Fentanyl Sweating (Page 2)
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I am a 33 yr old woman being treated by Pain Mgmt Dr. for chronic pain as a result of 3 failed elbow surgeries and nerve damage. My current dosage is 50mcg/hr every 48 hrs with up to 4 oxycodone per day for break through pain. I know the patch is suppose to be a good medication for pain control, but I am really considering asking to change to a different medication because of the sweating problems I have on the Fentanyl and I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I am constantly drenched sinced I have been on the patch. Dr tried hytrin to control sweating, but all that did was cause me to bloat. I tried HRT for a year to see if that would help...no luck, still sweating. I sleep with only a sheet over me and window open at night and still wake up soaked from sweat. If I do any physical activity at all I am drenched. The patch does seem to control the pain well, but I can't deal with beads of sweat rolling down my head all the time and my family is always freezing because I get so warm. Am I doing something wrong? I wear the patch on my upper chest, I use a tegaderm patch over it. I've tried the Mylan brand and now use the SanDoz brand. Has anyone else experienced this issue? I don't want to live my life in pain, but I can't take the sweating issue anymore!!! Is there a different medication that is time released like the Fentanyl Patch? My DR is a nice man, but doesn't always explain things too well and I don't have anyone to talk to about this. Thanks for listening.

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I am 60 and have been on 25 mcg for several years. Recently I change patch to every 48 hours. Since I changed from every 72 hours, I am sweating terribly day and night. I have read it is terrible to get off this patch so I have kept it a low dosage but still suffer from chronic pain.

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Paula Wenger you mentioned hysterectomy....are you on hormone replacement therapy??? I am on blood thinners and can't do HRT....I found out that, that also means no extended release opiates...Some pain docs don't care and will prescribe them anyway-I thinks it's called Medical Negligence..it can cause adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism....so be advised...

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Craig your doc is full of s***!! LISTEN UP FOLKS!!!! Extended release opiates cause adrenal insufficiency, gonadism and hypothyroidism....I stopped taking fentanyl and my breakthrough med use lowered....I was no longer fighting intradose withdrawal....The sweating??? A symptom of withdrawal!!! Oxy increases T levels so no all opiates don't ruin thyroids just extended release..without them I'm doing way better, and here I thought I needed 10 of them!!

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I too had the exact side effects from the fentanyl patch. It is truly debilitating and I couldn't live like that anymore. I tapered off the fentanyl, "brutal" took a complete 12 weeks before I felt human again. I'm just starting my 4th month off of fentanyl still taking 4-8 mg dilaudid. I tried going to vicodin, didn't help my pain enough. I have severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I have had two days without one hot flash, thank you God!! It's absolutely horrible feeling like you're burning up from the inside out. I was in the fentanyl patch for over 16 years, the last 4 I began to have the extreme sweating. Thinking it was hormones I went that route for 3 years until I figured out it was the pain meds. Hoping I can stay in the 4-8 dilaudid or not sure what I will do for pain control. I live in a state where cannabis is legal for recreational use. I use the cannabis candy lozenges for sleep or whenever I feel I need it, much better than smoking it. Good luck to all its a brutal road to go down.

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Kit yes! There have even been studies concerning menapausal women and extended release/abuse proof opiates, especially fentanyl! They have no business giving it to us due to hormone chaos and adrenal insufficiency. Unfortunately all they care about is being able to monitor us, not our health or safety!

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I had been on 75mcg fentanyl patch for over 15 years, plus Dilaudid for break through pain
Two years ago the sweating started. I thought it was hormones at first, but NO!!!
My pain mgmt dr confirmed yes the fentanyl will cause this side effect. They don't know why? I couldn't take the sweating and have been coming off the patch for 3 months. It has been brutal!!!!! To say the least. I'm at 8 weeks with no patch and finally starting to see improvement. Only a few hot flashes now, thank you lord!!!! I couldn't live that way. Now on dilaudid only for pain and trying to cope with more pain, much easier then the sweating. The sweating is debilitating!
My pain doc said definitely a side effect from all opiods. More pain but can cope. If I had to come off Febtanyl I would pay to go to a clinic for rapid detox, I will never go on fentanyl again unless I'm terminal, it was that bad!!!!
Good luck to everyone, there's no good solution. But at least I can get dressed and do my hair. Still extremely fatigued and get hot quickly, I'm told it will get better and better!!

