Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 13)
(Newest replies first)

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.

REPLY

REPORT

Hi Yvonne-- please tell me if you had horrible sweating. I am soaking wet all day and then chilled at night. My doctor thinks it might be my BP meds but I think it is fentanyl. He wants to leave me at 25 patch to help me cope with chronic pain which I still have. I don't want oxycodone or any other type of narcotic! I am allergic to morphine. My plan is water exercise and walking but some days hurt soooo much!
So happy for you! I would have been finished with fentanyl too if I could have occasional narcotic but he is so afraid of addiction to another opiate. I hate being likened to an addict. At emergency one crusty doctor thought I was just after narcotics when I was in such a state of withdrawal a few months ago. He was cruel.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I'm so excited to say that after 7 years I am 19 days Fentanyl patch free! Hallelujah. I can't describe the joy and freedom I feel. I go next week to my pain Dr and he is going to flip! He was expecting dropping to the next dose, wearing that dose for a few months, then jumping off to Suboxone. I said no way! He didn't have any faith in my tapering method and he said so, but I believe he thought he'd humour me. I can't wait for my appt with him next week. Going to thank him for being so wonderful, tell him I won't be needing him anymore and get my last script of hydrocodone. I'm down to half a day and one .25 of xanax every couple of days. I'm done with this hamster wheel! I feel better every day and haven't been this happy in years!
I'm thrilled to see so many of you enduring the agony it takes to be free. Hang in there everyone. Its SO hard, by its SO worth it! Those patches IMO should only be prescribed for end-of-life situations!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

My Yorkie chewed an old, used one, but only for a second because I snatched it out of her mouth. I watched her like a hawk for an hour but apparently she didn't really get any in her system. After that, I inspected my room and bathroom constantly for fallen patches. I'm not on them anymore but if anyone is, and has pets or small children, lock the patches up and keep up with your count diligently.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Hi everyone. Dropping in on day 15 patch free. Have had some good days and bad days, but not bad in comparison to what they should have been. Mostly related to my condition. Still too much pain but that's why the patch was started. Its wonderful not worry about that patch.
Sid, that's awesome you're a couple of months in! I'm so happy for you. I've battled my mind about not being as productive, but realistically I was no more productive. Still taking two half hydrocodone a day, but it isn't the four I'm prescribed. I've never taken that many.
That's all that's new. Everyone struggling is in my prayers.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Yes my little sweet Bichon Frise puppy almost died from biting one of my patches when it feel off my arm. If I hadn't have seen the tiny patch chewed up and rushed him to the vet for help he would have died. I am so thankful he didn't eat it or I would have never known what was wrong. My vet used a antidote that helped reverse the drug from his tiny system. He was admitted to the animal hospital for a day, released the next day feeling fine. Vet bill $800.00.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I'm now a couple of months in but unfortunately, my disease has flared up and I have been in bed for over a week. I'm trying to use Advil and Tylenol but I may have to call in for something a bit stronger. But the patch, no way. Not unless they tell me I'm endstage. Good luck, and keep fighting through. It may take a few months to feel normal but it will be worth it.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Today marked day 9 of being Fentanyl patch free! Still so excited about it. Discouraged about the original pain for which it was required. Have I considered putting on a patch? NO WAY! I've had sleepless nights, bad leg pain/heaviness, but I'm so thankful to be FREE! I have to learn how to deal with this some other way! For the most part I've gotten out and done things every day except one, and my legs just hurt too much that entire night before and all that day. Today I got out early even though I woke up feeling the worst. I went to hunt down some old friends. They weweren't home so I came home and have been down ever since, by there was a drastic weather change, which usually does it. Honestly though, I mostly had this much trouble even with the patch on so I don't miss it at all! Do miss having a normal life.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Yvonne, It was lovely to read your last few days experiences and it's so good that you have good friends and of course, your church. Sounds like fun and glad there are no snakes lol. I did some gardening, very light, yest morning and suffered with the sweats and utter lethargy all afternoon. It's irritating, but I bear up with the thought that it won't be forever. As well as these two symptoms, my main others are the fog my brain is in and, like Sid, the lack of desire to do anything or engage with anyone. I guess it's a type of depression. The constipation is horrendous and causes stomach troubles, bloating, reflux, the whole works. I take MORE medicine for that as well as H2O all day long. Can't wait for day zero! My back pain must be tolerated some other way and it may even be a lot improved. We shall see. Keep on keeping on Yvonne!
Sid good luck with your battle. Thanks for all the info you post. It's appreciated. That thing with the nervous legs etc, it's ghastly, it drove me back to the F. I got it in my legs and wrists of all places! I had to flap my wrists all the time, I looked totally DEMENTED like I was doing chicken imitations. Even in bed and what with the no sleeping the only thing was to race around my small house and stamp and flap like a mad woman. Sounds funny now, but was def NOT of course.
The meds you all write of I don't know them, I guess you are in USA but I can kind of guess the equivalents here. Our Panadol is the over the counter all purpose analgesia and has nil effect on the lining of the stomach. Lorazepam is anti anxiety and I will be probably on them at the final stages of the tapering.
Be assured that someone in New Zealand is thinking of you over there most days as we take the steps towards being narcotic free. :-)

