Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 78)
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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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Ben and Rose I feel for you both. We're talking about being on these patches LONG TERM, 5, or 6 years in the body and they are horrible, you get used to what your body is taking. The chronic pain management the doctors start with is the Lyrica or Antidepressants, then they add the Benzo's when the others give you panic attacks then after 5 -6 years your body is used to that so they give you Vicodin, then percodan then long term oxycontin or patches. I found the BEST INFO if you really want to taper comes from a rehab / detox center or certified pain management doctor, because the regular docs have no idea what happens when you taper this stuff. I have personaly talked to people who have gone off stuff thru detox and/or cold turkey. My brother has a friend who has an addiction problem but wants to be clean he has cold turkey'd things, tapered things about 7 or 8 times and he says he would rather COLD TURKEY HEROINE again than Methadone or the Patch, Sandoz Brand from what I'm finding out is worse than Mylan. You got to get the right help for you I'm fourteen days off patch and am physically shaky, still really tired but finaly able to sleep 3 hr stretches, etc, I tried to quick anti depressants and benzo's at same time, DOCTORS said this can get you in trouble, I had been taking them longer than the patches. Some of the doctors out there giving out this stuff like candy should have to have 5 days of the cold turkey withdrawal the rest of us have gone thru then they might get it!!! Sorry about the ranting, I just feel better already but have a long way to go with the anti depressants and very small dose of Xanax because when you come some patches or synthetic narcotics (from other research done so far) you can go into HYPER SENSITIVE mode and tapering actually prolongs the pain, if you read back through some of the old posts some people got super sensitive. After 14 days of NO PAIN MEDS, tylenol, advil, anything, I took a 200 mg advil and it was like taking a lortab if you've never had one. If you've been on this stuff for a long time there are easier ways to do it but find the right help. all our situations are different. God Bless all of you out there that put this devil patch on. I'm praying for all of you! Good Luck, don't give up it does get better and better and better, some of us have to go slower with some things than others depending on health problems and what we have been previously on.

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Correction: I was only on the 25mcg patch. So there was a 2:1 ratio between use & recovery time. And that was going cold turkey. I should think it would take several MONTHS to taper down from 100mcg (Rose) or 150mcg (Big Ben).

Benadryl greatly eased my cold-turkey itching, but it might interact badly with other meds. So check with your pharmacist first.

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Big Ben, I'm amazed that you can even walk out of the house, much less function at work, on all those meds. I was given Lyrica 3 years ago, and told the doctor that it should come with a cane because the stuff makes me fall down. 24 hours after my one dose, I was still so dopey that I nearly made a left-hand turn on a red light at a 6-lane intersection.

Be sure you taper off the fentanyl. Not knowing any better, I went cold turkey after being on the 50mcg patch for 4 weeks. After a night of hell I found this forum through a Google search. It's been 2 weeks, and only today do I feel like myself again, and not itchy or twitchy.

Rose, I can't understand why the doctor refuses to have you taper off the fentanyl. Can Medicare help you find someone else? Or can you bring a family member with you when you see her again, to help argue your point? Don't know if it would help, but try calling the manufacturer of the fentanyl patches you're using & ask if they can recommend any resources.

You shouldn't have to feel guilty and ashamed for getting addicted to a substance that was prescribed to ease your pain. Getting some counseling might help with your overwhelming feelings. I know because I've been there.

Best wishes to all!

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Wow, Rose, I am so proud of you for wanting to be free of that devil fentanyl. I am 57 and have high bp also. 6 years is a long time to use the patch. I think someone wrote in a while ago that it was developed for terminal patients!!! Well, you don't have to be terminal. Keep us posted on what you doc says Friday. Also be honest with doc. tell exactly how much of everything you use!!! Your treatment depends on it. With Best Regards. I am 3 1/2 months off the patch. So much better and feeling joyful again.

