Fentanyl Can I Just Go Cold Turkey When Quitting (Page 6)
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My doctor has had me on the 100 fentanyl patch for 1 year now. He is going to take me off it. Can you just stop taking it with out side effects or withdrawals. Please tell me the proper way to get off this patch. Please help me, I have the doctor appointment tomorrow and want to know what to say. So far it sounds like his plan is just to take me off cold turkey. I am scared of withdrawals. I am a mom of 5 kids and need to be ok. Please help.

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45

I so agree with Pamela! It sounds like my life exactly! I don't even recognize myself anymore & I have 5 kids that I can't even be a proper mother too. After having 2 neck surgeries & a fusion on my C5, 6 & 7 I was in unbearable pain & had to be hospitalized for 10 days after being released from the hospital just for the doc to figure how to control the pain. They gave me the fentanyl patch, oxy, dilauded, Percocet & soma. Now that my surgeon is releasing me he's referred me to a pain clinic! I've been to 2 pain clinics & neither will take me because because I'm on lethal doses! Are you serious?! They say I need to go to an in house treatment center! I have 5 kids as a single mom & there's no way so I'm going cold turkey on all narcs. I have no memory, no life, no ability to mother my children & absolutely no desire to leave my bedroom so what's to loose? It's been a week of hell so far. Vomiting , nausea, no sleep, restless legs, panic attacks & SEVERE depression! I have all the narcs to take but I refuse because there's no way in hell I'm EVER doing this again! I can deal with the physical stuff but the depression is another very scary story. No meds help. Please send prayers as I will do for all of you!

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44

I have been on fentanyl patches for 10 years before that they gave me fentanyl pops 1200 mg 10x day. My insurance wouldn't pay for them so I went on patched 3-100 mg patches every 48 hours. My husband could lose his job any day. I need to get rid of this. I can't remember things horrible constipAtion high blood pressure sweat like crazy all the time I shake. Need help now

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43

If your dr says go cold turkey go see another dr. They need to phase you down from 100 to 75 to50 to 25 to even 12.5. I forgot to change my 75, which I take every other day for 5 days and i was soooo sick. Even my own pain dr says that it needs to be gradually taken away. Good for you though that they want to take you off. I am on for the long haul. My best wishes to you through this process and for the new year.

Sincerely,
Suzanne

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42

How are you feeling? As we go into 2014 my goal is that after 12yrs of this damn med I am ready to be done. If someone would have explained in detail what this would do to me over time I would have never touched it w/a 10ft pole. Beyond my chronic pain from MS, fibromyalgia, & neuropathy pain this med has now taken away more of my life. Yes, it has helped my pain control better than most oral opiates were delivering, but the chronic side effects starting causing their own additional problems. I started noticing if I changed a patch too late in the day I better not expect sleep that night. Even if I was physically exhausted & wanted to sleep the insomnia would set in & I would lay there all night starring at the clock tick by till the alarm went off. I am a single Mom of 4, so I have to exist everyday or all things in the house go to hell. I also noticed that on days where I had lost sleep I was very nauseas at times which caused vomiting all day long sometimes unless I took a anti nausea med. This caused it's own problems with my aging dental, and having no dental insurance. I have now lost almost my entire upper row of teeth, and now look at dentures :( My anxiety level increased as well, making me a moody, b****y individual. My temper has flared out of no where at times, even making me go "where the hell did that come from?" when I have blown up at ppl, usually my kids. Making me feel guilty then, because truly no one deserves that no matter what they have done. My zest for life has been totally robbed from me. I now hope just to get from the beg of the day to the end of the day, so I can recluse myself from the world. My children being the only ones to see me exist everyday. I no longer want to get dressed except my jammies, sweats. I no longer want to put makeup on or do my hair. I am lucky if I can drag myself to the damn shower anymore & stand there hurting to get through it. I honestly believe it was a aid in ending my relationship w/my husband as he could see me changing a long time ago before I would accept the facts myself. The relationship mind you needed to end for other reasons, but this fact didn't help any of the matters of it ending. I have other problems from use of fentanyl like IBS, narcolepsy etc that I never had to deal with before using it. In the course of the 12yrs of using it I have had a few periods of unexpected withdrawls like mail order pharmacy getting my order lost for 2 weeks, or when my husband dropped my from his health insurance so I know that this is going to be true hell to do but I have got to for my kids sake, but especially myself. I am not a young individual, and watching time slip me by on the things that I am missing out on. My kids are growing fast before my very eyes, and I want to be able to enjoy life again w/them, and not just be the recluse this medicine has put me in the state I have become. My fears though are the horrid withdrawls. It's a nightmare waiting to unfold. Then I will have to figure something else out for the daily chronic endless pain. But, it will have to be something that does not rob me more of life like fentanyl has. 1 dr told me that I have been using this for so long that it physically has changed the neuro transmitters of the brain/spinal cord so that I will never be able to get away from opiates now. God, I hope this is not truth. Dr's & pharmacutical companies should have to disclose everything to patients. It's also why I tell anyone now thinking of using opiates to control their pain, or any medication for that matter, learn everything they can before they decide to use something. I am talking everything, everyone that will tell you the in/out, the pros the cons about something. I know that some ppl are still fearful of mmj to help their pain, anxiety, insomnia, etc.. but I have been using it lately to help w/ sleep at night instead of ambien because it was causing me to sleepwalk doing weird things, migraine headaches the next day & again the endless nausea & vomiting. At least it is a natural plant and not a synthetic drug like Ambien, Fentanyl, etc.. It is has passed for medical use here as well as recreational use(this I dont't agree with) now in WA state. It may be a thought to help the withdrawls away from the Fentanyl. Within moderation of course. Well speaking of time I have spent a plenty on here telling my woes. Please tell me how your journey is going as I am ready to take this road myself now. Has anyone ever considered a spinal implant to help w/the chronic pain control? non medication use. It has been a thought of mine for awhile now.

