Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 79)
(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

Well! slept for couple hrs. last nite after nearly going MAD with the restless aching joints,man how long are these gonna last Happy Girl or Jenny?. Feel alot better during the day with a bit of appetite returning and a smile ! every now and then.Depression still pretty bad and realise now the patches must have been masking this and maybe i was getting more than pain relief out of the patches :(. Doctor Monday at last for bit of a chat i hope. Thanks for caring girls n take care of yourselves. Mat G. Aus.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

A comment on your post, my well rested Jenny!
Cronic pain, which is treated by opiates too often by our medical establishment, is different from the pain from an operation.
A physician would not use fentanyl as a first course, as it is one of the strongest opiates on the market.
if u ever do opiates again, using the patch could kill you! So please don't save any leftover patches for just in case ...
that being said, I aplaud your achievement!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I posted a while ago (should have been 110) but it seems to have disappeared. I'm Happygirl now, thanks to 9 hrs of sleep last night--the most since surgery--after wonderful neuromuscular massage at Denver's MassageSpecialists.com & then a Benadryl at bedtime. I can feel the fentanyl fog clearing from my brain, which is really great as I'm in the writing biz.

That said, if I ever again need major pain meds, I'd go on fentanyl in a heartbeat. It gave me immediate relief with the fewest side effects of any other drug--and almost all of them were thrown at me.

Many thanks & good luck to you all. Over out.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Happy Halloween,Everyone!
Withdrawal is a freak fest, isn't it?
I am 6 months free of all opiates and am sleeping pretty well. I got a lot of meditation in and listened to
music those nights
restless legs are over,too.
I did not take any other drugs or supplements. Love being free of big pharma!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I agree with Ted about tapering. I still had withdrawal symptoms even after the 6mcg (folded 12mcg)patch. Depression and restlessness and sleeplessness were the worse part. Time is the only thing that has helped. I had to be patient and knew by the experiences I read about in this forum that I would feel good again. Hang in there Mat43. Jenny, how was last night?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I feel bad for Mat43 & others who've had such terrible experiences w/ the fentanyl patch. It was a godsend for me, as I had bad reactions to all other oral pain meds: vicodin, percocet, darvocet, dilaudid, demerol, lyrica, topomax, neurontin (I've probably forgotten some), which were given to me 3 yrs ago after I was smashed up by a horse.

I wish I'd known about the fentanyl patch then (I'm still furious that NOT ONE doctor suggested it), because I was in agony for months. In fact, the first night after I stopped the fentanyl, I was awakened several times by pain in my right arm (3rd surgery, June '08), whereas my back (surgery Oct 8) felt OK.

I'll take a Benadryl before I go to bed in a few minutes. But if I get the unbearable itching/twitching I had last night, I'm going to put on 1/2 of a 25mg Mylan patch till morning.

Cheers & thanks to all.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

For all of you with withdrawal problems, don't believe want most people have to say,here is the easy way. I was 100mcg for 1 year and now off. Here is how it's done...
From 100mcg, drop to 75mcg for 6 patches. After the 75 go on 50 for 6 patches, then drop to fo for 6 patches, then drop to 25 for 6 patches, then drop to 12.5 (yes they make them) . After the 12.5 start cutting the 12.5's in half (Mylan brand only!) this will put you at around 6mcg wear the 6's for 4 patch changes. Then you're off. It is not that hard to taperI I waited a month because of all of the horrible stories read, I was dreading the withdrawal that people explain here. Sure if you go from 100 to 0 it will be hell! But tapering properly, I never felt any withdrawal syptoms.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

thanks happygirl etc for the kind thoughts, Day 7 now, the joint pain and the movement sensation is still terrible all nite. Day time is slightly easier,nausea has eased and can just face a piece of toast n cuppe tea. Still have a bad case of the trots!. Depression is still not good with no motivation but i think that will improve over the weekend i hope with my wife n children home. Never again will i touch these horrible patches ever in my life time. thanks all and take care . mat from aus.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Looked at Mylan Labs instructions online. Couldn't find anything about cutting (or not) the fentanyl patch. But now I know why the patch had been itching me when first applied: it contains silicone, which I'm allergic to.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Jenny, Is the instructional insert that came with the patch reachable? Maybe it will say yes or no to cutting. Just don't want to have you overdose.
Take care.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Turns out I'm the 1st Rx for fentanyl patch the P.A. has written, b/c of surgeon's concerns. Told me to call pharmacist, who said she can't TELL me to cut Mylan patch, but she's HEARD of other patients who've done it w/ no ill effects. I'll give it a go tonight.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Thanks, Happygirl! I just left a message w/ surgeon's ass't, asking about withdrawal. I'm on the Mylan patch, which according to what I've read, has an all-over coating, not a gel. However, I'll wait to hear from the P.A. before I whip out my scissors.

