again in bed. Not from pain, but from lack of interest in life in general. My pain was numb but so was my libido, brain, heart, and everything else. The last time I had to go through withdrawals did it. The sweat so strong from your pores you can smell the Fentanyl, the pain, the sneezing, coughing, yawning, the horrible insomnia, the compulsion to rock, twist, bend, move. The horrible anxiety. I knew I could not continue to live life this way. So after coming very close to reaching remission in July, I decided to get off the patch. I did it slowly, tapering down, but it didn't matter. The withdrawals were along for the ride. It was three months before I actually starting feeling a little bit normal. It was five months when I finally felt like my true self again. Unfortunately, my remission did not last but I made a decision that patch would never be put back on my body until the doctors tell me I am end stage and have less than 4 months to live. I still take hydrocodone, flexeril, Klonopin, and gabapentin as needed. And Ambien and Ropinerole to help me sleep. I have now been Fentanyl free for seven months. If anyone has questions or needs support in your journey, please let me know.

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Re: Spyz (# 9)

No the purpose of the extended release medication is just because doctors think people can’t abuse that like they can instant release. It’s not for your benefit

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