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Been through the experience of being in hospital and having no patch. I started sweating and getting the twitches and realized I had taken my patch off and didn't bring any with me. (It was an emergency). Luckily they immediately ordered one but that was scary. And your right, Morphine does NOT make Fent withdrawals go away.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

@Sid

Good post. What you pointed out about post surgical pain management for people on Fentanyl patches is absolutely correct and definitely worth mentioning, though it needs to be broadened to include the other typical immediate post-op pain meds such as Morphine and Dilaudid. Although those are considerably stronger than Norco or Vicodin, anybody who's been on a high Fentanyl dosage for a long time will need a much higher amount of post-op pain medication than the average person. I've had many Ortho surgeries since my accident while I've been on the patches, and every single time without fail I'm in absolutely excruciating pain when I regain consciousness, like a 15 on a scale of 1 to 10. I also mention this to the surgeon every single time PRIOR to the surgery, and I BEG them to please handle this properly and keep on top of it after the surgery, but they always ignore me and set up the standard instructions with the nurse, and then usually leave for the day shortly after surgery, so you can't reach them to get the pain med orders changed. The result is that I literally have PTSD from my multiple ortho surgeries, to the point that I don't want to have them now because I know I'm going to suffer so bad. For anybody reading this, be sure you let your surgeon/doctor(s) know that you're on Fentanyl, what dosage, and for how long, so that there's at least a chance that they might manager your post-op pain appropriately. This information is also necessary for the anaesthesiologist, who may or may not want you to remove your patches prior to surgery (usually they'll have you keep them on if you've been using them for a long time). Fentanyl depresses the respiratory system, like H or Morphine, so it has to be factored in when they administer the aneasthetic. Lastly, for anybody having surgery, make sure you bring patches with you, even if you expect to be out of the hospital the same day or within a day or to. You could have complications and have to remain there longer, and we all know how severe the withdrawals can be if the doctor cannot be reached to prescribe the patches that you need, or if they refuse to do so for whatever crazy reason.

Btw, for anybody new here and reading through old posts. I recommended to use medication for restless leg syndrome for anybody suffering Fent. withdrawals, and as I said, I was unsure of the name but I thought it might be called Levitra. As someone pointed out, the correct name for the medication is Lyrica. For full disclosure, I haven't taken either of them ;). As I've also said repeatedly, always consult with your doctor and only use this forum as a guideline. Everybody here has good intentions, but most of us are just average people that have first hand experience with this dreadful medication.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

LynneB, yes, yes ALL of the 140 lbs I lost was excess! I'm 5'10", so carry weight well, but I went from very active and on-the-go to dead stop when the fibro kicked in. I was also a very stressed out single mom of four sons and over a period of about ten years became very overweight. I could still even stand to lose another 20 lbs, but hopefully not through panic attacks and every morsel going straight thru me.
I'm thrilled to have lost the weight, and ppl that know me don't recognize me at first, but the HARD way I lost it shows in my face. I'm now going to lose the rest in a healthy way. Hopefully. I have a very serious Dr Pepper addiction. It was my only source of energy when everything else went straight thru me. At times when I got off all sugar my pain was much less. I need to do that, but, one addiction at a time. Working onthe vikes now. Almost there. 1/2- two halves a day. But II'm being merciful to myself! I just finished 4 months of weaning off Fent! LynneB, I feel like if it hadn't taken SO LONG to get back up to changing every 72 hours, it wouldn't have taken so long. I suffered greatly getting there. But the second patch that I made it to 72 hours on is the one I kept on 7 days then completely removed. Almost 4 days ago. I think you'll feel it. Just keep tapering. I'm praying for you all. Its horrible, horrible. Beyond horrible!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