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41

I have been on fentanyl for 13years i am tired of it, i decided to quit cold turkey 4 days ago the first 2 was the worst but now i am starting to feel better except the back pain and burning in stomache am i through the worst or will it get harder..

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40

Drinking The correct Tea helps more better than any over the counter drug for RLS

I have Chronic Pancreatpitus I have had to jump from one medication to another for 3 plus years now.

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39

My dr just discharged me because last month my pain was so bad I put on an extra patch to get it under control it was concidered a breach of the narcotic contract so she wont see me. I have a new dr. on board but wont scrib meds till she reads my chart, im scared but cold turkey may be only choice I have one patch left its gel so I cant cut it.

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38

How are you getting on skippy long time no hear :/

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37

Hey. I have a solution for anyone that cannot pay for their patches. Of you do not have medical coverage, go to janssen (google) and look for a program called Patient Assistant Program aka PAP. This will refer you to Johnson and Johnson and once you complete the application, give it to your doctor and within three days, the approve the Brand name- Duragesic. It's apsolutely free. It's a god send for me and my husband has cancelled my insurance. If you have any questions in this, please feel free to call me. Matthew {edited for privacy}. IF YOU GET APPROVAL, MAKE SURE YOU CALL CVS OR WALGREENS OR WALMART AND ASK THEM TO ORDER THE NAME BRAND DURAGESIC PATCHES IN YOUR STRENGHT AND QUANTITY. TRUST ME, many many many pharmacies do not have the name brand in stock. CVS is the only pharmacy that can get them within a few days versus others where they get their controlled's once a week. Good luck to you all!!

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36

I am a health care professional who has had 7 major back surgeries, including an Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion at L4-5 and L5-S1. I was put on Fentanyl by my neuro-guy six years ago, and I believe was the worse mistake ever. There are way too many fentanyl distributors whose patches are each different, from horrible application to good. Not only that each generic manufacturer has a different milligram amount that it delivers. For instance, if your on 75 mcg of fentanyl every three days, then one manufacturer, like Mylan versus SANDOZ, each has a different amount of fentanyl in it. I was just using Pars Fentanyl, and it has 7.5 mg of fentanyl in each patch, while SANDOZ has 12.5. That is just plain wrong. Not only that, and the worst part of it all for me, is that by the 3rd day with almost "all" brands of Fentanyl I went through horrible withdrawals, and my doctor refused to put me on 1 patch every 2 days, rather than 3 days. So, enough was enough, and 7 days ago I just said I am not putting another one on. It has seemed to be a long, long road with leg twitches, anxiety, headaches, nausea, insomnia, increased pain, and so on. But, it will be worth it in the long run. I need to rediscover my old life, and get back to work in healthcare. For me, prayer and the encouragement of loved ones has seen me through this. I am not sure I would go it alone if I had to do this all over again. I strongly suggest doing this stuff with the help of a medical team. Going off cold turkey is really hell. But, the Lord has helped me GREATLY.

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35

Just wondering how you are getting on skippy?

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34

Has anyone gone from 100 mcg to 50 mcg just to wean faster? Doesn't sound too bad but Idk...

