Fentanyl Patches Killing People! (Page 3)

I would like to know WHY the FDA has not taken the Fentanyl Patch off the market? This drug is being handed out like candy. Anyone who is not terminal or under Hospice care or in a hospital invironment should not be using this drug. Why would a person be prescribed a medication that is 80 times stronger than morphine for a backache. I do not believe patients know how powerful this medication is. The warning should be labled in RED. When are you FDA going to realize This medication is killing while relieving pain! I know because it killed my son.

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That is the best thing I have heard someone say about pain meds and the patients right to take what they need. The government should allow people with chronic pain to take what they need.

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Stop them as soon as you can. They are poisoning you. I have felt somewhat better since I've been off of the patch. The patch made me angry on top of not letting me sleep. The ups and downs. My mind feels like it's blank and it's hard for me to now put things into perspective. The Patch is poison and quitting as soon as you can will be one of the best decisions you will make for yourself.

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Hello,

I have been taking Fentanyl now for chronic pain after a bad accident. After many surgeries I was left with terrible pain, that left my life unlived. I first started with 50mcg patch, and while it was working, I requested that the dose be lowered to 25mcg. Now, along with deep breathing and meditation (I learned while in physical rehabilitation) I have a somewhat normal life - all considered. Although I don't have the great career I had before, I am a functioning member of society. It's not the life I had envisioned, but it's the best life that I can live under the circumstances. I visit my treating specialist every 2-3 months, and followed closely. I even get regular blood test to monitor effects this has on my system...

This said, I have to add that the Fentanyl patch was a last resort after trying other meds and techniques. I was really against it, and even today, I often skip it for a few weeks to really see if it's working.... I never have any withdrawal effects, but always benefit from taking it.

I don't think it should be a first choice for treatment, but in my case the last resort treatment with Fentanyl patch worked. I change it every 3 days.

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Hello I been on all types of opiates an mgs over an over but I'll be straight up honest its getting hard for us the ppl that really need the meds to atleast get through the day, unlike the ppl that get it just to sell for income those are the ones that's making our life a living hell. But no pain meds is good at all they don't cure you, they just mask the pain and brain and I'm not addicted on it but I am dependant on it to get through my days. But when abused you run out an get so sick they say you feel like your dieing but your not. That's not true cause I heard of ppl that have died when in withdrawal. Its not something you just take for years an just stop go on living an you say oh I'm fine. Not 1 person I no on opiates have a normal life as over time unless taken right an even when taken right its still a nightmare for me cause I been on a lot for years legally by PM and I have run short a time or 2 and I just wish I was never put on anything as I noticed my life change over years. But if you don't need it my words to anyone is don't unless that's the only options. Thanks, hope this helps at least 1 person. its a dragon on your back an most ppl are chasing it after days to years on opiates an getting off it I found its a hard to do type deal as I tried to stop an not long I had to get back on it due to all my health problems from spine pinching nerves. I'm 38 and at age 30 UVA said I had a spine of an 80 year old, so I can only imagine now. Hope this helps. Thanks, Ken

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You have to remember to breathe on Fentanyl. It is also a respiratory suppressant.

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I took fentynal for nearly 4 years. It was effective on my pain but eventually the side effects become too hard to deal with. My sleeping schedule still isn't right, my focus and organization skills have deminished, and it's been about 7 months since I've taken it. My Doc says it's the Oxycodone but my mood began to become better since I have been off of the patch. I just deal with the pain as opposed to feeling the ups and downs of the Fentynal patch. I wish I could quit taking the Oxys but nothing else eases my symptoms. I get to either choose pain or a lack of focus and fatigue. Chronic pain, as many people find out at even an early age like myself, 40, is very hard to deal with as are the medications in which we need to get by.
My most recent family doctor said I'm lucky to be alive as much Fentynal as they had me on. He said people should not take it for long periods to treat chronic pain.

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I was on the 100 mg patch for 3 yrs. eventually gave me 15 per month for every 2 days. I lost 50 lbs. 230 to 180 lbs. After my second back surgery and the pain got under control, I stepped down to 10 75's and 5 50's. Then it was cold turkey. I consider myself a survivor. That stuff should only be prescribed to the terminally ill.

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Evidently, Oxy and Fentanyl are the only two drugs approved for chronic pain........I cannot take either, and face a difficult situation......There is no logical reason these drugs are handed out. In my case, I am terminal, so it doesn't matter much. Fentanyl has some dreadful side effects once a person has a bad reaction to the drug as I did a while back, I ended up in hospital and nearly died. I was always careful to use it exactly as prescribed, but once it turns on you, it is a scary drug.......I agree it is dangerous and there ought to be better alternatives.
I think every patient has to be his own best advocate, research any and all drugs offered him/her, and make an informed decision. Nobody should blindly follow a doctor's lead, they see too many patients a day to be given that total responsibility. It is up to us to watch out for our own best interests, nobody else can or will do it.
Good luck to you, you make some very good points.