I'm forbidden to take any hot baths (not that I could get in/out of the tub anyway). The Benadryl helps with the itching, which was driving me crazy, and it made me drowsy too, so it was a win-win. I already take 5-HTP at night, which usually helps with restless legs, but not last night.

No, I won't die from lack of sleep. But I do like being able to fall asleep when I'm tired and think clearly when I wake up.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Jenny You should never cut the patch!! it would give you way too much medication at a time. It could be deadly.Try folding it in half and taping it on. Also I read that benadryl can make restless leg syndrome worse. I use a 3mg melatonin on some nights when I can't get to sleep. I also do not have caffeine after 5pm.You haven't been using the drug very long. your wihdrawal should be short lived. Have you used other opioids before the patch?
A good thought...you don't die from lack of sleep. Eventually you will tire enough to sleep. I found hot baths to soothe the restlessness.
Blessing to you.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

So glad I found this forum! I had a feeling I might be going through fentanyl withdrawal. Thanks to you all, I'm pretty sure I am.

I don't tolerate most oral pain meds, so was given 25mcg fentanyl patch a month ago after the 2nd ER visit in 19 hours for herniated lumbar disc & pinched sciatic nerve.

I had a microdiscectomy 3 weeks ago today. When the sciatic flared up 5 days after surgery, I was put on methyl-prednisolone, and when that didn't work, Ketorolac (oral Toradol), in addition to the fentanyl patch. Ketorolac didn't help the pain, plus made me stupid & suicidally depressed, so I stopped taking it after 2 days. My brain cleared, but within a few days I was so weak that I had to lie down for an hour after hauling myself downstairs for breakfast. On Monday (3 days ago) I decided that perhaps the fentanyl patch was the culprit, so didn't put on a new one that night. Tuesday I felt so crappy that I went to my GP. Lotsa tests turned up nothing.

I've gotten slightly stronger since then (though I'm in bed a good 22 hrs/day)--but in more pain due to no fentanyl. Last night was a horror: itchy stomach & back, restless & unable to find any comfortable position. Between 12-12:30am I took 17.5 mg of Valium & eventually fell asleep. Then I woke up at 4am, itching and with legs so restless I had to keep massaging them, which is hard to do w/ lumbar & sciatic pain.) At 5:30am I had the bright idea of taking a Benadryl, and that let me sleep till 10. I'm still itching, so plan on continuing with the Benadryl every 6 hrs.

But I'm dreading tonight, and am wondering whether I should taper down the fentanyl instead of going cold turkey. Such as: put on a half-patch tonight, then a quarter-patch in 4 days, and an eighth-patch after that.

Any thoughts?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Oh my...Mat43, I feel for ya!! It seems you're going crazy and all the symptoms of WD make you obsess on yourself and your pain. Please, don't give up if your back pain is tolerable. You will get through this. I had to taper to 25 and then 12 mcg hr. patch, each for about 2 weeks to month. I am finally free of all drugs for 2 months and counting. Just a little ibuprofen and Tylenol when I overdo it with lifting etc. My back is doing OK. I got over the depression too. It takes time. You should have a doctor help you do this. Write soon.
We're pulling for ya!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hawaiin Girl makes sense Matt, you can go to Urgent care or even the ER. Your doctor being out of town for a week won't help you, and you should get some rest especially with this flu going around. There is a chance you can mess up your imune system and get sick when you are going through bad WD's like you are. The doctor can help you with maybe clonodine, or something to help your joints..Good luck and let us know how you are doing.BTW what is panedeine??

Pat

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Mat43,
hey you can always go to urgent care... if you read all the posts, you know you'll get through it. Tapering would have been an easier withdrawal

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Now i know why i feel soo ! sick.
4 days ago i decided that id had enough of the blury head and went cold turkey on the Fentanyl 50mg/h, Havent slept anymore than an hr. in 4 nights, I was on the patches for chronic back pain where i could no longer take much orally due to gastric pain and bleeding, Now im left with major restlesness in all joints, massive nausea, anxiety, stomach ache ,and very depressed. Dont know how much longer i can take this..., and my doctors away for a week. Never again will i go past panadeine etc. goodluck fellow sufferers.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Happy girl, I don;'t know if I mentioned this B4, but my husband puts a bar of soap under the sheets right were his legs are and he swears that that bar of soap stops his RLS.. I know it sounds like an old wives tail but hey it can't hurt, and if it helps, great. I also heard that quinine can help RLS, and in some states you can get it OTC, but there are side affects... Good luck if there is anything I have lived with most of my adult life and suffered through it is RLS, and it may not even be from drugs some people just have it be it from genetics or whatever..

Pat

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hi Happy Girl
wow- that is so great you are off the patch ! Thanks for telling us.
At 6 months off I don't have the restless leg withdrawal symptom anymore. My heart doesn't race for no reason, and I feel positive a lot of the time.
It just keeps getting better!
Hope others will take heart from your message...

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