Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 12)
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I'm trying to wean myself off the Fentanyl patch. I went from 75 micro-gms to 50 now I'm on 25. Having a problem and not sure it is related to the decrease in the med. It's been 20 days on the 25 micro-gm and I'm going crazy. I need to keep rocking, moving in any way b/c my body is very restless. Is this a symptom of withdrawal and what do I do? I cannot take it any more.

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I just to congratulate you on your quick success. Yours is very good information but one should bear in mind that you were so very, very fortunate to have few withdrawal issues. Regardless, very positive uplifting information. Horror stories make everyone apprehensive. It is good to have as much info as possible though because when withdrawals cause so much discomfort, it is comforting to know what others have gone through and succeeded.

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Sunshine ( and all coming off Fentanyl patches). After 7 years of increasing doses and frequency of Fentanyl patches I am 9 months free and have my life back. I did it on my own, as the drs said I couldn't do it without suboxone or methadone. I refused that. I did this by, instead of removing the entire backing before sticking it to me, I'd leave a sliver of the backing on, where less of the patch stuck to me. Each patch change I'd leave a little more backing so less and less patch was stuck to my skin. The drs said it wouldn't work. It did work. As I was able, I increased the time between changes. Within two months I had such a small sliver stuck to me I had to tape it on. I left the last sliver until it dried up and cracked. I took it off Sept 3rd of last year and am still free. I had some horrible restless leg for two weeks after, but it was because I was out of my hydrocodone. I quit that as well. It can be done! Good luck quitting!

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Hi I've been reading lots of post on here and wanting to see if everyone could give me the best way to come off fentanyl patch 100 I don't think its helping a real lot with my pain I have a undiagnoised muscle disease with lots of severe muscle spams and the muscle will knot up and stay forever and they are even in my scalp so bad I've been on these for approx 3.5 yrs and I had no ideal what my dr was doing when she put me on these I didn't know they was so hard to get off of or any of this I also take percert 10 for break though pain I don't take but maybe 2 a day but I'm still having loads of pain but seems like its worse in some ways than before I started AS I SAY IN SOMEWAYS but I'd love to get off this stuff as I'm terrrifed of what I've done and didn't RELIZE what the dr was getting me into please if anyone knows best for me and where I can read or how's best way to ask my dr to do this she's only NP doctors I don't think she would know how to do it I'm so sick knowing what I've got my self into as I've never used drugs before this all happened to me in my muscle s I would feel great to just know how's best way to do it so I can direct her somewhat are know what to do about each withdrawn please help

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Hi, I feel for your pain and troubles. I have been thru all the same s*** with Fentanyl. I was on 150 mcgs plus oxy neo and Percocet. After ten years of feeling like a zombie and still having pain. I got real sick from missing some doses and finally went to emerg. They took me off all narcotics. After 3 weeks of extreme withdrawal and I quit smoking I left the hospital. It's a sick cycle because my back pain started to get worse again. I refuse to go on Fentanyl again. I highly recommend staying away from it at all costs. Now I am taking long and short acting dilaudid. Still not helping but I have a brain and can make better decisions. I really don't know if one is better than the other. Usually once u start it u just keep going up in dosage. Good luck and God bless us all.