LynneB, I'm so excited and feel so free. Granted the original issues I wore the patch for are not gone. And my fatigue is relentless. But you know what? It was even with the patch on. By 1:00-200 I may go somewhere. Yesterday I went to the park with my friend of 26 years and fed the ducks and watched all the schools of fish come to the top of the water and churn it up like piranhas for the bread. We walked around a resale shop. Only out a few hours then back to my heating pad. Tonight I went to church for the first time in years. Plan was for morning service, but.....that's before noon lol. Today is day three with the patch completely off. I'm so excited. Only took 1/2 a Vicodin today and that was at 9:00 tonight after a 3 hr church service. Im pentecostal ( no snakes O:-) ). We do some jumping and shouting and it felt great to join in again. Do hurt now, but I'm so so thankful. I do believe the slow wean is what just lowered my tolerance and a GOOD God!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I did not experience too horrible withdrawal symptoms until I started on the 25 patch. To be on the safe side I would still withdraw slowly. Everyone has different body chemistry but only the rare person escapes with few withdrawal symptoms. I am back on the 25 patch and have still restless agitation, very few nights of sleep and sweats and chills drive me bonkers. I honestly think I may as well start withdrawing slowly to 12.5 again as other than some pain relief, I feel miserable, still have diarrhea almost daily. Please be careful. And good luck!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

There is a medical term for it, Read on. .Akathisia, or acathisia kathízein - "to sit", a- indicating negation or absence, lit. "inability to sit") is a movement disorder characterized by a feeling of inner restlessness and a compelling need to be in constant motion, as well as by actions such as rocking while standing or sitting, lifting the feet as if marching on the spot, and crossing and uncrossing the legs while sitting. People with akathisia are unable to sit or keep still, complain of restlessness, fidget, rock from foot to foot, and pace. To me it is the most horrible wd symptom of all.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I'm having a setback but staying drug free. My disease causes weakness in muscles closest to the trunk, shoulders, hips and thighs, neck and over the past few days these symptoms have recurred. I'm struggling with stairs and washing my hair. My rheumy wants me back on Methotrexate injections and I'm sick to my stomach thinking about it. So far the pain isn't bad. Advil and Flexeril plus my daily bath soak are doing the job. But boy, I'm depressed as crap. Cried my eyes out all weekend. Found a 25 patch and immediately flushed that poison. Unless I get to endstage, that stuff will NEVER enter my body again. I like my PM doc but I think they should be required by law to detail how addictive Fentanyl is, how difficult it is to come off of and how HORRIBLE the withdrawals are. Keep up the good fight all. There HAS to be another answer.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Good for you Yvonne! It is quite amazing the way you managed to avoid the WD nasties at the end. I wonder why, but then it doesn't matter in the end as long as it worked! I am very interested in how people are coping and was good to hear that Sid was Fentanyl free at last. I honestly can't imagine being in severe pain and being house bound for so many years as some of you have been. I feel so fortunate by comparison! I don't know what sort of pain is in store for me under this blanket of drug induced foggyness and that is scaring me somewhat. My problem is "only" a prolapsed L4/L5 disc which occurred nearly two years ago and was diagnosed by MRI after an acute admission to hospital at that time. Due to stomach problems and reflux no oral drugs of either pain relief or anti inflamatories could be tolerated and so began the on again off again Fentanyl journey. I went off them about every six weeks and controlled my pain with Panadol and Voltaren suppositories because I was so afraid of the dependence issue. But then while on them again last February I had a fall due to being so wobbly and unsteady, and fell backwards on the beach. Back to hospital and same disc of course! It's now been 6 months on F and here I am trying to get back to normal. Fingers crossed and all that! So I am doing the 25 and doing the little slivers off the backing of the 12.5 and in six more days I will be off the 12.5 and start reducing the 25mcg. I figure I'll do it in a month. Do you think that will be too quick Yvonne? I don't want to stuff it up again. By the way, that weight loss was extreme. It's really a terrible way to lose weight but if I may ask a personal Q .... Was some of it weight that was excess? And if so I guess that fact will now help you in your recovery as far as becoming more mobile and getting stronger and healthier? I lost about 7 pound only but nausea and vomiting was never a side effect for me, although lack of appetite and taste certainly is.
Do let me know how you are doing from time to time, and good luck to everyone else who posted about their battle with Fentanyl WD. Some stories are so terrible, I really feel for you all, not just the WD which is the subject of this blog, but the stories of pain and despair over many years. Peace be with you.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Thank you Eunie, I'm on my 2nd day of the 50. I am thinking of just not using them anymore...Do you think, since this is only my 3rd week, I would go through any type of withdrawals, other than just get used to my pain again?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hey everyone. Updating on my Fentanyltaper. I know LynneB said she is following my progress. After all the months of tapering, and expecting many more, I found myself being able to wear the same 25 mcg patch 7 days straight without much discomfort. This was miraculous as I struggled with horrific panic attacks and withdrawals starting as soon as 23 hours into each patch. When I hit the 72 hr mark with just the heavy leg feeling and leg pain I decided to leave that patch on until it fell off and never put another on. Well, it wouldn't fall off. On day 8 I noticed open ulcerations all along the perimeter and knew I had to remove it. I laid my hand on it, thanked God for deliverance, and took it off! My trusty phone calendar notification just messaged me I'm 36 hours patch free!!! Hallelujah! Today I am in the hydocodone pain realm. Those make me hurt worse and am down on them to two halves a day. I wean myself from these all the time and know after a few days of a few halves, that pain will be gone.
Sid...... praise God and congratulations to you. Well done, and IT IS an acheivment to glory in!
LynneB, you're right where I was up until a week ago, before this dramatic change hit me. Keep on keeping on. I'm so excited and thankful. I thought the taper would never end. But it has! And sooner than expected.
Now Im struggling with not beingable to do what I could with the pain meds. But in truth I was still in great pain and very limited. Ill not be robbed of the joy of being med free! Prayers for everyone in this struggle, and prayers appreciated.
Yvonne