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Do not cut these patches. It can be very dangerous to do so. It can cause more of the medication to leak out onto your skin and overdose you.

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Well fyi, its WARNING is labeled in RED ON EVERY BOX, brand or generic, also patients are Heavily monitored, you say back ache but this medication is prescribed for various reasons. Now you didn't mention if your son died by being RX'd a fentanyl patch or illegally obtained one? I'm sorry for your loss, but its really inconsiderate and selfish to punish everyone that is copping with cancer or debilitating pain that you cannot understand or relate to? If a dr rx'd a patient and as a result died by his/her negligence that is one thing but if your son had obtained one illegally for illicit use thats a totally different than ones negligence. That's his? Meaning he had no business having illegal possession of it in the first place. You have no right regardless of either to attack legitimate patients, pharmaceutical companies and doctors for what a parent should instill in there kids that's common since and to take responsibility for their actions not blame others when things go bad. Like bad parenting. It is not the communities fault that he died its his own curiosity and addiction. What your indicating is a violation of human rights that is to treat pain, thats why it exist in the first place not for junkies or abusive personalities. WARNINGS ARE ALL OVER EVERY BOX.

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You have been able to live your life these past years without severe pain controlling every thought and movement you make. This sounds good. Without the fentanyl, The alternative life you would have lived these past years would not have been living. Chronic pain patients experience more of an existance, not a life. if fentanyl gave u the ability to live why do u wish u never went on it?

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First of all, I am so sorry about your son. Just tragic to lose a child no matter the age. But how much more devastating when it could've been prevented. I don't find that this medication is being handed out like candy. This medication is generally prescribed for patients who are tolerant to opiates. In other words, patients do not start out on this. If they do it's a very low dose. There are people that overdose on Fentanyl just like other opiates, both legal and illegal. People taking opiate medications as directed seldom die. Very seldom. While it is true that Fentanyl is extremely powerful, it is also true patch dosing is in micrograms and not milligrams for that reason. It is an excellent way to control chronic pain continuously at a consistent rate. I can tell you for me personally I was on a 12mcg patch to start because it was one of the few Medicare would cover. I have taken other pain meds in the past and do prefer the patch. All these meds are bad news when abused or combined with other drugs or alcohol, against doctors' orders. The truth is street drugs are an epidemic right now in this country, some laced with Fentanyl. So yes, addicts are dying even more. But Fentanyl is not close to the leading cause of opiate deaths. They all are potentially lethal when misused. Again I am so sorry for your loss. My son is a recovering opiate addict and losing him is my biggest fear.

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Then ask to get off of them silly! There are plenty of other medications for you & your physician to choose from that are equal to or stronger than the medication in these. I find it odd that you have this sort of reaction, as the peak release of fentanyl is far sooner than 60 hours later. It may be a psychosomatic reaction, which is why your doctor sent you for counseling. Counseling, esp. if you have an illness &/or chronic pain, is beneficial & you should be glad of it. Good luck.

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Hi Sue, just to set your mind at ease, I want you to know that very few drug companies make the fentanyl patches with the "resevoir" (gel) anymore. Most have changed to putting the meds in a sort of sticky matrix that cannot cause the release of more of the medication. In time, I'm hoping that they will also add naloxone to prevent abuse of any sort (as I've heard horror stories of the lengths people go to abuse them, which I will NOT discuss here, as I refuse to give anyone bad ideas!) I'm hoping that Naloxone will go over the counter & until then, be given to every patient on narcotic medications &/or be given a prescription for those who have family or friends that are drug abusers. Naloxone should be in every home, just in case! It's already saved millions of lives, why not make it easier to save more? I guess that rant is for another time & place, but I wanted to set your mind at ease that the fentanyl patches are being made very hard to abuse or mistakenly release too much medication.

