Fentanyl Patches Killing People! (Page 6)
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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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As I just came off these god aweful patches which I've used for three years, only five days ago. After weaning down from 150 mg every 48's to every three days, then down to 50's and 25's, until done with this unbearable process of getting off them completely. It has been the worst physical experince I ever endured.
I also question why this drug is so freely given. With no resources for detox, and many Dr's not understanding the process of weaning down. This has been a nightmare, and I'm still extremely uncomfortable after five days. My advice to anyone offered this pain med to talk openly with your Dr about using something less harsh to come off of.

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I have been on the Fentanyl patch for several years. I have been prescribed changes every two days and three days. It is an option to the prescriber.
I have Blue Cross/Blue shield and they will authorize 15 patches per month with a request from your pain doctor and some history.

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I am so sorry about your son. I lost my daughter not long ago. No parent should have to bury their child. I can see that you care very much for people and you don't want what happened to your son to happen to anyone else. I am on Fentanyl patches and 10-325 Percocet for break through pain and am very thankful for both. Sweetie It would be great that terrible pain only come at the end of our lives but this is not the case. I have so much pain that I have thought of suicide before my doctor was wise and put me on the patch. I know talking suicide is a heavy thought but I bet that many people on this forum have thought the same thought. At the end of my daughters life I put Fentanyl patches on her among other medications. She fought to live to her last breath. So sorry about your son, God bless you.

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Li, sorry to hear this . i had a cage in 2000 and it was fine for 5 years and i developed scarring around the surgery site.. NOT GOOD.. more pain now than ever and need to live the rest of my days on these darn man made drugs or live in unbearable pain.. some people do not develop scar tissue. i developed major scaring around the surgery site pressing on nerves and there is nothing they can do other then go in and scrap out the scarring.. which additional surgery may end up developing more scar tissue rinse repeat.. need i say more.. leave well enough alone.. thanks to a head on collision in 1995.. no more help here.. just deal with it..

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Because it works for people like me
When used as directed
Tylenol kills more people every year and its still on the market
Sorry for your loss

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BevMar, have you tried Lyrica? I had terrible nerve pain in my left leg and tried Neurontin and the Lyrica is so much better at relieving nerve pain and just overall pain.

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I too am sorry for your loss, however taking this medication off the market is not the answer. First of all I would have to assume there was abuse going, secondly he would have had to over exaggerate his pain level to the PM Doc, and third the Pain management doc and your son are responsible. I have Degenerative Disc Disease, have had three back surgeries, and my only option left is a permanent spinal cage to support my spine with rods and pins that will limit my mobility greatly. I am only 43 y.o. I do not feel high from my pain meds, am too on the Fetalnyl Patch, plus morphine IR for breakthrough pain. I have prayed for just one day to wake up and hop out of bed w/o pain. I wish to not to have to take the highest dose of muscle relaxants just so my legs and feet don't trip me up. A simple shower can leave me exhausted. If I push myself I am down for 2 or 3 days after. People Abusing narcotics has made it so difficult for us who truly need these medications to get what we need. When Pain Management at Temple Hospital told myself and my husband that they had nothing to offer me in the way of long term pain management ( i.e. nerve blocks etc.) because my condition is so severe I became hysterical. Do you think anyone wants to have to take pills that allow me to just urinate at free will because it is a side effect, or to become so impacted with fecal matter that she has to ask her husband to help her by putting gloves on to help her manually remove a BM? I could be on a different Cocktail that were not so extreme had abusers not ruined it for those of us in need. Percocet is nearly unreachable by PM, as is Vicodin ( unless for breakthrough). I do not want to be high but if being able to function as best as I can I need these meds. My belief is that once the body accepts this and realizes its being introduced to relieve that pain the HIGH dissipates. However if you do not truly need these medications your body will continue to ask for more and mmore and more to keep that Euphoric feeling. It is just like a H user starting their habit with a bag a day until they are chasing that first high with bundles of dope. So someone is lying here...