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How are you doing coming off patch?? Unfortunately he took me down to 25mg then after 3 days I could put back on another for 5 days then leave off. We, my husband and I , decided too why come all the way down and start again ya know??
It has been a real nightmare my ulcers and ibs were already in a flare up then this... Anyway I started this on thurs. by sun. I was in ErR for severe abdominal pain and stomach was burning,knowing, burning, cramping that would not stop. Sat.night I was throwing up and oh my word it hurt so bad..... They did help me and stopped it all went home later sun. and actually got some sleep.... My new pain management Dr., is the one who did this the doctor in ER also, said I had developed shingles, which I have had prior episodes..... Just one more thing with this yea me such is life prayer and scripture cold packs and my loving husband is the only thing to get me through this...... Yes, he, the Dr. In ER did give me something to take home for shingle however we discussed and so as to not break my contract with PMangement Dr...I did choose not to take home anything and would get in touch w/PmanageDr.. Saw mon. My internal medicine Dr. He wasn't sure that he felt that I had just started or caught at end of shingles. Is now tues. morning P/manage.Dr. still has not contacted pharmacy about new script of Lyrica or anything else.. Have to wonder does he really care?? He took me off 5 meds.. in which I had a F/Patch
Of 50mcg. Which always lasted 2days then a 25mcg. for 11/2 days, I too was having severe side effect of patch... Sure will be better but for now more lost sleep and pain... Good luck with urs be praying for u...

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Try using a 25mg and a 12mg patch which adds up to 38mg. This will help you wean off slower and help with the withdrawal. It's what I did and the clonidine worked wonders.

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Can anyone please tell me the best way to get off of Fenanyl 50 mg patches without all the major withdraws? My doctor and I talked about rehab but my local rehabs said they only use clonidine and that didn't help be with the major effects. I still had restless and serious feet pain couldn't sleep just going from 50mg to 25mg. I went once without my patch for just 24 hours when my script couldn't get filled and had to go to the emergency room. I would appreciate any help.

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I came off the patch in July after four years of wearing from 150 mcg to 25mcg. It is now November and I still do not feel completely normal. I take Norco as needed. My doctor will put me back on Fentanyl any time but I refuse to give in. I've read it can take from six months to a year to totally reset your body. Don't give up! Keep on moving forward!

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I was on 125 fentanyl patches, I had 100 patch and a 25 patch. I easily cut down the 25 patch by snipping little bits of every couple of weeks. I have started doing the same with the 100 patch but now that I'm at about 85 percent of it my back pain is coming back. I went to my gp last week and explained what I was doing and that my pain has increased and that I'm feeling really tired and stroppy all the time. His answer was to go back up to 100 percent and that I'd be best staying on fentanyl forever now I've been on it nearly 4 years and am worried about what it is doing to my insides. Also when having gallbladder surgery a few months back the pain killers they gave me were like eating smarties, they didn't touch my pain from surgery so they had to give me high doses of morphine. They said I had a extremely high tolerance to pain medication and needed extremely high doses now. This also scared me and made me want to come off fentanyl totally. My only problem now is .....what other pain free methods are out there for me, my gp and hospital pain management have said there's nothing else they can do. I have had nerve burning twice, inj's. 3 times and several other medication and fentanyl or morphine are the only things that work. I'm in a real difficult position and was wondering of there's anyone else in the same situation. I'm at the end of my tether now and could do with some help please and advice

HellsBells

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I have finally made it! After a year of weaning myself off the patch and a couple of false starts I have been patch free for 2 weeks now. Physically the withdrawals have been doable but the mental part has been tough. Low energy, depression and anxiety can be brutal at times, all through out the weaning off process. Was wondering if anyone else is experiencing the something? I know it will take a couple of months to get it out of your system totally. I got off percosets last summer and I felt like crap for about a month and half and then one day everything just felt so much better. I'm hoping the same thing will happen with the fentanyl. I was on the 75mcg patch for 5 years, I don't know if there is a way to calculate the time in normally takes but I can't wait to finally feel normal again.

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Thank you for advice but cannot take it due to high blood pressure meds. Apparently it is too dangerous. I have settled at 25 mcg Fentanyl now for the winter. When trying to reduce for second time a horrible flare up of FM occurred and kept me in bed. At this point it seems lesser of two evils.
Thanks again for trying to help.

