Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 6)
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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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P450, I misunderstood. I will try this week-end. You are right that I have been dumped by other docs; suddenly refusing my insurance because it doesn't pay as much as others. Point taken. Good luck!!!

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HOP,

You are posting where people who realize the drug is dangerous, and were forced due to a physician obeying FDA mandates and your physician will too. This is all due to ODUMMA. It began with shortages driving the drug costs up almost 8 years ago. It was all set up; remember he of all wanted our chronically ill people to die, not get medical treatment. In fact physicians are being paid INCENTIVES NOW if they stop treatment of certain chronic diseases.

You are not exempt by being in a certain state. Louisiana was included in the recent DEA drug bust which included Alabama where normal doctors treat chronic pain. so there are lots of pill mills, and cash pays. If a physician treating pain takes cash now they will stop they will be targeted by the DEA.

They all must have a DEA number as soon as the DEA gets a go ahead with the 120 mg. morphine equivalent level (I'd say less than a year) you will be cut back too if not cut off. Don't think a job gives you immunity. I tried to work in between on SSDI and now I'm fighting these f***s and I've been disabled for years.

Further you do not need a lawyer to get SSDI. If you are disabled you need to fulfill mental and physical; those in intractable pain are depressed that is a start.

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HOP,

Read my post carefully. I have several systems in court. Dr. Famous is in California.

I had to travel there 5 years and now 30 of us 10 months ago were just booted out to die. I can die. I have Central Pain Syndrome among another 400 disorders since my injury.

I was born and raised in Jersey.

Texas has the best health care in America today, that is where all the famous people are sent to our facilities now; no longer does Rutgers, Boston, and others carry the torch, we do.

If you are still having those side effects from Duragesic it is going to be a hellish withdrawal. I had horrid side effects too and was kept on it.

I would hate to see your doctor decide to get with the FDA regulations and cut his patients off or worse drop dead like Dr. H. did. Due to Workers Comp literally following me and I've won but still have no physician, long story. I will not give out actual names here.

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Fed Up,

You need to go back. This drug is poison and I've been on it for 20 years.

Is 25 mcg//hour your normal dosage?

I may be in and out today. Withdrawal becomes WORSE, day 3 is worse than day 1 and day 10 you want to die. Whether or not the physician is being a s*** head or not he is the only one who can work you down. I believe they make a 12.5 mcg/hour patch as well and after going through that procedure (is the cancer controlled) possible chemotherapy, I'd like you NOT to suffer this way.

Do you have a cancer physician? If so please turn to him or her for help as well.

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To 1564: Hilarious? It's far from that. Actually, fentanyl is 100 x more potent than morphine. Morphine is prescribed by the milligram, fentanyl is prescribed by the microgram. In order to take fentanyl, you have to already be opiate tolerant. A little too much fentanyl, you don't wake up again. There's nothing hilarious about any of this. It's not funny to have some quack-ass Doctor take control of your life and not explain to you what he's actually doing to you by prescribing this stuff. I trusted doctors until now. I'll never trust another one to have my interests in mind while making decisions about my treatment. Right now, my life is hell because of fentanyl....just 25 little mcg/hr.

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I have been using the 25mcg/hr fentanyl patch for about 16 months. when it was prescribed, I had no idea what I was getting into. After forgetting, yes, forgetting to get my refill last week, I went five days instead of the normal three without a new patch. I didn't expect the withdrawals I was hit with. I did some reading, and wow, this is not a medication I want to continue. I saw my physician yesterday and asked to come off of the fentanyl, and go back to something not quite so potent. He refused, saying that the opiates were all the same. This man has been rude, talked down to me while standing over me, told me that I couldn't possibly be having the pain I was complaining of, and humiliated me. I just can't go back there. I have been compliant even through a bilateral mastectomy when I was told that there was no reason for extra pain medicine following my surgery. I don't know how I got through that. The pain was crazy.

At any rate, I'd like to know the best way to dose myself down off of the 25mcg patch. I have 12 patches left, and I just don't want to suffer any longer under this man's abusive "care." I'd, quite frankly, rather hurt.

Is it better to extend the length of time I wear the patches, or cut back to half a patch? Please be as specific as possible. I'm so sick of this whole situation, I'm almost willing to go cold turkey.

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HOP,

I was born in Jersey. I am not a born southerner but am a proud Texan.

Northeast used to have the best medical care, you have more painers up north coming to me for help and they won't get it, you have more shut downs up there then anywhere.

You might have some doctor who is willing to play God but the minute his license is on the line you will be dumped; like I said Dr. Famous used to work the DEA and 30 of us were just pissed on.

Try what I said so you are prepared. Just stagger one patch for six hours so you know what it will be like. This post is about withdrawal.

