Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 68)
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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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this is my horror story as of now- i was in nyc on a methadone clinic and when i went to the hospital for hep C since i lived on the streets i didnt want to stay there and came home to ohio to stay with my father. unfortunately there is no meth clinic and no suboxone docs around and i had oxycodone for the pain, which was easily weaned off until they also diagnosed me with pancreatis, and gave me a 100 mcg patch every 72 hours. towards the end, i was already sweating sick chills everything.. and it was still on. i got so desparate i cut the patch and poured what was left on my skin because i thought i was dying, this still didnt work. my doc prescribed me oxycodone 10mg to get me through for a few days but it still doesnt work that well plus for some reason i actually hurt worse when i take it. the fentanyl patches are causing me almost as much hell as getting off 60mg of methadone cold turkey.. its to the point where i may have to have my dad drive an hour and back from columbus ohio just to get methadone at another clinic. i cant take this anymore... i dont want to be on methadone, and i cant live with these withdrawals. will docs prescribe methadone pills to get me weaned off of fentanyl? noone told me to be weaned off. the hospital gave me 3 wks worth and that was it. they are now all gone. so now im basically kicking methadone and fentanyl and i want to die. the oxycodone helps me to be awake but i still have fever and chills and pain and muscle aches and twitches althroughout my body even my fingers twitch. i hate everything.. my only option seems to be to go back to the streets and the methadone clinic and i dont want to do that... suboxone ive used five times when kicking heroin but it didnt help very much. im pretty sure it wont help this if i couldnt even kick dope with it... im at wits end and i dont want to live in a methadone clinic prison... fentanyl and methadone are the worst drugs ive ever had to deal with in my life and ive been addicted to pills since age 17 (im 30 now) and alcohol withdrawals (delirium tremens severely) and coke/crack addictions. even kicking heroin is easier. i cant stand living this way, i havent got out of bed for three days and i just took off the last patch officially yesterday.. i was already withdrawing with the stupid patch on in the last two days, presumably because i have a HUGE tolerance. ive been yelled at by my boyfriend who doesnt understand, he said there is no way i could be sick still from methadone, so the only thing i can think of is that its the fentanyl. im allergic to clonidine so i cant take that to help either.. if someone could please help me... there is no treatment center really around either. i live in the middle of nowhere and the hospitals here are full of idiots. i feel seriously like i am going to die. or be on methadone for life. i dont know what to do....

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I was on the fentanyl patch for 2 yrs at 50 mg and developed a chemical dependency. In order to keep from having severe withdrawal symptoms I needed to change my patch more and more often. I went to my pain doc and told him I want off, so he gave me some med that was supposed to help with the withdrawal. If it helped even a little I know I could have never done it on my own. I honestly think the med was useless cause I went thru about 3 wks of pure hell. Those that say oh it only last a day or 2 probably never dealt with it themselves, and remember everyones body is different. I have been off of the patch for over 1 1/2 yrs now, and still experience that horrible jittery, I want to climb out of my body feeling. Fentanyl, just like any addictive drug has long term effects and dont let people tell you otherwise. I never dealt with that sort of thing before the patch, and now its something I deal with every couple of months or so.
I went to physical therapy and learned biofeedback for the pain (I have RSD a chronic pain disorder) and I have learned to control the pain with much less medication, and I am working on dropping back on my current meds gradually. Oh and FYI there are chemical dependent problems with Neurontin too, withdrawal consist of nausea, seizures, anxiety attacks. I wish I could just get off of all the meds!

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Started a 25 patch yesterday morning. I was switched after 6 months on tramadol for chronic rib pain. I thought it was a blessing UNTIL I went to bed...kept waking up gasping for air! I've been awake researching since...read some of these stories and decided to rip it off! I'm still afraid to sleep : (

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It is now day 7 for me and life is better. I took some good advice and made an appointment with my psychiatric doctor. I made the call yesterday morning and by some miracle was able to see the doc in the afternoon. After I had told him my story, he was sympathetic, understanding, and very supportive. He prescribed me suboxone and told me to see him again next week. I took the first tablet and started feeling better hours later. Today was the first day, in what has seemed like an eternity, that I was able to play with my son and truly enjoy it! I know I still have a ways to go until I can be off of the suboxone, but for now, it has given me my life back. And from what I've read, suboxone is much easier to get off of than what we have all been dealing with. I was very fortunate to find an understanding doctor, and I hope that this is an encouraging message for all of you out there! I know it is hard to function, but if you can get yourself to make some calls and get in to see the right doctor, there is no need to suffer any longer! I made the call, made the trip, and only hours later, finally there is relief. God bless you all and good luck on your journey! Its been one heck of a wild ride for me, one I'll never take again. Just fyi, if you take suboxone, you cannot take any benzo's. But you really don't need them anyway!

