Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 28)
(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

Hey everyone hope you all had a good holiday. I didn't do anything special, just a regular work week for me. sucks being a nurse around the holidays...I get to work Christmas Eve and Christmas too. My boys spent Thanksgiving with thier Dad. I've got another sore throat...went to the Doc again and got some more antibiotics, should be better soon. I've been doing a little Christmas shopping. I actually even went out on Black Friday (like I said I would never do). The crowds weren't that bad since the stores opened on Thurs this yr. I think most of the crazies went out late Thurs night....LOL.

i hope everyone is doing well.

Hugs,
'chelle

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Wow so sorry to see what happened with angel,, it has given me comfort at times to know that others are here even if its just on this site,, you have shown a compassionate person you are, I really am sorry that your trust was broken ..Sadly some on here take advantage of those with good hearts.. Hope you all had a nice thanksgiving

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

So sorry to see you go Angel. You have really held this group together in the short time that I have been here. I will miss you. You should have my cell # from where I texted you before. Don't be afraid to use it if you need to talk. Please take care of yourself.

Hugs,
'chelle

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

This is my last post.
I am so sad to leave my friends because of only one.
I trusted someone on this blog.
I found out they do illegal drugs.
I was scrapping together money, with my generous and kind husband, to send to this person for Christmas.

But we have a relative now who has left a ruined path behind him because he rides the Horse with the name of Heroin.

Good-bye Shannon, Chelle, Lilted4, NurseAndrea, Weeler, K Bob, Preacher, Momma, Father, Cervical, Dundee Lady, Mary (who started this group years ago, all those I forgot and Nanna.

I may come back with a new name someday...or not. So keep that Welcome sign out. I have changed my email address to just a drop box and my phone. The police feel I need to make a clear break. I have told them my whole story. Beware.

I truly will miss you and if you want to post your cell phones or email addresses I will watch for some time.

This blog has helped me in innumerable ways.
GOD BLESS!

Your Angel

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hey Angel, I just got your mssg but I couldn't hear the area code. I'm doing better. Give me a call. I'm going to catch up on all the posts now as I've been busy trying to keep busy without hurting my back any further. I'm super scared of even turning the wrong way. I'm terrified of having to go under the knife again and keeping my pain managed as i won't do epiderals either again. That last set in Aug. was a total nightmare. If it was that. Still not sure. I did a battery of blood tests, annual exam and other stuff last week. Nothing is showing up. Talk to you soon.
Shannon

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Ladies,
I am seriously worried about our Shannon.
I have called and called.
Today I called at 5:45 am CA time. Not only did she NOT answer but her MEMORY IS FULL.

Has anyone heard from her?
Does anyone have her address?

She lives in Santa Cruz, right?
Any other info we have on her, I would appreciate ASAP. I am going to go looking for her.
Hugs,
Angel

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

My post disappeared !!ðŸ˜

I will have to start all over again!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Lilred4, I know what you mean about the sniffling and coughing. What helped me the most is the dayquil and the nite time nyquil. I just sip on it and it suppesses my coughing for at least a couple of hours. It does have alcohol in it and that is what is helping, I think. I have tried all the prescription meds on allerigies and the generic loratadine is the best. It does help but you have to get it in your system and keep it in. Hope you get to feeling better. I'm so sorry about what you have went through with the storm Sandy. Maybe things will be better soon. Well, the grands are calling for food...hugs and kisses to all....

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Angel, thanks for caring along with the rest of you, yes since August when I weened self off fentanyl this all has happened.. Stuffed or runny nose continuous , congested in chest, wheezing, actually out of breath when I am going up and down my stairs .. I went to a Ent doctor this past week, now going to a lung man on the 30 to see what's going on.. I have ventolin which I have been using but not really helping all that much, plus allergy pills.. Prescription ones , not helping either. I had allergies over 15 years ago with asthma, took shots every other week and after 7 years it stopped right around the time of my back surgery. For all the time on fentanyl nothing. Now I go off it and I am just feeling lousy like a cold that wont go away.. So I must find out what is going on. My area has parts where people homes totally ruined.. Very very sad, I am grateful we got back our heat and my turtles and cat survived with me and hubby staying home in a cold house to take care of them. This evening have a wedding to go to, if was not a relative really don't feel like going but.. No choice my family would be annoyed for sure, I would just like to not keep blowing my nose and coughing for a few hours but.. Doubt it's going to happen,, Please give a big hug to all

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hello all.