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I understand about working on nerve pain. My wife has been on the patch for 15 yrs
for Fibro, With Ohio setting up safe guards against this medicine. Doctors no longer
want to write the script. Pain management clinics say deal with it. Because the go home at night pain free. She has sevre bulging disk, starts shots tomorrow. No help from the Fentanyl patch

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OKAY, I'm as about fed up with this discussion as I can get. Someone died from improper use of the drug. That's tragic, but that does not mean that it should be prohibited. Also, it is NOT handed out like candy, it's kind of tough to get a prescription for the drug.

NOW...I HAD A FRIEND OF MINE DIE FROM TRYING TO SWALLOW TOO BIG A PIECE OF STEAK. SHOULD STEAK BE TAKEN OFF THE MARKET? PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM EATING FOOD TO WHICH THEY WERE ALLERGIC. SHOULD WE MAKE FOOD ILLEGAL? A FELLOW HAM RADIO OPERATOR DIED WHEN HE PUT HIS HANDS WHERE THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN...HE WAS ELECTROCUTED, SHALL WE PROHIBIT THE USE OF ELECTRICITY?

Do you see now that anything can kill...such is life.

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I'm sorry you lost your soon. But, fentanyl is the only reason my parents still have a daughter and my soon still has a mother. You do not have to be a cancer patient or terminal in order to have pain so bad you will take your own life.
Please don't be selfish because of your loss. If you campaign against this medicine and it gets pulled, you will be causing countless deaths from people who cannot live with the pain anymore.
Fentanyl 50mcg has given me back to my family!
If you must campaign for something, then please take action with medicine education! Don't take something away that is helping a great many people.

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I am so deeply sorry that Fentanyl killed your son. There is no pain more difficult in my opinion on your loss. I fractured my neck and have a plate holding my cervical spine in place. I have 6 fracture on my T-spine (mid back). Three surgeries on my lower back. If it wasn't for the Fentanyl patch I would not be on this earth today.I'm in such bad pain I a grown man cries everyday. I do not abuse any drugs what so ever. I don't drink or smoke. The fentanyl is the only medicine that has help me live. it is really sad that Opioids killed a over 12 thousand people a year due to abuse. What upsets me is that Cigarette smoking kills 443. 000 people in the United States every year and its legal to buy anywhere. Alcohol kills 75,00 Americans a year and it's legal. I wonder why it so easy to get Cigarettes and Alcohol which kills so many people in the United states and the world and the people like myself are treated like criminals just to help me get by just because I need to use a Precription drug to kill my pain to live a better life. There is definitely something wrong with this picture. Again I am so sorry for the loss of your son and my prayers go out to him and family. God bless

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100 mcg/hr is perfectly safe. Don't sweat getting hooked, you already are hooked, m'friend. People can get hooked even at 25 mcg/hr. But don't sweat the small stuff. If you're anything like me, you'll be on these things for the rest of your life. Fentanyl isn't handed out like candy the way one rightfully upset gentleman said; physicians only give it out to patients who can handle it and know how to change their patches properly. Death happens when they are misused. However, the patches are designed to be replaced every 72 hours, not 48 hours.

But, if that is what your doctor said, you've got to follow his directions. My insurance will not pay for more than 10 patches a month. However, I'm having breakthrough pain so I'm going to ask for a 25 mcg upgrade next week.

I'm also using Neurontin for breakthrough but it isn't doing much. If you have, as I suspect, chronic pain, you may be interested in the social networking pages for Chronic Pain, we're all in this together.

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I concur, mylan is not the only company who uses the no gel method of manufacturing.. but it is a safe guard against leaking patches.. just thought i would throw my 2 cents worth on the post.. misuse is definitely a primary reason for this drug to get a BAD label.

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First, any death from any drug is deeply regrettable. However, the Fentanyl patches have the potential for fatal instances when it is misused. It is the misuse OR the leaking of the gel within the patch that can cause death.

