Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 25) (Top voted 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.

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Mary Jane does help with fentanyl withdrawal. It did for me, after using the patch for 13 years at 225 mcg every 36 hours (for 5 years) and it has taken 7 months to start to feel human again (not NORMAL) and I know that in about 4 or 6 months I might be normal. Good luck.

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Hey, guys. I started taking my patch again. My sleep is off, my manic episodes went out the roof. I cut it in 4 pieces and wear one for 5 days. Maybe it is all in my head. I felt great at first but maybe I really do have to go through some withdraw. I thought I could do it with absolutely no withdraw, but, everyone else has had it or does have it, so what makes me any different. Good luck, just wanted to let you all know, I am not as "free" as I had hoped.

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I too, have nerve damage. I'm weaning myself off the fentyanl patches SLOOOWLY. It was on neurontin for months. I became deeply depressed to the point of planning my death. My sister who's a nurse recognized the symptoms and I told my doctor. He weaned me off of it and put me on fentanyl in 2006 after a surgery gone wrong!!! I have been having withdrwals and I'm weaning slow. I know the withdrawal would be much worse otherwise. I can't wait to be free of drugs.

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Yes, I have had those exact symptoms. I feel thing crawling on me, as long as I keep busy it's not so bad. I was on the 50 mcg,now I'm on 25 mcg. I did 48 hours then 72 on the smaller patch. hang in there.

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OH I wish I had some...love it.

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Hey, girl friend I hear ya. I have been weaning myself since Jan. I was on fentanyl 50 mcg every 48 hours. Then went to 72 hours over a month, then 25 mcg 48 hours for 3 weeks now just today went the 72 hours. I can't sleep, I have the restless syndrome BAD to the point of pain. mainly at night. I told my doctor she said it was unrelated to the withdrawal, but I knew better. yesterday and today I haven't feel good (headache...) I want to feel better and I'm trying. Doing a lot of praying as well. good luck.

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Doc's will say that it is not related, but we ALL know that your symptoms are related to withdraw. Keep up the good work. In the end, it' all about winning the fight. I get Mylan brand patches, cause you can technically cut them in half, quarters, etc. That is how I did it. I am once again OFF the patch thanks to that. Praise God for the kind that don't have the gel in them!

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You wish you had some...but if you did, you would wish you didn't. Don't you see the trouble it has cause for ALL of us??? PLEASE, I beg of you, DO NOT get hooked on this. Even if it is prescribed to you. You will eventually regret it. I gauruntee it. Just read ALL of these and you will see for yourself...or learn from your mistakes.

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I have been on fentanyl 75mcg/50/mug tapering since they first put me on it 21/2month ago for a burn injury which required skin grafts. Was on morphine via pump for 2 weeks prior to the patch. I regret it to no end that I ever consented to this drug. Tried to take the 75 mug patch off on my own, had horrible side effects. I am going to put the first 25 mcg on tonight. I am so scared! By the way, I had taken pain medication 4 years ago for ca. 2 month 4 years ago. How could I have built up a tolerance (have been reading up so much about this). I feel so helpless. Also I have been having depressions off and on since I have switched to 50 mcg. So far I can deal with the physical pain. I just do not want to have "withdrawal symptoms" . Feeling scared and lost

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Are you doing this under the guidance of your physician? I was given percocet to supplement for the patch and would only take a 1/2 tablet to help stop the restless side effects. I was also given a blood pressure med that helps to stop the jitters and it aids in sleep. If your physician is unwilling to help you I would suggest that you change to a pain clinic where there are specialists who now how to really help you withdraw. They will treat you with respect and understanding. Most of the docs are anesthesiologists and know the character of the drugs that you deal with or may need to help with your transition.H

Also, it takes months for fentynal to leave your system. The first month is the hardest. It is worth the effort, though. And depression is also a side affect of withrdrawal so don't be so hard on yourself. You can do this. It is worth the battle.