Nanny, glad to hear you are doing a little better. Hopefully you will be able to go up on the patches soon and get some more relief.

Angel, I have a Pekingnese/Maltese. We have had almost a yr. She just turned 1yr old on the 10th of Nov, we got her when she was 6wks old. She is such a little toddler. She demands your attention, just like a kid. And she isn't afraid of anything, you would think she was a big dog.

Lil, I'm not sure what for you to try. I know my husband has awful allergies and the only thing that helps is Zrytec-D.

I'm doing ok. The flexeril isn't really helping my leg. I go back to the Doc in a couple of wks, he'll probably change it to something else. I also have a rash on my sides and back, not sure what it's from but itches like crazy....put some cortizone lotion on it last night seemed to help. Gonna look up those other meds today to see if they cause rashes. Other than that doing ok. My husband started his new job today, so as soon as we fill out the paper work we have decent ins again. That will help, esp since doc thinks the pain in my side might be a kidney stone. It has just been achey for about 5 wks now. When he tapped on my back I about came off the table. He might run some tests when I go back.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Hugs,
'chelle

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Angel, you are most welcome to do that. You are such a very loving soul. I too, have a little one that sleeps with me but he's an apple-head chawawa(don't know how to spell it). Well, I'm not doing as well as I would like to be doing but I'm doing better. The patches that I am on is helping a lot but I think I need to go up or get them like I use to. I use to change them every 48 hours rather than every 72 hours. Then they would work better for me. I think I really need the 75mcgs though, but it will be at least two weeks before I can change in that sense. How is everyone doing?? I see some are not checking in and this worries me....hugs and kisses to all...

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hi All,
No News since Wednesday??

Gee, I've missed you all.
Lilred4, no medication is working since August?? Chelle, what do you think? What meds have you tried, if you don't mind me asking?
I just sent some medicine, clothes, blankets, pillows, etc. to a friend who is driving to NYC for a Sandy rescue mission. And I did give my weekly allowance to a Rescue Shelter near Staten Island to help all the homeless animals that have been found lost. It just made me sad to think of loosing a pet. When I first became disabled, I bought a teenie, tiny Maltese and called him Willow. He has been my ever constant companion and there is no better dog in this world. He and I agreed from the start that he was actually human. At night, he sleeps next to me with his head on a pillow, body tucked under the covers and his front paws lie just crossed at the top of the covers. LOL He is one in a million!!
Anyway
Lilred4, there are times for simple gratitude and peace of heart. We so need to reflect daily on the beauty and joy of one NORMAL DAY that we are alive IN.
SHANNON
SHANNON
SHANNON
Where are you? Pick up the phone, please!!
Has anyone heard from our Queen of the West Coast?
Chelle, belle, all's well?
Nanna,darlin', how are you doing? I want to ask you if you would mind if my hubbie takes that picture and enlarges it so I can frame it. That's okay with you, isn't it? Please, let me know.

To all our friends along the way, please, come back and tell us how you are?

I'm drifting off to sleep.
Talk to you soon, I hope!
😘

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Father, I am so glad you found this site and welcome you to come back often, we are a very concerned bunch. I am also so sorry for the losses in your life and proud that you have someone caring enough to see you through this that you will be going through. Please stay with us and let us know how you are doing.....and if there is anything we can help you and your partner with. You have been through so much and I wish there was a way I could just come give you a hug and let you know just how much I do care.....let us know how things are going and don't come down too fast, you will get there in time, look how long you have been on them things, so, it won't be a fast prossess, or let me say it shouldn't be a fast prossess. My pain doc told me the Fentynal stays absorbes in your muscles way after you come off the patch so you will still have problems after you think all is well.....hugs and kisses to all

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Father,
Welcome! I applaud you. There has been so much loss recently in your life yet I sense a vitality in you... A resilience. You have a great love and are so fortunate!

I have once been off the patch and I returned to my 75mcq/hr within six weeks. O could not stand the withdrawal and the pain.

What are the attributes you specify belong to the patch ?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Am calm today.
Dan and I talked this issue through all last night. We went to so many websites trying to find the issues with these patches.
First, I had found a site we ALL should check regularly. It is run by the FDA and IMMEDIATELY list a drug or Lot number of a drug like Fentanyl when it has been recalled because it is damaged. I intend to look there quickly before I open a new lot of Watson's.