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It is disturbing and scary. However...no offense to anyone but we owe it to ourselves to educate our minds before we start any new medication. How many mommies read the label on over the counter meds before giving it to the children.? Hopefully lots. But my point is for you to show yourself the same self love. Read before you take. We clearly have a blind trust in our doctors thinking that they would not give us anything that would cause us harm. Do we not realize the kick backs the doctors get from the Pharmaceutical companies? It's huge. From simple office supplies, to private banquets, automobiles, cash, vacations and whatever else the pharmaceuticals come up with to push their products. There have been many successful legal suits against the fentanyl patch makers because of wrongful deaths and personal injuries. I just read today that they paid out over 13.2 million for a death resulting from a recalled patch. The recalls occurred in 1994 and 2008. If it happened then it could still happen now. I believe the machine making the patches did not properly seal them and extra gel was released and absorbed cause a senseless fatality. Please feel free to anyone who wishes to express your concerns to the Alza Corp. who manufactures the patch and to Janssen pharmaceutical. By the way..both companies are owned by Johnson & Johnson. An individual like yourself will never stop the company from producing its fentanyl patch. No matter how dangerous it is. But an individual like yourself can educate others about the dangers of using it. If one person refuses it because of what you wrote, then you are like a super hero who possibly saved another person's life. Thank you for your post. It brought up some important issues.

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hello, im lexy & im honest enough to say im worried about being so blunt, ive been a victim of domestic violence with nerve damage and fibromyalgia in neck and back, my md referred me back on 150 micrograms of the fentanyl patch because i was on a hefty dose of methadone for chronic pain and im opiate tolerant. she referred me with a letter to a pain mgmt dr saying she's gotten off methadone, please put her on fentanyl, he did id change every 4 days instead 72 hrs,now at one dr visit from la to beverley hills i took a cab and lost my cab fare i was facing jail, that happened to me yrs ago. So I panicked. I asked a well to do looking woman if she wanted to buy a thousand dollar cell phone for 120$ cause i lost my cab fare. She called security. My pain dr wrote me a letter about embarrassing their staff and has put me through hell. Next week my md will give me another preauthorization for a pain mgmt dr that accepts my health ins. in the meantime i cant take it and less is more since ive been without.. i know you all gotta feel my pain, id never hurt myself, heck no. im in hell, why would i ever hurt myself and go there for eternity? I'm soooo sorry to be so bold but one more week for a new pain dr and preauthorization isnt doing it, talk to me pls. im on benefits very disabled, suffering.

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Have degenerative disk disease and sanosis, been in pain long time. I take 4 30mg roxys plus 2 10 mg hydrocodone per day. Doctor gave me .75 fintynal patch to try a couple weeks. They seem to really help with pain but are about impossible to stay stuck. I know not supposed to cover patch but for now I'm using a thin waterproof patch. Already wasted two patches so if I decide to get more I will order some coverings. My usual meds help ok but not perfectly, but after all I'm reading I'm not sure if I want to go down the patch road. Any insight would be helpful. Thx Chris

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Dear child of mine,I'm so sorry for your loss. My situation is exact except I lost my daughter to one moment of being overwhelmed by stress and 120 days clean. I am suicidal by guilt,I have other children but it doesn't make it better. I constantly live in extreme guilt. I cannot believe we are in the same exact tragic situation. May God grant us forgiveness for what we've done.

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I've always used the Tegaderm dressing to cover mine. It's probably what you're referring to as "a clear, waterproof covering". You can use anything like a bandaid, as long as it's breathable.

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I'm very sorry for your loss. Going from 25 mcg to 100 mcg in four months is absurd to me. I have chronic back pain and have been on 25 mcg for 3 years just to take the edge off so I could care for myself during the day while my husband is at work. It is also craziness to be prescribed 240 OxyContin per month for break through pain. It is doctors like this that we have all the regulations by the government. To others reading this, you must do what is best for you and do not take anything that your doctor prescribes without researching dosages and the drug's side effects prior to taking these drugs for pain. Take the bare minimum just so you can function. Pray each day to God to give you strength to face each day. I've been doing it this way for 8 years. God bless all of us who hurt every day.

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I have been on fentanyl / Duragesic since 2005 when i was not longer able to take oral opioids as my stomach lining was ...

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Hi I'm on 100 mcg I do know when they run but they don't seem to do much. What is better then this for osteo pai...

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my husband started getting his stuff from drs then went to 2 or 3 drs and paid outta picket then they foumd out and cut ...

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Hi All ~ Thanks for reading and possibly helping me out ! First a quick summery, 2 failed back surgery's, L3, L4, &a...

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Hi I'm on 100 I do know when they run but they don't desalt seem to do much what is better then this for osteo p...

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My father has recently started on these patches after a second full knee replacement and being on other pain killers for...

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Hi I'm on 100 I do know when they run but they don't desalt seem to do much what is better then this for osteo p...

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My husband ran out of his 50 mcg Fentanyl Patches on Monday. Today is Friday 12/11/09 and he is experiencing withdrawals...

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Can someone please tell me where I can find a doctor who is not afraid to prescribe fentanyl patches and 10/325 hydrocod...

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First let me start off by saying, I have definitely reduced my dosage from 3 100mcg to 2 100mcg patches. I am currently ...

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