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No Using A Vap Will Showw THC in Urine. Regardless Of This It Is Still By Far The Better Option To Pain Management As THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL That Will Relieve Our Pain No Matter What Doctors Say. Mary Jane Also Will Not CURE YOUR PAIN But It WIll Allow You To Dis-associate Yourself From The Pain And This Is A Far Better Management Technique Than Adding More Health Problems And Addictions And Calling It Treatment. I Stand By My Decision To Medicate With Cannabis. I am At Or Beyond The 60 Day Point Now ANd Am Very Happy To Report That I Have 0 Withdrawal Symptoms. I Wish Everyone The Best Of Luck In Getting Off This Deathride They Like To Call A Needed Treatment.

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Ihad 2 come off 200mcg of fentanyl over 6 months Why did I get abso no help from mental halth services when am crying me eyes out down the telephone am completely off it now but it was so hard

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Hi Mary,

It has been two month now, for me, with my withdrawal. You are having typical withdrawal symptoms. The twitching and restless legs and body goes on for some time as you withdraw. My pain management physcian gave me a blood pressure medicine to take that actually helps to decrease these side affects. And I supplemented with a 1/2 of a percocet tablet, too. These both really helped me. You may find that you will also start sneezing often every day. That is a withdrawal symptom, too.

You are not going crazy, though. Your body is just cleansing itself from your drug. You may find that you need to withdraw a little slower, if you cannot get the medical support you need. You have made quite a stride coming down from such a high dose to 25 mg. It does take time to get this drug out of your body.

The first two weeks are the roughest because the fentynal withdrawal actually causes pain to be accentuated. Don't get discouraged. All the discomfort is worth the angst. Almost all of my original pain is gone now and can be managed without fentanyl...hopefully this will be your story, too!!!

When my body kept jerking, I would get up and take hot showers and then distract myself by watching TV. If I fell asleep in front of it, so be it. Laying down was the worst position for me when my body was in its 'fits'. I found if I could keep my mind engaged, the restlessness was easier to handle. And you may feel weak and fatigued, too, for a long time. That will all go away with time, the farther you get from your limited or non-use of drugs.

I wish you well and commend you for getting off Fentanyl. Hang in there, it is worth the journey, Mary.

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I have chronic neuropathic pain in my cervical and lumbar spine(caused by deteriorating facet joints)( am 47 yrs old) It is extremely painful. I also have degenerative disc disease in most of my vertebre. Currently I am on 200mcg of Fentanyl, Nabilone also called Cesamet (the THC(cannibus) med, oxycontin 10mg, Percocet, Baclofen(skeletal muscle relaxant). There were days I could not get out of bed I was in so much pain every cell in my body ached. My neck was the worst because of whiplash from a car accident 25 years ago! It litterally feels like my head is in a vice-grip and someone is turning the handle until it feels like my skull is beginning to crush; then they just leave it there. Sometimes the pain is so bad, everything feels surreal. It just didn't make sense. The more medications my family doctor prescribed, the more pain I would have. Why, if I am constantly being given more opiates (or higher doses) is my pain WORSE when logically my pain should be in control?
Then, one day I saw a show that would CHANGE EVERYTHING! It was Dr. Phil. He had a young woman on there who had broken her back in a car crash 2 years ago and was on Oxycontin and Percocet. She was still taking them(& getting them from a doctor who was running a "questionable pain clinic 120 miles away from her home.) Both a top pain doctor and neurologist Dr. Phil had contacted(who had gone over her file) agreed that her vertebre was now healed (she went for an MRI which confirmed this)Both doctors agreed she had a condition called opioid-induced hyperanalgesia and did not need to be taking these narcotics. In a nutshell what happens is the receptors in the brain get sensitized (build up a tolerance) and despite increasing doses of opioids, the pain gets worse. A pain that a "normal" person would have such as a little ache, would feel like an immense pain to someone like us. If you google " definition of opioid-induced hyperalgesia you will get a definition. This may not be happening to you, but be open-minded.
That week I went to my pain doctor and told him the "Dr. Phil" story. I said I was sure this was happening to me and he said it probably was. I told him I wanted to go on gabapentin (an anti-seizure med that is now getting prescribed & working for chronic pain.) They think it somehow "tricks" the brain into thinking that the pain is just a little ache or an itch. Talk to your doctor about this.(or research it online)
My pain doctor is now working with my family doctor and I have started decreasing my fentanyl (very slowly) and I am very excited to get off of my opiates. I tired of feeling so groggy and tired. I want my life back. I am also getting pain and facet blocks to relieve my pain. Next is a procedure called radio-frequency ablation, also called a rhizotomy. This is where a thin prob is inserted (under fluroscopy) into the nerves that are causing the pain and burns the nerves. This can give someone up to 1 year pain free. To someone like us that is good news!! I live in Ontario Canada, so your meds may have different names....