The site is called: MEDWATCH

I visited the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and in 2008 they made the chemical needed to illicitly produce our patches a Class I and in 2010 the precursor chemical became a Class I also. Why? Well, in 2007 in a localized group of states that not ONE OF US LIVES IN, 1,013 people, God Rest Their Souls, died from illicitly made Fentanyl patches!

Now drug dealers can not get their hands on these chemicals because only God himself gets a Class I easily or in quantity to profit.

We wanted to know how to tell if the patch was damaged and we shouldn't put it on. I've been wearing for over 5 years ( that's over 600 patches) and mine have all been perfect. So why should I panic?

Here are the precautions from the Mayo Clinic:
1)wash the area with only water. Never use lotion, soap or alcohol to prep the patch area. It could interfere with the mesh interface. ( I have broken all these rules. )
2) keep your patches in a cool( never freezing or hot) area away from children.
3) NEVER FOLD, CUT OR BEND the patch. It may damage it.
4) never put over a cut or irritated area of skin. ( have done this as sometimes I break out in pustules )
5) never use when you have a fever , never use a hot lamp, heating pad or sleep in a water bed. This increases the flow rate of the drug. ( I have slept in a very toasty water bed for 30 years. I also use our hot tub frequently. )
6) the FDA says that throwing the patch in the garbage is illegal. The only approved way is to fold the sticky sides together and flush it down the toilet. ( we have a septic tank and can never clog it with no biodegradable plastic. )
7) never wear more than one patch at a time. ( I have left the old patch on because I know that there is still 50% Fentanyl left in the old one. )

I have done it all for us

I got afraid. But I need this med to carry me day to day.
Over 1.62 million people wear a patch in this nation daily.
As always, the news and lawyers make huge cases of some. We don't know what they did to their patch.

May God Protect Us and keep us in His protective arms.
Hugs,
Angel

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Father- I weaned self for fentanyl after being on it over 9 years after spinal fusion surgery . Have chronic pain but got off it since this past July.. Took me two months, was on 75 every other day.. Sorry to hear all what you are going thru.. Now I have this condition a runny nose, congestion, I had allergies and asthma but while on fentanyl it all seemed to go away. Now that I am off it,, my dr, which I went to today wants me seeing a allergy dr again,, I have had continuous runny nose all these months non stop, causing wheezing now.. Was reading that fentanyl withdrawal can do this.. Not sure if that's what's going on.. Will be calling another dr next week. Hate to have to start again with shots, allergy meds,, they all cause side effects, but feeling like you have a cold and stuffed doesn't feel all that great.. I hope your treatment works for you.. Welcome here, very caring people.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hello Everybody,
I found this thread after checking the internet for info about weaning myself off the dreaded Fentanyl patch.
I have been on Fentanyl on and off for about 13/14 years now. I was started on it after 3 yrs on Oxcycontin and working up to 80mg BID (BID = Twice a day), & Roxycontin 15mg PRN (PRN = as needed for break through pain) after a Cervical Diskectomy with Fusion. This after my chronic pain got so bad 12 yrs after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, Neuropathy & 2 yrs after my Fribro diagnosis. I started with 25mcg patch every 48 hrs and after 5 yrs or so I found myself at 100 mcg every 48 hrs. That's when I began talking to my PCP (Primary Care Phy) about getting off the patches. I went off the patch and back put back on Oxy 80mcg BID & Roxy 30mg PRN. Then as I had my sixth weekly meeting with a therapist (which I had to pay out of pocket) my Dr wanted me to speak with before we decided on the type of Detox I should go with,... my only brother (Our Mom died when he was 7 and me 2 yo, and we had always lived together except for the three years he was married), was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor (4th stage cancer, GBM). My Dr then said that I needed to wait to start any type of detox. I am so glad that my pcp was/is a great caring Dr & friend, b/c he took into account how close my only brother & me were & that he delayed the whole detox thing, b/c after only six months of watching and caring for my brother as his health declined... he passed away at home with me, my life partner of 13 yrs and my brothers fiance. My Dr then said I should wait a few months before we started working on the whole detox thing b/c of my emotional state. Then six months later (a week after meeting with the therapist again) and after listening to my short list of complaints, my Dr insisted I get a few tests.... and 3 wks later, I was diagnosed with 3rd Stage Anal Cancer (the same type of cancer Farrah Fawcett died from). He took me off the Oxy b/c of the vomiting & other symptoms I started to get b/c of the Chemotherapy and the Radiation therapy I was started back on Fentanyl patches for my chronic pain & the new pain I was getting b/c of the cancer, & b/c of where I was with the Oxy and the cancer pain I was put on 125 mcg & work up to 150 mcg.