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I agree since experiencing 5 spinal fusions due to car accidents I was given 100 much of Fentanyl. I have been on same dose now for 3 years and I also experience the same excessive sweating at times. I find a fan is the best approach to keeping the body from sweating, however the body after a period of time builds up a tolerance to this medication like it does to any med. It becomes less effective but works nonetheless. I plan to determine my Odin levels again by coming off the patch altogether and living with a level of pain over taking medication. I have determined this isn't a great quality of life to live with all the side effects and s society that labels anyone taking pain medication as an addict even those of us who have and are taking all pain medications as directed and never abusing the medication by taking more than prescribed. It isn't worth it to me and I would rather live with a level 6-7 out of 10 if possible in pain levels rather than living with a patch that reduces my pain levels to a 4-5. My surgeries were successful but any surgery will have a negative and permanent effect on the human body. Doctors and Surgeons are not Gods although some have Ego's equal to it when talking to them. I wish everyone well and remember we only have this one Earth Life and it is better to enjoy our children and posterity with a clear mind as is in free as possible than to deal with side effects that have such negative effects on our lives and alter our daily routines because of how the medications effect the human body. I have stopped this medication twice before following my first two surgeries however I was only on 50 mcg of Fentanyl however after a second accident where a lady ran a stop sign T-boning my car after kicking my son up from school the damage to my body was even worse. I was only 40 years old at the time, my last surgery was in 2013, a fourth fusion and second to my cervical C7 after one previously C5/C6 and two to lower lumbar at L5/S1 and L4. The less medication I am on the clearer my mind, my goal is to see how much pain I can live with and what alternatives I can find that will help me avoid the patch. Long term studies of Fentanyl show extreme dementia and cognitive deficits due to Fentanyl. I don't know about everyone else but so would rather live as long as I can with my mind intact having three wonderful children enduring pain than to live with this patch that has such dramatic side effects as the sweats, twitching, chills, fatigue and a huge loss of Testosterone which requires inj's. each week. For Men do not forget that all Opioids reduce your Testosterone which can lead to so many other problems you don't even begin to understand. It is Hell having to live with Testosterone levels at 53. Now that I take inj's. of 2cc of Cypionate every two weeks my levels are now between 500-625. Not bad but it helps so much believe me and if you have experienced the effects of Low T you know it is even worse than the sweats. I wish everyone the very best and whatever you decide do what is best for you and your Families.

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Tammy (of #14 above), I was switched from oxycontin to fentanyl patch. I also have a sweating problem. My Dr prescribes oxycodone for BT. When I have sweating, and my pain is Over 6/10, the pain sweat has me...I then take half of my 4hour oxycodone tab, and have noted that when I have to take Without Water (& the med starts to dissolve in my mouth), my pain relief is quick enough that it usually Stops my sweating. However, before the 2 hours, when can take the Other Half of the oxycodone BT, my pain goes back up above 6-8/10 (This is when I am in bed, trying to rest)... I then take the Other Half of the oxycodone BT, let IT dissolve in my mouth, and my pain, AND PAIN SWEAT, then go Down Again. I do not know why, only that (for me) sweating can be closely related to my pain level. I WAS on higher fent patch dose, with Soaking sweats most of time, tho I didn't have much BT for self-controlling (which I was/am most used to, from chronic pain treated with oral meds & BT for over 20 years, followed by 6+ years of rollercoaster on oral time-released With No BT), & I realize that requesting that my fentanyl be Reduced--which has increased my pain level & my month of being able to sleep up to 2 hrs at a time was given up--that I may not have been in this position of having to use more BT, HOWEVER, THIS IS how I became aware that my pain sweats could not only alert me to rising pain, but also to learn that my BT could actually drastically reduce my sweating, & usually Stop the sweating, WHEN I AM LAYING DOWN to rest. HOWEVER, WHEN I'M UP, the pain sweats are much harder to reduce with the Half of oxycodone BT tab, tho it Helps. *I note that the 75mcg was less pain, tho Must mention that when I feel "cozy, warm & able to sleep," that BEING COZY/WARM USES MORE OF MY PATCH, & ALSO I WAKE SWEATING, IN STRONG PAIN, & also note that THEN my patches stop working sooner! So warm/cozy reduces my pain to let me fall asleep, but laying still allows pain increase on side I'm laying on, so an hour of sleep still comes with a high price tag in the long run of the two days, & I have to tumble dry all I'm wearing & my pillows. I have to keep tissues & cloths over my pillow & to wipe my face, head & neck (baby wipes for torso, if can't get up to dry my clothes), then take BT & start all over. My pain is not yet under control, but maybe my experience can help you in some way. (BTW, My fentanyl use has been about 9 months, now. I was put on Oxycontin ER for over 9 years, just prior to fent. Something which may be of interest: My last Dr insisted upon changing my "manageable" pain plan of 20mg Oxycontin 4 Per Day--1 every 8 hrs, & 4th at Bedtime, With BT Lortab, & he changed to 40mg, 2 per day...THEN when didnt work, he withdrew all BT "to FORCE" my brain to "LEARN" the 12hr dosing...I started into Withdrawal Symptoms twice a day, as a result, & sweated so much that I can't determine if All opioids cause sweating, as I didn't have the sweating problem WHEN PAIN was Pretty Well managed on the 8hr Oxycodone with BT Plan which kept my pain at about 6/10, unless I did too much to cause pain to increase (&, with higher pain, came sweats). NEW Dr. tried 30mg oxycontin ER every 8 hrs, but NO BT. So, while rollercoaster mostly gone, Still didnt have pain below 8/10. That's when I was switched to the Fent patch of 50mcg. It didn't last 3 days, so Dr. tried increasing fent dose from 50 to 75; but after a month, still the fent dried to me on second day, & my pain shot up, so we dropped to 62--a 50+12mcg--That kept me from feeling the med, which is what I was going for, but I lost a few points of relief, on pain scale, & patches still dried & was like Only on the BT by latter half of day two. NOTE: When patches arent working, the pain sweats Are NOT stopped by the BT (neither is pain). So now change patch every 2 days, but I still have so much pain in the last 8-14 hrs of day two, that the BT can't control the sweating. Don't know what Dr plans to try next, but must add that the oxycodone BT brand starting with a "Z" doesn't work quickly as the brand starting with an "A" does, so the sweating is not quickly reduced on generic "Z" (sorry, battery quitting & I can't remember the manuf.names...also pain is over 8 so sweating & is time for BT.) Wow, I hope this helps you, or Anybody! God Be With Us All, & May Each Reader Have More Days of Controlled Pain, Than Not!