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Justanothervictim, It may be the withdrawals, but I cried reading ur story. I'm on day 8, not going well today but atleast I do have meds to take a little of the edge off. But still cannot function much at all. Going to Dr. today, give him my uh yea right...progress. The dr. whom prescribed the patch to me..uh left? Hmmmm...o'well So now a new Dr. is trying to help me thru this hell, sounds like Im lucky, some of you not even getting help!! Benzo's help, get clonopine if you can..and pain meds for your chronic pain. All those won't take the withdrawals away, but help some. I hope we all get over this nightmare soon, spread the word that Fentanyl is horrific to get off of. Makes me so mad to see all of these people on here suffering, but I'm glad someone understands..to everyone...HANG IN THERE will be praying for all of you. :) Sorry I'm rambling, I'm in withdrawals as I'm writing this!! STUPID DR>S

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Today is day 5 for me patch free. Only been on them for 3 months. Had no idea what I was getting into when my dr. prescribed fentanyl for general back pain, and now that I am in hell, dealing with severe withdrawals, I am wondering what this idiot was thinking to put me on such a powerful and evil drug that was so unnecessary? I started on 50 mcgm every 72 hrs. and by month 3, was up to 75 mcgm every 48 hrs. With the recent hot weather, I had been sweating alot and patches were falling off. I would tape them back on, but would still withdraw after a few hours. I didnt know what was happening to me, so I saw my dr. and explained my symptoms of cold sweats, chills, anxiety, depression, not grounded, and shaking. He said it was vertigo and shoo'd me out of his office with some motion sickness pills. Well after about another month of misery, I looked into withdrawal symptoms of fenatnyl. I quickly learned that this was what the problem was and immediately went back to my dr. and told him I wanted off, and asked if he would prescribe something to ease my symptoms. From what I've been reading, I got pretty much the same response as most others. Dr. was unsympathetic, and only offered a lower dose script of the patches. I pleaded with him and explained this is no solution, I never wanted to see another patch, but was sent out with just another script, which I tore up and threw in his parking lot. I never thought I would be in such a dark and lonely place as I am in now. I'm trying to be strong for my family and I keep telling myself things will get better, but it's hard to stay positive with no support and no one who understands what I'm going thru. Finding this site and reading all of your posts is the first and only encouragement I have found so far, and I want to thank all of you who have shared your stories. It does help to know there are others dealing with the same thing as me. And it is helping me get thru the most difficult challenge I have ever faced. I WILL get thru this, and I offer my encouragement to all those out there who wish to rid themselves of this evilness! We WERE happy at one time, and we WILL be again. God bless all of you!!!

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THANKS 3day Rider

Will ask Dr. about it..I'll try anything at this point..:)

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Smile, you were asking for ideas about what works for chronic pain. Not knowing what is causing your pain makes it hard to know what would help. I have had severe arthritis for about 20 years, including in my neck, back, one shoulder, fingers, etc. I also have a spinal curvature that gets worse (and more painful) as time passes. What works for me is a combination of Percocet, Tylenol and Celebrex (an anti-inflammatory drug). All three of these have side effects, which just about any drug does. But I seem to be doing okay with them. I know it would be difficult to wean off of Percocet because it creates dependency, but it is typically a lot easier to get off of an oral medication than the patch (Fentanyl). But why would I be wanting to discontinue Percocet anyway? I expect to keep taking it forever. So this is one person's answer but I'm sure there are many other options for controlling chronic pain, and lots of other reasons for the pain. In many cases it also helps to control your weight, exercise regularly, get physical therapy and so on. But each person is different. I hope this helps.