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Yvonne, so sorry you're discouraged and join the club! I am so torn, I am thinking what next. Able to function for about four hours every morning when I race around baking, walking round the block, bit of housework or gardening, then I'm done. Lying down for next six or so hours, come better about 7 and bed at 11. The pain is hard to cope with, I use Panadol 4hrly and Celebrex (in NZ it is not funded and costs $70nz a month) and not sure if it's even doing a dang thing anyway. Sometimes, just sometimes I look at my packets of Fentanyl and want to give in, but I won't! most of the time I had limited movement and not great quality even when on it and at least no sweating and brain fog now. I hope you get some good days again as I wish for all of us. Take care. (Hope this posts as the site hasn't worked for me for ages until yesterday. Just wouldn't accept my posts. )

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Lol, Yvonne....I'm Pentacostal too.....no snakes!

Congrats on your opiate decrease/cessation. I am hoping one day I can get off hydrocodone but can't even try for a few months. There are some things that need done first. Surgery to fuse my left SI joint was, I say WAS what they wanted to do. I declined. I had my right side fused and, although it was a success from how bad I was before hand, it isn't good enough for me to want to do it again! ( on the other side, I mean). It was pure hell at first. Now I have flare ups but it is way better than before surgery. But, I still don't want to go through it again! There has got to be another way to go about living with my left side hurting. Just to say, if I had to do it over, I definitely would have the first surgery done because of how I was with the injury....I just don't feel that I'm at the point that surgery should be my only option just because it was for the right side. I'm still praying for healing but God also gives us doctors and such for a reason!

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Eunice....ask your doc for clonidine , it helps with the chills and "creepy, crawly skin feeling" there are also other things you can try with that and that's potassium, magnesium, good multivitamin, vit B complex.......well, google this, The Thomas Recipe. I have heard good results from people in wd's from opiates. I won't say it will make you feel wonderful but I guess it does help with a lot of symptoms. Another thing is Gatorade which has electrolytes and immodium. Yes, it's for diarrhea but it helps with other symptoms as well. Good luck.

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Hi Brad....I know this is 5 years old but in case anyone is still reading. I went off 50mcg phentanyl in 2003 cold turkey! I was the worst 2 months of my life! Restless arms & legs that you can't even explain! My dr tried methadone as a long acting pain med but all it did was made me vomit for 5 days! I have only tried phentanyl twice, a couple weeks each time, but the first time I was on Vicodin for break through so I didn't go through withdrawls. I had been on either Vicodin or oxycodone since 2001. Anyway! The second time trying phentanyl is when I went off CT! I don't suggest that method....I survived, of course, but was in hell for 2 months! The only long acting I can take is MS Contin and I prefer not to take it at this point. I was put back on Percocet a little over 2 weeks ago, made by Actavis which is a whole new talk show in & of itself! Anyway, I'm back on Norco (generic though) and although it's not the best for my pain I will not go back to Percs after what I went through and am still going through after being off them for almost a week! I feel for all of you that have endured withdrawls but it is even worse when you have to go through them due to FDA/DEA BS and the crappy generics they are making so it's not even your choice! There are non narc meds to help with WD's and a person should talk to their doc about them.

Now, to the person who said most addicts were at one time chronic pain patients.....that is absolutely false. Only 1% of chronic pain patients become true addicts. I'm not getting down on you & I hope, after all this time, you still check these threads, but just because a person goes through withdrawl does not mean they are narcotic addicted. I know YOU didn't say this but so many, even docs & nurses have said this and that is BS! A body being physically addicted ( dependent) on narcotics, benzo's or anything that can cause withdrawl WILL go through it if stopped suddenly & sometimes even when weaning. That is completely different than addiction as addiction is a physical AND mental process! Some nurses even claim there is very little to no difference between dependence and addiction. Well, I am a nurse and they are full of it! These nurses have never learned about chronic pain! These are the kinds of nurses that believe learning stops at graduation, if you know what I mean! WRONG! If there is always one thing consistent about medicine/the med field is that it is continually changing. People need to do their homework ( research) before stating things that are not true. I'm sure you've seen plenty of that around here and if you've been on other forums. I agree with what you said that not everyone can be opiate free! I am hoping I will be able to be but most days I have my doubts. It won't stop me from trying, though. But, I want to be free of them so I can get back to my nursing, which that might not ever be possible but I'm not ready to accept that yet. I'm only 46 years old! Narcotics don't mess with my brain anymore but you have to pass a drug panel to get a job most places. Even if I had to just take them at bedtime after working all day, I could handle that but I don't know if an employer could! Rock and a hard place, I tell you!