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P450, Texas must be a terrible state to live in. I don't know who DR. FAMOUS is and I think that is a prerequisite for communicating with many of you. I am just a regular person with chronic pain due to a many illnesses. I haven't tried to stop the Fentanyl but I hope to as soon as I can retire. I am not living a great life but I work and function minimally beyond those hours. I am confused by much of what I read. I don't understand why I feel pressured by everyone to discontinue the pain medication if it is working. I do not abuse the medication but I do understand that I could not function without it. I am not going to experiment with withdrawal for "the hell of it" because I understand it would be hell. I have a goal- to retire and collect my pension. At that time I will check into a facility if necessary to get off all medications or reduce them to the lowest level that allows me to get out of bed in the morning. I know if I forget to put on the patch I get terrible restless legs. My legs kick in the air non-stop, I have anxiety, sweats and chills. I don't want to imagine what I will face when I do try to eliminate these medications because I don't want my life cut short by renal failure or some other disease caused by these meds. I don't know who Dr. FEELGOOD is either, someone else referred to that person. I live far from TX and honestly I am glad because I am beginning to think the medical system in your state is a "hot mess" as the young people would say. I think I may just remove myself from all of this because I feel people are judging me in a negative manner and I am not sure why. I am doing what is necessary to survive right now. I was bedridden and could not afford to hire attorneys to try to get me disability. The fentanyl has allowed me to continue working and I am "seeing the light at the end of the tunnel". Is it that people are angry that I was able to survive and put some pieces of my shattered life back together? Or is it that there are huge discrepancies across state lines regarding the dispensing of pain medications? I am not sure but I feel crazy enough on my own without becoming fodder for others to chew on and spit out everytime I post something hoping to help others in similar situations.

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Ok Elle white- you have our attention. What did you do to control your chronic pain? Everyone reading these posts certainly wants to know.....please don't disappoint us.

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That is hilarious response .,..80 times stronger then morphine ?
Morphine nearly killed me , these patches of witch I varied between 35 to 100 did nothing to control my pain...
My deliverance came through a completely different manner ,,,,
I had been suffering for many years unable to eat anything and skeleton looking like,,,,
As much as I loved my husband and my mother and I knew I would destroy their hearts if I died ...at the good old age of 40 .....I sought out way out of relentless pain .....
Then I was saved ,....and completely healed , gained weight ....and free of these drugs as well ...

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Hop,

No one misunderstood you. I can literally die at this level. I have progressed to Central Pain Syndrome, and as a professional nurse and published researcher I was all about the progressive effort to use opioids (before my huge injury as well) to treat pain.

1. It allowed MORE people to attempt work.
2. It kept families together; less divorce rate for example.
3. Out of all prescribed and OT drugs overall opioids are the safest.

So I was two months into my injury put on LA medication I was able to walk again. Meaning Workers Comp (not in Texas just so ya'll know) did this and I have a 100% medical award for life. My injury is catastrophic and then I was with this most famous dude in California the last five years; prior to that I outlived Joel Hochman in Houston, TX a really great specialist as well. Dr. Famous did the swab evaluation on me (300 others were in the study as well) and only 2 came back with a P450 that only hits 3% of the population I am an ultra rapid opioid metabolizer. Finding this out kept me on the patches which Dr. H. started me on many years ago I tried to go off once when I was on lower dosage and forget it you do not want to know what occurred it was ugly. I never figured I'd be off PM for we scientifically proved the point.

Hop no one in this lovely country is getting what you are right now; they are literally forcing physicians to think (its not a regulation but the FDA never did a mandate like this) that they have 3 months (I had 4 weeks not 3 months) to taper patients down so that they total level or morphine equivalent has to be no more than 120 mg.

Why did they do this? OVERDOSE DEATHS ON PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS.

Here's the butt kicker the people who OD and die are NOT PRESCRIBED our medications and who is paying; 99.9% of those who require pain management to live. When you come in here sounding like you came out of a doctor in 1995 when this was starting to take on good publicity in 2015 people are upset PLUS this post was to give support to those who have to come off Duragesic. When you do it is pure hell there is nothing like it day 3 makes you want to commit suicide and day 10 (just in a taper of 25 mcg every 7 to 10 days) is 100 x worse then 3. You are so sick and spent by day 3 what do you do?

Physicians don't really get it so you are left in the nightmare of what Duragesic does on your own. I've done it and know and yet I normally should be on the two highest BRAND amounts (80 count EACH) monthly. I sure as hell am not right now. But in tapering when I went down by 75 mcg at a time (try that people I have balls somewhere) I literally went to renal failure. Since Comp had already f***** my Dr. Famous and he threw 30 of the out of state patients out due to California regulations I was left on my own and under Odumma don't try to go to an ER for help. I hate hospitals and my Comp tried to send me to an ER I've fought this for 10 months (won) but still have no physician.

HOP I traveled from East Texas for five years north of California I had to. Perhaps you should share your physician with me; I'd love to meet him or her :)

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Hi Stephen,

You've got email brother sounds like that LE was a rookie they are usually not that stupid but I'll tell you the LA State Troopers have it down. I drive Jetta's, had one of the last fast 6's they built and sure enough you pass one of em when they first got laser (had it before Texas) and they pull you over. So go figure. I'm a tall blonde, they would have me ALWAYS I swear ALWAYS get out of the car and chat. I finally figured it out; he could get a better look at my legs and ass that way go figure.