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FYI-if you have withdrawals after only 1 day of wearing the patch you may be one of the 5% who shouldn't be on them. I found out the hard way, that's why I had to get off them. My body was absorbing the med way too fast, it progressively got worse. I ended up in ER, thinking I had a defective patch only to find out I was in full blown withdrawal...so the next day I went back to DR. The office staff told me be several weeks before he could see me, I drove there..walked in and well, he saw me. If you have to be pushy to get help, be pushy!! This is your body and life at stake. Don't let them treat you like a problem, a problem they created!! Once I get my feet back on solid ground, I gotta get off all the other crap! This is a living nightmare. Anyone knows anything that will work for chronic pain thats not so destructive, let me know! I've tried PT, tens unit, pain blocks, surgery, every overcounter med and almost every prescribed...I'm cant live with the pain, but these meds are making me worse...there are no easy answers..I Know
Thats all...for now lol

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This is my 5th day, no Fentanyl. I can't function..still hot/cold sweats, aches all over, anxiety, sleep is screwed up, crazy heart palpitations, and mad as h%$#. I'm on oxycontin, ativan, and just given small dose of methadone...barely helps. WHAT THA!!!!!! I thought the patch was the answer to my chronic pain, never heard of it, given first day at pain management. Why don't they try us on other meds first. I've done lots of research, the patch is intended for hospice patients who cant take oral meds. I am so upset right now, to young for this crap. They have offered several options, including detox and suboxone. Suboxone is not meant for long term pain relief, detox?! I took meds as prescribed!! and Suboxone if taken on long term basis is rough to get off too! Lots and lots of research, and asking around has made me mad. I have been wheening off now since April, finally off of it. This has left my body, mind, and soul depleted. I will update as often as I can. Thank all of you for sharing your stories, we are not alone. God Bless (I agree with prior posts, need to make the Dr.s wear the patch before they prescribe it) Thanks for Listening...Smile

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thanks for your advice 3 day easy rider

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Teri - I agree with 3day Rider - you DEFINITELY need to find a new doctor. The one you have obviously doesn't know jack about the withdrawl symptoms - or just doesn't care ... one of those who sees nothing but dollar signs when a patient walks in the door. When I found this site I did exactly as you did - sat and read for practically the whole day. It was like being in a whole different world where everyone could relate to what we're going through. Like one big family. I truly wish everyone here had a pain mgmt specialist like I've got - I absolutely love this guy. Teri, you hang in there and good luck. (Tessie, sorry about your brother and am glad he's doing better - you hang in there too.)

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TERI, sorry I haven't been on for awhile, my brother was in a serious car accident and almost died, in coma for two weeks, anyway, he's doing better now. I am on facebook. I wouldn't desert anyone on this site because of how much it helped me. I never was able to find Paula on Facebook though. Send an email to prescription drug info and ask them to send you my email address or if this will let me post my last name is Stevens but Tessie is nickname. What is your last name.

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Thankyou for your reply. I have seen a pain specialist and he just recently sent me back to my doctor stateing i need surgery and he cant help me becuase my problem is too big and didnt respond to injection which is all he does. So I am waiting on a referel from my doctor also which seems to be taking forever even tho they said said its considered urgent. I dont know what to do anymore. These people are supposedly in charge of my healthcare and they realy coud care less! I have complained to the clinic manager and everything. No help from her either. I dont what to do! i tried calling around fro a different doctor and couldnt get one due to me insurance or the fact im allready a patient of that certain clinic or somthing! Doesnt make sense to me. Just what all the smart profesionals are saying to me. So confused!!

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Teri,
You absolutely must find a more competent doctor, and fast! Try to find a pain management specialist if you can. No, you can't go off Fentanyl cold turkey if you have been taking 50mcg. It will be just awful. And you certainly can't stop taking the Prozac or you might have a severe depression. I don't know if you want to share where you live or your email address, but if I knew where you live maybe I could help you track down decent medical care. I'm not on Facebook so you won't find me that way, or on any other social networking site.