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I'm just going to get right to the point. WHY WOULD ANYONE LICK THE PATCH! Stop messing around just to feel high! Its not the medications fault that you stopped breathing and almost died its YOUR fault for misusing it. Come on! It's people like you that mess around doing stupid things that make it harder for the ones of us who are in serious pain and need these medicines. Furthermore, there is no way a you can alter your MRI so if your gonna make up a story at least make it a little more believable. STOP saying do not take Fentanyl because if you take it the way YOUR DOCTOR TELLS YOU TO it ready works well. Instead I will say stop being stupid and go to rehab! I have NO patience for this kind of stupid.

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Effexor, an antidepressant will stop hot sweats but cause false readings of other substances to show in U/A's--really it is due to too low a dose since sweats ARE a symptom of withdrawal...when I take an extra pill the sweats stop.

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pls don't swim sauna or the like. it warns you on the instruction booklet.
I am having terr night sweats and way past menopause and feel fine during the day. this is awful. I need to talk to my dr.

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WOW! I made an interesting discovery concerning the Fentanyl Patch and other extended release Abuse proof opiates. Every month I run out early of my oxycodone but thanks to patch never had withdrawal. I also was out of oxy while waiting for renewal of prior auth. for fent patch slthewhe suffering no ill effects. I started exercising and after three days had what I found out was a Cardio Crash. I was glued to sofa for three days then resumed my workout. Again after three days I had another Cardio Crash. This happened the following week and so far I have not returned to gym. Okay first: many are complaining of weight gain and lethargy and if not lethargy then a lack of motivation. Your pain contract may have a sentence claiming to have informed you of hormonal disruptions from the opiates. LIES! LIES! LIES! After searching I found article after article of peer review studies of women and EXTENDED RELEASE OR ABUSE PROOF OPIATES....men as well as women complained various symptoms such as weight gain, apathy, hot sweats, exhaustion, moodiness etc. doctors found that the chemical used to prevent abuse, especially found in Methodone and Fentanyl Patch attach to receptors that affect men's gonads and women's ovaries, if one remains. It sucks the adrenals therefore causing all the crap we all complain lost about namely weight gain and lethargy. They continued studies on men but stopped studying women due to: absorption and metabolism was so low in these instances that regular oxycodone wasn't showing up in U/As! So instead if looking further they simply discontinued the study making us victims of inaccurate studies and corrupt FDA analysis of tamper proof opiates. Basically they are giving us medication that disrupts homeostasis just for them to be able to monitor us. I'm trying to quit the patch because the last stage of the study before being canned they found that replacing the long acting for just oxycodone restored energy and caused the weight to fall off...I kept my last patch on gor one week then did not apply a new one for one week. I was up bright and early in the mornings, almost overnight I was back to my old high strung energetic fast paced self...I was also metabolizing my oxy too fast and my dose exceeded my already higher than prescribed dose. I'm rethinking a plan and was forced to put on a patch to get my oxy dose down. Ok so tonight is second night with patch again and I'm back to a mellow or more relaxed than normal for me self. LOL My oxy dose is where it should be. Ok so I'm ready to take my last two oxy (my roomie has a bottle of mine stashed that I'm going to forget about) ok so tomorrow there will be no morning pill and I'll act like I'm out of them. I'll just keep this patch on until it falls off and not replace it. In about two and a half weeks I'll begin taking my oxy again and hopefully not wearing the patch won't affect dosage this time. I know I can use the patch without oxy but since the patch is messing with my adrenals, I think it needs to go. Ok, going to take my last two. I'll let ya'll know how it goes. Oh!!!! During those two weeks thereby any sweats or hot flashes. And I left out the most important item: the women affected by this are menopausal women with at least one ovary left. Men too, something about gonadism.