Thanks for exchanging information. I literally had one physician a really great doctor for 10 years. He died unexpectedly then they sent me to the famous guy out in California the past five years. Suddenly the comp i****s got involved and that is a danger signal. Prior to the current loss of physician my medications were running $25,000 a month; I am probably lucky I always put aside for a situation (this one is super bad) because currently (due to the P450 only patches and liquid I could take 100 Dilaudid together and they'd be out of me in less than 15 minutes goes for long acting pills as well) because I doubt anyone could write for me at that level now.

It all comes down to Odumma, it started with a plan to up the price of narcotics when he got in and it played out. I won against Comp on August 19, 2015 they still have not given me a panel and they went to appeal not because a full Commission will approve what they want because the longer (they think it's illegal to abuse a RN in Texas an extraditable felony and I'd love to put them in a cage with Bubba they would not know where they come from what to do and would not get bail either) for attempted murder if you look at my records.

In the meantime I know I hated that drug when I first went on it but my physician was going to get me on that drug and it did help the structural part of my injury (blown discs and nerve root compression) for the RSD and those disorders the Oxy's always worked on that end. They finally got me straight, I was just about 80 pounds and five foot nine, pain was ending my life and am now a good old 126 pounds and Odumma's full force is on it's way.

People think its the insurance companies. HELL NO, the drug manufacturers keep drugs on the market that cause permanent damage for they'd rather put aside a billion in legal settlements and keep selling it for the profit ratio is still with settlements over 2 billion a year. I could tell you a lot about which drugs many of you take that carry those headers. They also hire PHD sales people and they market the drugs in the doctor's offices throw out samples and the physicians are not trained like some of us in biochemistry so they prescribe these drugs; many of the anti seizure drugs which have been used for bipolar (suicides occurred many thousands in fact) and then you have weight gain, depression, and rebound seizures in folks who never had seizures.

I might have to go over to SSA again. I do not trust the witch who screwed up that bit of business. This local office is literally for those black birds that crap all over your windows in Port Arthur; this place is a cess pool I tell you when I divorced the first husband I went to West Texas (Midland) and stayed with a private pilot I knew out that way but over here, hell no. I do like Houston though.

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HOP
I know what u mean .. before I was put out to pasture and still driving . It use to amaze me how some states where its like there state government lost tbere b###s are somthing and where scared of the feds ... . Its all coming down to states rights again ( yep the same thing the civil war was originally fault over ) . And yes some states some drugs are not regulated like in other states .. look at Colorado and pot for example

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P450, my niece just moved to Louisiana from NY. Some of these posts are scary. She married a military man so she had to relocate. It sounds like a very different "world" than we are used to in the northeast section of the country.

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I am amazed that there is a state with a drinking age of 18. That was the legal age when I was 18 but soon after it went to 19 and then 21. I am very confused and naive. It seems that many things need federal oversight rather than letting individual states rule on such matters. No wonder people have misunderstood some of my comments.

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P450
last time I was in texas I got in trouble for that . thx god my daughter had her I D . cop thought she was under 21 and tried taking my butt to jail .. that was in Houston .. he felt like a fool when my 37 yr old daughter showed him her I D .. it got funny ... he (the cop) even tried to claim it must be a fake . He called it in had his dispatch call LA state police and got a description of her What a dumb ass LOLOL ..

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Stephen,

You can drink in a bar here at any age as long as you have a parent, meaning even 10 and 17 years old is our legal age lol.

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Stephen,

I do respect your respect for your physician. I can literally die I've not had Dr. Famous for 10 months and took Workers Comp (I keep the state confidential for similar reasons) back to court and won they are appealing (I won against an Attorney General always do), just to hold me off. I met one great Dr. in Houston. He is having health issues, he's referred me to several and I'm worried about my complexity.

I am going to get my Louisiana ID (I'm on the border anyhow) had a guy I was with back and forth for 10 years. I am a female male chauvinist pig so you know how that goes over with Coon Azz' but yes I know all about over there which is why I think it's better I see someone there. I know I'll not be able to go back to my normal quantity but if it's a good physician he will appreciate my complexity and hopefully save my little blonde ass.

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P450,

I never said I wouldn't tell you his name. I said not over an open forum like this. Oh and as far as federal rules LOL is like we tell ppl all the time this is Louisiana, feds can kiss our ass. We're still under french colonial law. It's still the only state where an 18 yr old can drink. I didn't say buy but can drink if there parents or guardian buys it for them we believe if your old enough to die for this dumb assed country you should b able to drink a beer. (yes im a vet)...

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Stephen,

The FDA 120 mg. morphine mandate is affecting all physicians. There is no state (even Alabama) that allows this unless it's one of the physicians recently being shut down taking extra cash on the side. The DEA is having a field day with this just so everyone knows.

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