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I am so glad I found this site. I'm so scared I can't think straight and I am feeling so guilty and ashamed for what I am doing to my family. I started the fentanyl patches 100 mcg 6 years ago after cervical fusion and nerve damage and a rotten spine. I've dealt with depression and anxiety all my life and those have caused me serious problems but getting off these fentanyl patches looks likes it's going to be my biggest hurdle yet. My doctor who was prescribing the patches lost his license to prescribe controlled substances so I was in bad shape for a couple of weeks. Went to the ER until I could find a doctor, but she won't treat me for getting off the patches and she's trying to get me into a suboxone program but noone within a 50 mile radius is taking new patients. She did give me patches 75mcg for one month they'll be gone this week. I am praying she will keeping giving me the patches until I can get into a suboxone program. Well I really wish she would help me taper but she refuses. I wish I had never heard of the patches. I can't say how many doctors I have begged to treat me. I'm 59, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol depression but I am not on any antidepressant right now they never seem to work anyway. now I have real high blood pressure which she is treating me for. I believe she is a good person but just doesn't want to get involved in fentanyl withdrawal after 6 years at my age and health. It doesn't help that I am on medicare because a lot of doctors don't even want to hear the word. I'm afraid of the suboxone but more afraid of cold turkey. All of you seem so brave and I admire all of you. I hope to be free of the patches and still alive sometimes SOON. I take klonopin for panic disorder .5mg and although I never want to see another patch when I get off these I can't imagine ever being off something for panic and anxiety. Fentanyl seemed like then answer to a prayer when I first started taking it. I didn't get high or nervous like I did on all the vicodin I was taking. There was a time about 5 years ago when I was taking the fentanyl 100, vicodin, muscle relaxants, neurontin, and Lexapro. Now the fentanyl and the klonopin are my main demons but I don't know how I will win this battle win doctors don't want to or can't seem to help. I live in a small town and there were a lot of patients from my old doctor who have taken up the suboxone vacancies and doctors just don't seem willing to wean me or taper me off. I hope everyone trying to get off these patches does okay and the ones that are off can stay off. If I ever do get off and survive I don't want to ever blindly take another drug. Although I'm worried that is exactly what I'm doing with Suboxone, if I can ever get in a program. Right now Iam just so afraid of what the doctor is going to do on Friday since I haven't been able to get in a program.

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Big Ben, You are right, its scary and it sucks and its hell BUT IT IS WORTH IT. I have rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, bad knees, etc, to cold turkey all meds is bad. MODERATION IN ALL THINGS WITH PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS!!!! I feel GOOD now 14 days out without any pain meds at all BUT AFTER GOING TO ER TWICE and out as much info as possible for yourself is the only way to go. I've had the luxury of being a homemaker and just dealing with the kids and daily tasks was all I could do. You can do it...if you're determined, sounds like you are, your body can't repair itself on no sleep though. Whatever you do don't discontinue the Lyrica, It will be your best friend with the leg jumps and will help with sleep eventually, take all your other prescribed meds as doc tells you or you are prolonging your agony. Good luck and the others are right hang in there.

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All your replies are kinda scaring me ! I've been on the Fentanyl patch for a little over 5 years now on a 150 mcg/hr every 48 hrs dose plus 30mg hydromorphone 12hr action twice a day and Lyrica 600mg twice a day too ! And all that while working 45hrs weeks in a garage ! I've had 2 herniated discs removed 6 months ago and I'm now now trying to get off thoses damn meds ! I managed to lower the Hydromorphone dose but the patch is way harder. I went down 50mcg/hr every month or so with little discomfort...but going off completely is f***ing hard ! Nausea, diarhea, hot flashes, tremors, general muscle pain, very short tempered borderline aggressive, lack of sleep.....It's been a week now and those symptoms are at their worse so far. Don't know how long this will go on but it's all worth it ! I'm doing this cold turkey and I don't want to take strong meds ever again. It's NOT easy but I advise everyone taking this crap to at least try to get off or lower to the max the dose. WHY ? 'Cause I went thru my back surgery and am trying to get off this crap because my Doctor told me my heart would unlikely last more than 5 to 10 years before failing due to the meds (and I'M only 34 years old !). So please be carefull. This stuff is VERY DANGEROUS and not to be taken lightely ! ( Please excuse my spelling...I'm french from Montréal, Québec ! )

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Maui Girl you are absolutely right but what i didn't mention in my no sleep fog and racing thoughts from this sandoz path is that I was on xananx and patch and was trying to cold turkey both together. after a visit to emergency room and being able to speak with a detox dr. I was put back on the xanax, get off patch first get off xanax, after, that aweful sandoz patch from detox experts stays in your system for 27DAYS after LAST REMOVING IT FROM YOUR BODY. Talked to others now who have used benzo's to get off then I plan to get off the xanax but a small amount has helped me, it had been in system too long. ALL OUT THERE SHE IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT THO, all the things she says works have tried them!! Hang in all. Prayer works for me too!