Hope this helps you or maybe someone else who may be in this situation. Good Luck...... Penny C

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YES, this is all to common been where your at and am off now. Maybe your doctor can prescribe valium to you. That stops some of what you are feeling. Remember all of our bodies are different. Do not do anything until speaking to your physician of course but mine was and still is a lifesaver. I dont know if anyone let you know but these withdrawls your still having can go on for up to but not limited to a year or more until you feel right again. Great drugs they have for us huh.... All that I can say is marijuana.........marijuana...... ahhhh what a relief. But remember your state may have certain licenseing rules you must abide... sorry for the length.

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Oh and I started at working down from 175 mcgs every 48 hours yes ladies and gentleman 48! Not the recomended 72 but 48. I am off it now just for about 3 weeks and am freaking but the valium helped to make it somewhat managable. Remember I am not a doc but I sure do feel like one after all I have been through... Hang in there tight ok.... you can do this.... you can do this.... the bathtub is my best friend and that is no joke... Paige

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Karen, I hope it helps to know there are people out there praying for you like me and you will make it. Put it on early would be my guess.... but I am not a doctor... Also you may go through alot of severe boughts of not sleeping or only about an hour or two a night... According to my doc and his PA this is normal... whatever the hell that means.... they say normal as if they know the feeling... in my opinion every doctor that prescribes these types of medications should have to use and come off of them first... Maybe then when we cry to them they would have grown a heart and really try to help... It is true oppiates do intensify the pain after a certain time on the drug, well I have been on for almost four years... If I can do it you can too, but remember I was on much more medication then you so I am having more horrilble withdrawls then ever. No Sleep, No Eat, Seizures, lost over 110 pounds, lost all muscle tone.... you have a better shot just keep pushin through ok promise... Thats the only way I am sorry to say. Paige I do care. pteunis at yahoo email me anytime ok. best of recovery and a great renewed life!!!!