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Well it looks like everyone here has disapeared! My update is I went to the doctor and explained to them that I dont want to be on this fenanyl anymore. Thier respnse to this was to basically say oh well too bad. So needless to say i left the office with none of my medications except a really small dose of norco. That will not touoch my pain! I was taking 200 norco a month for yrs prior to the switch to fent and now she expects me to go from 50mcgh to a couple of norco a day! please! She wouldnt even give me my refills for prosac! I also explain since I have been on fent I have been experiencing panic attacks and I wanted to talk about maybe something for that, which i got no respnse to. So my pharmacist informs me i cannot just stop taking my prozac.... well someone forgot to tell the doctor who has a degree that! Any advice???

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i have been following this forum for a few days now and it has helped me so much! i cant begin to tell you how worried, irritated, and scared i was with this drug. i was getting to where i was having anxiety attacks because of this patch. i started reading this and couldnt stop. read all day. when i was finished i took off my patch. all of you have been so helpfull to me. i finally feel like im not alone. i would have posted a response earlier but for some reason it would let me. so since then i have been searching facebook trying to find tessie and paula to see if i could speak with them. no luck on that. so im back to try and again post this. all of you need to know how much ur writings are helping people who otherwise feel completely alone and lost. so i would welcome any response to this. thankyou again tessie and all for your help and encouragement!!!

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I had been on Fentanyl/Duragesic patch for 10 years. Unfortunately I lost my job and my medical coverage and had to slowly ween myself off in order to make what I had last. I was on 50mcg every 72 hours then I slowly increased the time between changing it. But it has been over 3 weeks and I still don't sleep, my legs and arms are always restless but especially at night when I am relaxing...that's a joke! I am irritable and impatient with everyone. It's not psychological this discomfort is very real. If I tense the muscles in my arms and legs really tight and hold it then relax and repeat, it usually works long enough for me to fall asleep, unfortunately it's not for long. But the alternative is to go back on it and although I am working again, benefits won't kick in for 3 months, hopefully by then I'm back to just being in my normal pain and this pain and restless irritable crap!

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Tessie, Thanks for your idea about getting the oxycodone and the tylenol separately, perhaps that would be better and I wonder if that way I might be able to take less Tylenol. I'll ask my doctor if he can prescribe just the oxycodone.
Rossd, I read your post and would like to help but it's hard to say anything useful without more info from you. I think you're saying you get withdrawal symptoms after two days on the 100 mcgh patch? I've never heard of that happening before. What is it you want the doctor who doesn't listen to you to do? Increase your dose, or give you a new patch more often, or something else? It sounds like you're on a really high dose now. What did the doctor prescribe it for in the first place? And is this doctor a specialist or a family practitioner; if a specialist, what is his/her area if expertise? If you feel your doctor's not listening, then most likely your best bet is to find a different one, preferably a doc who specializes in pain management and could help you get off the Fentanyl and replace it with something else if you need to. Before you make an appointment with a new doc, it might help you to make a list of questions because most of us forget what we wanted to ask once we get to the doctor, who is usually also in a rush. You might even try writing down a paragraph or two about why you originally were given Fentanyl, how long you've been on it, what dose, and what the problem is regarding the medication and what you would like to see done about it. That will organize your thoughts and save a lot of time. I don't think I would try to go off the patch cold-turkey if I were you, because you're on a high dose. As far as relief from withdrawal symptoms is concerned, the only thing they gave me were sleeping pills and that didn't help me sleep, just made me feel worse. It seems like the best way is to taper off very gradually, like over a period of months. Then resign yourself to several weeks of misery once you finish tapering off, so far on this discussion I haven't seen any way to avoid that. The good news is, the withdrawal symptoms do eventually go away! I hope this helps.

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@3dayrider
I hope this is helpful. If I'm understanding you right you have to take percocet plus additional tylenol to relieve the arthritis pain; my father is also 70, he takes oxycodone but you can get a form of it that is only the pain medication without Tylenol, then he adds the Tylenol as needed for breakthrough pain in between dosages of the oxy throughout the day. I know he feels extremely weak and tired alot, I know he is concerned with liver problems as well, with liver toxicity induced by tylenol I think that may be one of the side effects, if your doc would just give you the plain oxy and then let you add in the Tylenol as needed in between doses of the oxy you may get more relief and get feeling a little better. Glad your doing better, you should start feeling quite a bit better now. Good luck all. Hang in there. How you doing Sue and Debraska???

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