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What works and is free, to help you in your recovery from opiate dependency....
Gentle exercise
stretching
deep breathing
mindfulness meditation
chi gong
audiobooks- comedys, thrillers

time away from all perscription drugs, so your body can heal and achieve homeostasis

7 months off 100 mg Sandoz patch
and valium. The benzos are the hardest to recover from!!!
Using all the above techiques to cope with a messed up back and nerve damage from failed back surgery. Grateful to be free of drug dependency!

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Jenny thanks so much for the info. I don't know alot about herbal stuff was trying to throw Matt a rope if he's out there but Matt maybe Jenny has ideas for you too. We'll see if he gets back. Hope he's okay. Thanks Again!!

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Tessie, L5-HTP is a tryptophan analog. You can find it at most vitamin shops & Whole Foods. St. John's Wort can be an effective herbal antidepressant, but it can interact badly with certain Rx meds. So if you're on any, ask your pharmacist about possible interactions before taking it. Valerian tea is calming; I gave it to my kid (now 20) when he was frantic with teething. But valerian root is a narcotic, so don't overdo the tea or capsules. And if you take the caps, again ask your pharmacist about drug interactions.

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122 Sorry all out there no sleep and sometimes you leave things out, The St Johns Wort is a Herbal Mood Enhancer, supposed to work like an antidepressant I have a friend who has tried it successfully off and on just as needed, I want to get back to that eventually. Did you get any help. Let us know!

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121 Jenny Glad you got the better patch the other one is a nightmare. What is the H stuff? Herbal type stuff? Let me know I'll try definitely try it! THANKS for the support. The valium and/or xanax can help, I want to eventually use as little prescriptions meds as possible, they are good in moderate amounts for correct reasons only. When I had to go in for emergency stomach surgery due to stomach bleed I was on patch and other stuff, I had lost 70 pounds and was weak as heck, this was in June. Ensure PLUS at Walmart really helps, ITS NOT JUST FOR OLD PEOPLE lol...TO MATT: and anyone interested weakness, spaghetti legs, itching all this after stuff needs constant attention so we don't have to take anything else. Ensure plus has fiber will help control diarrhea, I didn't have it as bad as others have mentioned, you can feel physically stronger after a couple of bottles I'm really serious! Also Matt there is St. John's Wort Herbal Walmart has best price on it and ensure PLUS theres a difference between the two. Keep up your nutrition and it will help your mental state. Got a blessed 2 hours at 6:00 a.m. Hang in there Matt I'm praying for you!!

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Tessie, I had a 25mcg Mylan patch. I'm a week off after 4 weeks on & am still a bit itchy, though less twitchy. Stayed up till 3am writing, then took 10mg Valium. I woke up after only 5 hours, but for a welcome change was fully asleep the entire time. I did a few ballet plies & standing on tiptoe before bedtime, which may have helped. As I mentioned previously, L5-HTP helps enormously with twitchy legs. I take 4 every night.

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119 Matt forgot to tell you I have a surgery for a GI Bleed in June of this year, I had been on the patches for five years because I couldn't take the easy on your stomach stuff as well, it is 4:40 am so I hope this is making sense. Also It has been much better on this 8 day with cymbalta as my mental resolve is helping me want to stay strong although my body is aching from the athritis, knee surgeries, lupus and a laundry list of problems I will never again put one of these patches on my body. They were first made to be used by cancer patients who were dying....hang in. Thanks all.