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Paige, Ur a strong one to do what u have done. I applaud u, 4 this is hard enough and I am still on the 50mcg and the reason being is that I thought, that I would just go down in a month or so 4 each drop of med. WOW..I didn't know u could do it fast like that. I remember now reading ur post, I was thinking this girl is just mocking me, but now, I see u weren't. I am sorry, but it just seemed impossible, but ur doing it.
Ur right @ the docs needing to understand more..that is an understatement..hehe. Well, I am thankful 4 at least I do have a PCP that does care and when I decided to go down, I think he was really shocked 4 the amount of total crap that I have had to deal with. The dx's they have handed me are so many, but I felt that this medicine is just some bad stuff to deal with and it tells u when do to what..like take a bath. I miss my hot baths, anytime I wanted one. These patches won't let u take a HOT one or the med will release and KILL u...wonderful, I thought, but I am working to completely get them off of me, but slower than u...I am tough and could've I think that is. I didn't really have a bad time of it as what u done. I am having some crazy things happen to me now that is concerning me though. My heart rate is going crazy and it can jump from like 80bpm to 111 and this is resting in bed. Did u do this? I am sure u did, but HOW LONG does it do that? I am thinking I have heart problems now and even my PCP put me on a Bet-Blocker, BUT I haven't taken a single pill. THat was the whole reason to getting off of it...not to take more meds, but I have it by my bed and could. I chose not to take it because my BP is usually alway normal and has been, but figured it was ANXIETY from dropping down one dose, but I don't know. I have a venous angioma...WELL, I found out that it is really called a DEVELOPEMENTAL VENOUS ANOMALY..these Neuroradiologist have found the words "venous angioma" was considered a misnomer(whatever that words is indicating),but it did say that the word "angioma" usually means a severe disease with the substantial risk for bleeding. GREAT HEY? I find this so dis-heartening. I am really dis-gusted,for reason that I have had my whole life a happy healthy person...that is, until I had this dadblamed sugery on my neck(C5-C6 spinal disk.) I was working 60-70hrs per week. The only problem that I was having was that I couldn't sleep good at night for the tossing and turning.After surgery, I got right back into work. I did wait however for the 2 month period to where they say NOT to do anything strenuous or lift anything heavy. OK..well, on my 3 month following me mowing the acre yard and sitting in a hammock that I should've known not to set in...because it gave way and I was straddling it and it was in May, it was beautiful outside and my son came over to give me a kiss..he just leaned in to kiss me and put a little extra weight on me and the cord snapped and I was @ a foot or a few inches more,maybe 2, but don't think it was that much. ANYwhoo...I hit the ground and didn't really think that much of it, but I did get a headache later. I started going back to doc and seen him 9 out of 11 months in the same year, but to no avail, for he wouldn't do anything. HE actually told me it was my C5 as I set there on his examining table...but it didn't sink in at that moment, but after thinking of it...HOW COULD IT BE MY C5? He was suppose to fix that?
Well, my pain intensified AFTER I went and got a series of 3 nerve blocks (ESI'S) YAS...this put me down. I was on the table for the last ONE...the LAST one and that doc was laughing and talking to his assoc.*(Should've put ass.) anyway, he had music blairing and this was a cool settting for me..I liked it, BUT he HIT my SPINAL cord or NERVE FIBERS...Whatever IT was...I jumped like a BOLT OF LIGHTENING hit me. I raised my head and asked, "WHAT HAPPENED?" He replied..with a studder, I might add. Oh..uh.uh.."FRICTION". He told me to put my head back into the HOLE..and I was so scared and was shaking. He then told me to sit up real fast and got into my face and continued to ask me, "Are your EARS ringing, DO YOU HAVE HEAVY BREATING?"..I said no that just my HANDS and FEET were COMPLETELY NUMB..AND GUESS WHAT THEY STILL ARE.
Paige, I don't know what he done, but ever since..my life has just gone downhill...and fast. MY surgery was Feb.'06 and I had the ESI's in Nov-Dec.'06...yeah, the same year.
Paige, I have gone on so much @ me, please tell me ur story..I would love to hear it. I am sure by what I have gone through that u have people in ur life that just DON'T understand..and I know some of them are family..and the others are docs..I thank u sooo much 4 replying...UR a strong person like me..just different circumstances, but it doesn't mean that we can't be friends. I will be honest w/u..I don't do much on the phone..unless necessary. I can type..thank GOD..u can tell by such LONG messages..hehe:))
I do hope that u continue to be strong and IF u need someone and can't get me...HE is always there..u know, WHO I am referring to..I know. The Big Guy upstairs is The ONE who has really comforted me..sooo many times, especially when I pray..He is there. God Bless girl and my prayers are with u.:)) and u can contact me at skeet65 at hotmail, if u EVER need to talk:)))))<3 Karen

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Do you live anywhere near the Charlotte nc area ?

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Whoever started this thread deserves a Nobel Prize.

I'm a fentanyl addict. It began suddenly.Haven't even been on them for long. I tried to stop cold turkey, but experienced all the symptoms mentioned in previous posts. I have a 7 year old son, and I'm petrified. I only have 2 75mcg patches left. I want to wean myself.

Can I cut them? In 1/2 then 1/3 or 1/4? would that work?

What would happen if I just stopped cold turkey? How long with the agony last? I was thinking I could leave my son with my parents and go somewhere to experience the pain of withdrawal. One day when I had experienced the withrdawal I fell in to such a dark hole depression I couldn't stop crying. He found me crying and became soooooo worried. I can't put him through this.

PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE. PLEASE PLEASE!!!

I also suffer from depression and am on effexor.

I can't afford a detox center. Oh God! How could I have done this???

All advice appreciated.
~Scared in FL

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