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Wow...we in Northern Ireland get ALL.OUR MEDS 100% FREE

While I was living in Canada it was daylight robbery. Pain meds such as Fentanyl and hycodan were $1800 a.month. Absolutely piggin scandalous.

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Hi, I have been on 62mcg of fentanyl every 48 hrs for about 8yrs due to several problems causing uncontrolled pain. About 4 yrs ago I started menopause from a hysterectomy. About a yr ago my hot flushes changed. They weren't the same and hrt didn't help. After doing a lot of research and elimination I realised it was the Durogesic patches. Its hell. Up to 50-60 times a day I'm drenched in sweat then chills and freezing. Its currently 40 degrees and summer here and its getting worse. Its ruining what life I had. I can't go anywhere, sleep, and I am so fed up. Im no longer menopausal yet the flushes remain. Ive gone down in mcg's over the last couple of yrs and want off this nightmare. Each time I try to taper down the effects are so bad. Even getting close to time to change the patch I get withdrawals. I figure they aren't lasting due to all the sweating. Some days I feel withdrawal symptoms all day until I change the patches. I also have 10mg oxycontin for breakthrough pain that I can take whenever needed but I generally don't take them as I don't want more drugs to have to come off. I hate these drugs. I wish I'd never gone on it. My life has changed so much because of them. I look older, drawn in the face, no energy, no longer have a sense of humour, no libido ( not that it'd help since its too painful to be touched). My beef is I was never told when starting this how bad they are or what the side effects are. We should be told. Its not all on the leaflets or web. I was told it would be a long term thing but had I known how bad it was id have thought very seriously about starting. People need to be educated regarding meds. Its such a negative life changing thing..for me at least. Yes the pain is somewhat less but the effects far outway any benefit im getting. I'm still suffering lots of crippling pain, so I have decided I'm going off them as soon as I can. Ive been told the withdrawals can last for yrs even after stopping. I hope not. I can't take much more of this on top of the daily pain. I wish someone could help us. Sorry for the long rant. Ive never told anyone of this hell. Its a dam bursting! I hope you find the relief you need.

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I am so glad to see this post . I also am on fentanyl patches and recently increased to 50mcg.a month ago.
I also am suffering from profuse sweating followed by cold sweats to the point where I think I'm dying. None of the side effects state anything about this problem. I keep my air at below 70. This happens frequently but doesn't last long. I'm awakened constantly with this, get up and turn the air to 60.
I thought I was loosing my mind and started taking more Xanax thinking it was anxiety.

The good thing is my pain is gone but I don't think it is worth it.mim going to make appt with Dr and go back to 15 or 25 and get off it.

Thank you again
Karen

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I have the exact same sweating problems

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I'm giving hubby detox bath every day veiken femur 6 months on fentanyl patch weaning him SUCKS... DETOX. bath HELPS. HOT WATER, 1 CUP EPSOM SALTS, 1/2 CUP BAKING SODA..... COUPLE DROPS OF ORANGE OIL. stay in as least 10 min. Out will help with the sweating. I got to turn on the heater for the 1st x today!

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Bella good news! While on the patch you shouldn't go through withdrawal except for increased sweating--since being on patch I've not had diarrhea, cramps, restless, leg, or any other withdrawal symptoms except the sweating and I run out early every month

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I'm trying to keep track of my own sweating since being on the patch and honestly, it seems to kick in when I'm low on my breakthrough meds near the end of the month, so I'm going with my original theory that doses are too low..sweating is a symptom of withdrawal and I never sweat if I still have enough oxycodone each day--while on patch

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I had the same problem and had to stop using it

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