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33

1 fent patch every 48 hours --- im looking to come off but need to cross over to another long term medicine and then in the future after next oporation taper down --

now the patches available do not work well with my skin ---- the 2 manufactures that make the ones that work on me stopped manucturing december 10th ?>?? uh ohhh

any ideas or suggestions on a long term med gd to switch to ?
thk u my friends

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32

Lamb is right definitely try to at least do some stretching exercises and drink tons of water, the other helpful advise I can give is to take vitamin D (5000 IUD) it sounds like a lot but it is known to not only boost your mood & energy but to help with pain per my dr. Cymbalta is a anti-depressant but per the FDA it is also used to treat fibromyalgia type pain and is non-narcotic and very helpful during withdrawals. I was on 350mcg every 48 hours for 11 or 12 years and am completely off it now(my story & what I went through trying to get off it is the 1st post in the forum) it was horrible to try and get off. I have been off the fentanyl sense this summer and what a world of difference. I am down to 25 mg of oxy a day and then I will be narcotic free! I do still have some withdrawal type symptoms even after all this time but life is much better. Keep your chin up and listen to all of the good advice of people on this site, sometimes just knowing your not alone in this is half of the battle. Don't be afraid of reaching out.

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31

After 4 months I think you should be ok mate to just stop but that depends on the dose, what dose are you currently on and was that increased from a lower one during that period? I've been off it for months now and I can't stress enough to people to stay away from this drug, it nearly ruined me and I had four children who needed me as I'm a solo mum, I firmly believe if I'd seen these posts within the first 6 months I'd have stopped immediately, you will have some withdrawals but you should be ok with them, I managed and I have to say I have very little will power fortunately when I found out the hold this drug has over even a strong person like myself (no will power but strong that's correct!) I made it my number one priority and my children's well being was my motivator, as soon as you can stop, as soon as your feeling up to it get some exercise even if you hate it as you need to replace a negative with a positive to succeed I believe. Drink plenty of water take high dose vitamin c if you have any fresh rosemary and thyme make herbal tea out of it, it's got good antioxidants to get your blood clean fast (tastes crappy if you don't like herbs though like me lol) good luck and repost if you need moral support because I made a promise to myself that I'd help anyone I can get through what I went through alone and I will stand by that even if it means only helping one person xo

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30

How long were you on the patch for? I have been on the patch for 4 months I wan I want off I am terrified of being sick I'm going to I am terrified of being sick I'm going to run out of my medication please tell me what it's been like for you I have to very young beautiful c I have to very young beautiful children need me so much

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29

Thx for the advise lilred. I called my dr he wanted to put me on other opiates to help me off of this one. I do not want to go through the withdrawls again. Dr told me at some point i will still have to go cold turkey, eventually to get off the drugs I will have to stop taking them. I am now at day 9 and have been drinking about 1.5 gallons of a water/gatorade mix and taking very hot baths to induce a good sweat. My wife is a r/n and so is my best friend. I was told that fentanyl is stored in your fat cells and the best way to get it out is to flush it out. I had my first good nights sleep last night since this whole thing started 6-8 hrs. I still have the flu like symptoms but when I got up today I could tell that there was an end in sight. This might sound weird but colors are brighter, things smell better and all my senses are a little more alive. even though I am still sick I am in a really good place today.

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28

Minus you should never have gone cold turkey.. That's why your having the bad side effects.. You are suppose to do it slowly,, you need to ask your doctor and maybe give you something .. I went off fentanyl after 9 years and took two months to withdraw without getting totally sick,, it can be very dangerous, at least ask a pharmacist what you should do at this time..

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27

Hello everyone I am on day 5 going cold turkey. Getting off of a one year usage of fentanyl. Someone may have posted it but I want to know how long this lasts? I cant sleep maybe an hour a night if longer than that its out of pure exhaustion, concentrate, my whole body feals like something is crawling under my skin(worst feeling ever) I have the worst anxiety I have ever experienced in my life. I have stopped smoking drinking and all other recreational drug use. This is worse than all of them. Thx for any suggestions and help

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26

Pharm-have you heard of anyone that once off fentanyl gets severe runny nose,congestion, bad dry cough, wheezing, I have had these symptoms since August when weened self off the fentanyl 75 every other day for over 9 years straight..now I went to a pulmonary dr, who says I have asthma now,, blood test done today, on advair. HFA 115/21 now plus dymista nose spray, singular, mullnex D now for all of the symptoms. Told me I have to get the asthma under control.. It's been over 15 years that I had allergies and asthma no attacks no meds, now off Fentanyland all this happens,, ever hear of this,, Disgusted!, my chest is tight,,just do not feel right

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