So 2 months ago, after 4 mnths of being cancer free (as far as tests show, b/c this type of cancer has a high recurrence rate, mine higher b/c of my having AIDS and everything else) my partner and me decided that it was time to finally do this, before god forbid they find something else wrong with me lol. I went to 125 mcg for a month, then down to 100 mcg for a month. This week when I see my Dr we are going to ask that the new RX be for 75 mcg, and together with my life partners help I will be Free from so many drugs by the beginning of the new year.

BTW, I do get w/d anytime I go over the 48 hr mark before I change my patches, and I get Hot Flashes worse than any woman I have ever known that went thru Menopause... and I hardly sleep most days, and there are days I go from bed to the couch, but I'm taking 800 Ibuprofen 2-3 X's a day and that helps with my pain a little (we wont even talk about the restless legs at night). Yet I feel in my heart that even with all I'm going thru, I am finally going to get off all these killer drugs within the next 3 to 5 months... And I'm going to do it without a detox clinic or a therapist, b/c after everything, I've learned that as long as I have the love of my life standing by my side helping me thru this, I truly feel I'll get past this. I honestly don't know whats ahead for me, especially after reading some of the posts on this site. Yet even with the fear of some of what I read on here, I will not stop nor will I give up on my hope and dream of being normal again, and being the person I so loved being....Oh so many years ago.

So those of you out there that are afraid to do it on your own, Don't... don't be afraid and don't give up on your fight to be drug free. Remember, not everyone becomes addicted to these Meds b/c they're drug addicts, some of us are just victims of the broken healthcare system we have in the USA today. Someday hopefully, we will stop being herded in and out of Dr's offices and Hospitals like cattle, and we'll be treated like human beings by the very people we go to for help... Just like people did in the days of house calls and Family Dr's you trusted without a worry in the world. I believe the human race will learn to love, respect, and care for each other again before it all comes to and end.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

ALL,
I have just been scared senseless !!!!!

I went out to google if there were any class action lawsuits concerning Fentanyl patches.

OMG!
IT IS THE TOP LAWSUIT IN THIS COUNTRY!!

One law firm alone had 60...6. O. SIXTY lawsuits of wrongful death. It seems there are three scenarios: 1) a MAN is just issued it in the last few months, feels weird on it, and dies suddenly of a massive heart attack. Men as young as 34! 2) anybody just given it that was not used to opiates before. A family where the mother was so young with 4 kids just won $13.4 million. 3) These patches LEAK. EVERY MANUFACTURER HAS RECALLED LOTS OVER THE YEARS!!!!!

The lawyers say leaking Fentanyl is 81 times stronger than Morphine. If you find yourself sort of gasping for breathe, you have probably overdosed. If you have confused thinking, trouble talking, can't stay awake.... You get it... Got to the ER, have them measure your Fentanyl level.

And the Withdrawal.... Can actually become a syndrome. With psychosis, mania and suisidal ideation.

I'm going to go take a nap.
It has turned 45 during the day up here and any night we could start with the snow.

Holly's Baby Shower turned out well. I love shower food! She didn't want to play games so I thought up two other activities which the girls liked: Each of us wrote something good about how our mothers raised us and then something we wish she didn't do or had done in raising us.

We read those aloud and laughed or nodded our heads wisely.
The other thing was for the baby: we each chose an envelope which had a number on it. Then we had to write advice for that AGE. Holly will allow him to open the appropriate letter on his birthday.

Nap time.
Hugs,
Angel

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Angel- just found web site that states that you can have runny , stuffed nose from fentanyl withdrawal. Mine has been running since August.. I just now have to see how this is going to stop. Also insomnia , which I have, but never been able to sleep because of chronic pain.. Have to try and find relief cause I am wheezing and have had asthma years ago.. Hate to think how long this is going to last.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Angel, I also agree that this doctor has done a terrible thing to Sassy.. I called him a Id*** so they are reviewing my text.. Gezz they should worry that someone can be hurt cause of a Uncaring person.
Angel- do you think my sinus and runny nose is from me being no longer on the fentanyl.. I was going to go into pharmacy to see if they know anything, lol thou I doubt it. Allergy pills just do not seem to be working much. All started when I stopped it since August . I need stock now in tissues!!Hope Sassy comes back on to read

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