The potential for leaking is why I prefer to use the patches that are made by Mylan, the drug is embedded into the patch's matrix and is not directly available. It is the safest patch on the market.

HOWEVER, it is not handed out like candy by any means. I am the leader of a neuropathy group, out of 75 people, I am the only one who has been prescribed Fentanyl. Doctors are AFRAID of the damned things. Although I have used Fentanyl at the level of 50 mcg/hr for five years, it has NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER on my spinal pain, ZERO. Fentanyl seems to work differently on different people, in my case, it only works on nerve pain. People who know me will give credence to the fact that I have a LOT of nerve.

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Dear Child of Mine, while my sincerest condolences go out to the loss of your son, I know I would be lost if ever I had to live with the loss of my own no matter how old they are, it would be the end of my life, although I would not end my life, i would loose faith in life and living, but somehow I would try to go on for the sake of those who love me.
While I can certainly understand your plight, Fentynal, is safe provided the care provider uses caution and certainly 100 MG is far too strong a dose no human could endure. I have been on 25 mcg 50 mcg and 75 mcg every 2 days. within the limits of these dosages this drugs is certainly SAFE. outside of them I can not say for certain other than my personal experience, and certainly the withdrawal which I have been victim to more often than not, is something that no person should have to endure once let alone as many times as I have due to the controversy and restrictions they are placing on this medication.
While I do not say that this drug should be taken lightly, I also do not say that is should be removed or taken off the market, as for those who suffer with conditions that are terminal and severe, this is one of the only drugs that will provide relief to them.
I do know for a fast back in 2005 there was a batch of fentynal patches they deemed to be "killer" patches due to an error in production. I have been on this drug since that year, and I happened to get a number of prescriptions from a particular drug company that I refused to ever take again as they made me feel very ill and strange at the same time,,IE. heart racing palpitations, cold clammy sweating, I have previously suffered from silent heart attacks and this was very similar to the symptoms one has when having a silent heart attack. I refused to ever fill a script made by this company and never will, i would sooner do without and suffer the withdrawal than accept a script filled by them. I do not know the underlying circumstances surrounding your son's misfortune, yet there are other drugs that people claim have taken their family, and they find that there was underlying or hidden medical issues that no one was aware of. but as I said the dosage you posted was enough to kill an elephant unless that was an error. I have never had 100 mcg's and I dont plan to ever go that high a dose although i know people who do , I personally will not i would sooner feel a little pain than get that addicted to a narcotic medication. I am actually in the process of moving to a state where there is medical marijuana and i will get off the man made narcotics as soon as possible since i know it has screwed up my entire digestive system to the point i have no choice but to remain on it until i can legally ingest POT as an alternative treatment for pain.
Your son is no longer in pain and at peace where he is now.. rest on that thought. I look forward to the day I may be free of pain and at rest.. as most in pain do..

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I had been prescribed Fentanyl patches for severe pain. My 19 year old son consumed 1-100 mg patch at bedtime I found our beloved Kyle slumped over his computer 10 hours later DEAD. Cause of death Fentanyl toxicity. This was in 2004 very little information about this drug was readily availabe.What can a mother say its been close to 10 years of self loathing, suicidal thoughts in the past. This drug can and has killed children granted he was an adult but in that one vulnerable moment we have experienced the worst loss imaginable. Fentanyl users use with extreme caution. I welcome comments.