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hi there. I'm happy to say things are improving every single day. I am off ALL narcotics. I'm still having random withdrawals. Night before last I had the restless leg thing. I still am very fatigued but when you've been in bed for most of five years, it takes time to get strong again. The main thing I'm suffering from is severe depression. I think it's a mixture of coming off all the meds and realizing that I've lost five years of my life. I came sooo close to calling my PM doc and getting back on the patch to do a slower taper but I knew I would just have to go through WDs all over again. Stay strong everyone.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I am 62 years old. I have osteoarthritous and need a knee replacement, but due to my weight the Dr wants me to have gastric bypass surgery. I also live with sever lower back pain and left hip pain. I've more or less have lost my mobility except for small walks. I went to a pain management Dr. and was put on Lyrica and oxycodone. My back hurts just to stand doing the dishes. To get to the point...I abused my oxycodone, was falling...not remembering things etc. I wound up in the hospital for three days not even knowing how I got there or why. Needless to say I was put in a Mental facility for almost a week. Labeled an addict, and tossed. Was told I could not ever have opoids. I was not discharged from the pain management dr i had been seeing. But nothing she would give me gave me any help with pain at all. I realize that I put myself in this position. And I have been paying for it. Now I
am at another clinic, he has started my on fentanyl, 25 the first two weeks, and now 50. 25 did very little. 50's seems to be working much better. But here I have been up since 2am, hurting so bad I feel like going to the ER room. I can put another patch on later today. The pain feels worse than before I started taking fentanyl...has this happened to anyone? Worse pain? I just can't go through withdrawals again , I am thinking about just dealing with the pain and being homebound.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

i have post surgical lower back pain. was in 50 mcg patch and had side effects and so decided to wean off. i finished wi...

311 REPLIES

I have been on the 100 mg patch and Percocet for my Crohns and Colitis for years. Last week I went cold turkey on my own...

36 REPLIES

Aloha from Hawaii- this is my 6th week off fentanyl patch 100mg and breakthrough oxy 40mg day for several years. Also wa...

27 REPLIES

My husband, age 77, developed severe acute pancreatitis and has been in the hospital for the past 8 months. He has been ...

18 REPLIES

Hi, About three years ago during treatment for rectal cancer, I was given Dilaudid and Fentanyl as part of a pain manage...

5 REPLIES

I was on 25mcg Fentanyl patches for about 2 months. I went down to 12mcgs to wean myself. After the 12s ran out, I was e...

9 REPLIES

Hi all. I have seen a lot of posts in the drugs forum about Fentanyl withdrawal. I too have been struggling with the wit...

17 REPLIES

i have post sirgical lower back pain. was in 50 mcg pat. ch and had side effects ans so decided to wean off. i finished ...

16 REPLIES

My question is that I have titrated down from 75mcg to 50 and had some times that were NOT fun, I must say, but I figure...

13 REPLIES

I have been on Fentanyl 100mcg/hr, In vivo delivery of 100mcg/hr for 72 hours and I change them every 2 days instead of ...

9 REPLIES