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118 Matt please hold on you can get your life back. I'm aching and hurting, I was six days with about 3 hrs sleep total in the little 20 to 30 min snatches you get til the twitches come. The Cymbalta also will cause mild drowsiness, just enough to help you sleep in hour stretches so far and thats where I'm at but theres light at the end of the tunnel whichever way you choose to do things. I'd like to keep posting with you I need the support too. Thanks to Hawaiian Born, Maui Girl and Happy Girl cuz I was ready to put a gun barrel in my mouth til I read your posts. I also read some of the previous ones on this thread Matt, go back and read this from the start CAREFULLY pick out pertinent information to you, there are other things chronic pain people can do to aleviate the symptoms of this, icy shot patches to aching muscles, I use heating pads constantly, hot showers or hot baths with the melatonin, also on another site a sufferer mentioned valerian root, it is herbal remedy that helps you relax and fall asleep, works like the valium and/or xanax which calm the bats in your tummy and helps you relax, also like all these helpful angels and fellow sufferers have stated if you have a religious preference it helped me immensely, magnesium if your wanting to stay natural helps the leg jerks out there for any of you who want to stay natural. Secondly to Tedds post, you are so lucky you were on the Mylan Patch, PEOPLE there are TWO kinds of fentanyl patches MYLAN and SANDOZ Mylan 25 is almost like a stretchy piece of medical tape and can be cut. Sandoz brand a generic patch which I believe all of you fellow sufferers like myself were probably on the 25 is about a 1 x 1 piece of patch with an actual visible gel like substance in the middle *BAD thing about this wicked awful patch is it has a small amount of alcohol with the fentanyl gel to help if disperse through your skin. I believe thats why this one is so wicked awful. Last September my younger brother age 38 with a wife and five children had tried to come off these horrible things two times, he was working a graveyard shift at a coal mine it just kicked his butt and he kept using them, he is one of the people who has now been killed by this horrible patch....thus the ads about the deaths from the fentanyl patch, his heart just couldn't take the work schedule and all the stuff he was taking with it and he died a year ago september. Don't give up!!!! It will get better and better. If any of you out there have any thoughts on any subjects I would be interested to learn if my theory is correct of which brand of patch you were on. Most insurances make you go Sandoz cuz its the generic brand, let me know what you think. thanks again to all those positives out there who kept me up during dark hellish hours. My prayers are with all of you!!!

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117 I want to tell Matt I'm about 8 days out off a 25 mg patch. long story short I have rheumatoid arthritis and knee surgeries, then finally after trying to treat those problems with Ibuprofen, etc I was given the patch, its good at first til you loose yourself and your life. I worked at Dr Office for 10 years as a medical assistant, with chronic pain it wears on your brain and you loose the seratonin and dopamine and causes you depression, if your mental resolve isn't really strong while trying to get off this stuff its hard, theres a medication called Cymbalta, its for mild depression but whats absolutely wonderful about it is it also helps the leg jumps immensely!!! It blocks some of the nerve paths to help relieve chronic pain while supply a mild antidepressant to help keep up those levels that you and I are seeming to fight harder for. Its a prescription. I want to see if I'm doing this post right cuz I have some important other information. for us suffers and conquerer's out there....let me see if this one works first...

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I posted 2 days ago & it disappeared again. That wonderful 9-hr sleep hasn't been repeated, alas. I'm back to feeling exhausted, then unable to sleep as soon as I turn out the light. Last night I had to rub my legs because they wanted to twitch. I was depressed before I used the fentanyl patch. Now that I took it off I'm still depressed, but with a sharper mind. And I have renewed pain in my much-operated right arm, which I didn't even know the fentanyl had been helping till I stopped using it. (The patch was for lumbar disc & sciatic pain.)

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Hi everyone! It's Monday here in Oregon,Mat43. I think Maui Girl has some wisdom about the depression and antidepressant thing. I have never been depressed before the withdrawal from opiates. It took several weeks for the fog to clear and to feel well again. I was considering asking my doc for some antidepressants...but thought I should wait a while. I basically just sat around and read some really great books. It was summer here and I could sit on the terrace and listen to birds and hear the wind in the fir trees and smell the wonderful pacific northwest air while I read and read and read. I felt lazy at times, but that is just the way I was. It's amazing how normal does return if you wait for it. Jenny, you're and inspiration too. Do try not to use any other meds if at all possible. There is no other feeling like CLEAN. Take care, all. I'm praying for you.

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Hey Mat,
Aloha from Maui! Read through the old posts and you'll see that most of us had depression as a withdrawal symptom! It isn't necessarily true that the opiates masked an underlying condition. It's more likely that the opiates bind to a neuroreceptor that wil now have to be filled by your own natural endorphins.. and that will come back with your effort to enjoy your life- adding in exercise, goodfood,sex, and a positive attitude. Beware of adding Anti depressants - unless you have time away and still aren't feeling ok-
I am not giving medical advise- but know that yr Doc is going to suggest it because that is what they have in their bag of tricks.
If there is a support group around, that isn't AA, if can be great. Learn to cope with the symptoms with some distraction techniques... The legs are crazy, aren't they?!! I must have run a half marathon every night for the first month! Massage helps. Breath deep, swim if you can. We all are cheering for you!
Maui Girl

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