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i honestly have to concur with you as far as this being a medication that should remain accessible to those who really need it and as far as the directions NO ONE should TAKE IT UPON themselves to alter the dosage without direction of a medical professional. including and not limited to pharmacy and insurance company guidelines and regulations requiring those who are prescribe it to stop it suddenly due to approval, I.E. prior authorizations. In the past 2 years I had undergone withdrawal more often than actually being ON the medication and it was wreaking havoc with my entire bodily functions. finally this year a patient on medicare can call in their own prior authorizations and not rely on the medical professionals. a major change in regulations which will prevent unnecessary suffering on the patients part due to delay in handling these "prior authorizations". Loss of Life due to a medication is not acceptable, yet there are usually other factors found after investigating that may or may not have to do with the substance itself, such as allergies, misuse and or adverse affects and interactions with other medications.. Fentynal patches should not be used in conjunction with other Opioids there are "compliance" contracts the patient makes with professionals that prohibit the use of other narcotics while using this particular medication. Personally, I have to take a narcotic test on demand every so often at the request of my physician to make certain I am not using any other prescriptions while under his care if found to be on anything outside of his prescribe medications I will be black listed from treatment permanently. they do have guidelines and laws for those who misuse these highly regulated medications. This is fyi and others I do not think they should ban this medication nor make it impossible to obtain for those who NEED it. but making certain that people who are prescribe this and any narcotic should be clearly outlined and explained so that abuse or misuse is not possible.

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I had much the same experience as you described. Finally I did find a wonderful doctor at USC in Los Angeles. They have a great pain management clinic and my doctor is the head. His name is Dr. Stephen Richeimer.

I was 29 when I was injured and am now 44 and living with my parents in SC. Not what I'd planned for my life. But the pain and the effects and side effects have made this the only solution. My parents try to understand but can't. They nag me about sleeping too much.

If you're in CA, get yourself a medical marijuana card ASAP!

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I AM TRULY SORRY to hear of your loss, as for the patches they are not reportedly a problem but there was a batch of them now titled "the killer" patch I am sure you filed a law suit with an attorney as this was all over the news for months in 2007. when i was feeling a sense of tenseness and jumpiness increased heart rate, I fortunately took them off and reported it to my pain management doctor and they told me not to use the sandoz brand as i must have an allergy to them this was in 2006 later to hear about the law suit against the product. I have since learned to only use watson and mylan brand and as for side affects the only ones i have is from withdrawal as the guidelines and pre authorizations tend to have me going through withdrawal every month and I back down on the strength because the withdrawal on top of the pain is too much to deal with i think they are ridiculous with the hurdle one need to jump in order to get this drug. without this medication i may as well just pray for the end because i can not move of get out of bed and the pain is so intense i wish and pray for death i am presently on 50 mcg every 2 days if i can get the script filled which lately has been far too traumatic and withdrawal is every month this year so far.

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Hi, I'm really sorry about your son, may he rest in peace. But if it weren't for fentanyl lozengers aka actiq, I would probably be dead by now. I suffer from Arnold Chiari Malformation (failed decompression brain surgery), Pseudotumor Cerebri (v.p. shunt placed), Ischemia and Gliosis of the brain, 3 autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus (why I can't use patch), and most recently multiple sclerosis), also compressed vertebrae and my c1 arch was removed. I also suffer from many unrelated health conditions. I ran the gambit of medications starting with things like vicodin n darvacet. After many years they all stopped working. I take the fentanyl lozenges made specially for me at a compound pharmacy and are sugarfree. I take 1200 mcg's 4 a day and 95 mg of ms-contin 3 times a day. Without these meds and the others I take I wouldnt even be able to stand. As it is I still have pain, but most of the time I can deal. I'm only 41 and have been on them for over 8 years. I regret the years I took the name brand actiq because they rotted my teeth from the inside out and I had to lose them all, but I have 5 children, my youngest is 3, if I didn't have my meds, I would never be able to do anything with them. I don't know what your sons back pains were caused by, but most drs. Wont prescribe fentanyl for something that's not extremely serious or painful and usually try many many things first. Was that the case with him? And if I could only get it in hospital or hospice setting it would mean losing my family whom I love very much and who all feel the same towards me. Was your son taking more then he was supposed to? Fentanyl is strictly for cancer breakthru pain and for people who are extremely opiod tolerant. It is NOT a medication to be prescribed for post surgery or minor things. But it should definitely NOT be taken off the market! If used correctly it is a fantastic medication.

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