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LynneB, I am still Fentanyl free, thank God. Still sometimes have to take half a pain pill. And my xanax .25, for anxiety. Sadly, I'm pretty much back to being unable to do anything most days. Its so discouraging.

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I have been trying to post on here for months and will try once more. Finally finally off the fentanyl and on lorazepam 1mg nightly so I can sleep. Sadly the pain is quite bad but I no longer have the sweats, the foggyness and the awful constipation which ended up causing me so many problems I have episodes of diverticulitis I never had before and had no clue I even had diverticulosis until a colonoscopy last month! My head feels clear for the first time and I can drive again. Hope everyone is doing good. Best to Yvonne and Sid, hope and pray you guys are coping x

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Are you sure that being on the patch and Hydro at the same time is safe? Fentanol represses your respiratory system and other powerful drug mixed with it can stop your breathing altogether, especially in your sleep. Even if your doctor says it's okay, please double check with your pharmacist. Many times they know more about the drug, symptoms, and interactions with other drugs. Doctors cannot keep up with all the new drugs and new side effects coming out every year. Your pharmacists job and only job IS drugs. Remember, always be your own advocate and go somewhere else if your body and mind are telling you something isn't right. I wouldn't count on a month being enough time to go off the patch, but only you really know what works for you. You have to remember, though, that it's not really all about will power, it's about your physical and mental health as well. Withdrawal too quickly or too soon can literally kill you. I'm a stay-at-home mom with MS and epilepsy. I'm not a health expert, but just have 15years experience with many different pain killers, ep. drugs, and anti-depressants. I've done a lot of my own research, got second and third opinions, and found a doctor I can really trust. I am also withdrawing from the patch. I was on 100mg for 2 years, went down to 75mg for 4 wks., then 50mg for 2 wks., and am now on 25mg. I hope 2 weeks will do it, but if I need a little more time, I won't hesitate to go to the doctor. I truly wish you all the best. God Bless You!!

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Eunie, I'm just seeing your message for some reason. I'm sorry. No, I didn't have sweating, I was freezing all the time. Still am. Withdrawals are very cruel. Addiction is misery! I'm addiction free at this time, praise God! I've now gotten past the need for hydrocodone to get me through and three weeks free of my patches! It feels so good!
Cutting doses by 50% is too much. I left the backings on except for 1/3 of each patch and cut down by thirds.

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Hi Mary--hopefully by now you have found help. This site keeps reporting old messages! I have tried to respond b4 but never see them. Withdrawal is cruel....and my dr as well as others do not know what he'll it is. I was told to 'stop dwelling on withdrawal symptoms!" Wow---how can we when our bodies are going nuts! I am back to 25 mcg patches and I still have withdrawal diarrhea, hot flushes and back pain if I try to work at housework or walking/pool exercises. I need a break and that is why I am staying at 25 patch for awhile but when withdrawing again to 12.5 plan to tape off small portions on the med side of the patch and very very gradually increase the amount taped off until I reach zero. My dr also says withdrawal symptoms shouldn't last so long but they DO....at less for some of us. Take clonazepam for anxiety--it is non habit forming like Valium is addictive!!!! We were mid age when doctors started handing out opiates for pain. Now they now the dangers of addiction and young people stealing drugs. Doctors have done a complete reversal and now tell us we can't take these pain drugs anymore. Exercise, acupuncture, warm water pool exercises are to help us cope---WHENEVER we can get rid of the torture of withdrawal. I wish you health and peace!

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