Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 2) (Top voted 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.

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Hey happygirl, I am at same stage as you in weaning off patch which I have been on for 8 yrs. I plan to do round of 6 mcg by taping or folding patch. Maybe that will help you too. Has anyone else had pressure headaches--feels like it is going to burst.

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I just want to let people know that there is hope. In 2005 I had back surgery, and was on fentanyl for about 3yrs. I was on 100mcg, then I started reducing 25mcgs until I was on 25mcg. I would do the decreased dose for 30 days then go down 25 until I was on the 12.5mcg, at the 15th day I quit and it has been 9 days and I feel like I have just come out of a fog. I feel so much better, but like others I have problems sleeping so I have been taking lyrica at night and 1 800mg ibuprofen, and I have been able to sleep through the night. I think staying extremly busy helps with the with drawls. I work full time and I am a full time student at night, I'm so tired all the time and my back hurts alittle but it is still better than being on fentanyl. I wouldn't notice the withdrawls until I got home at night and sat down. The lyrica really helped me get to sleep at night. Good luck everyone its worth it, and Jemmy Congrats are in order and B-rad man my hat is off to you and anyone who is trying to get off that STUFF and yes our health care system are the real king pins.

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I must admit I have been a lurker for quite some time now. I just wanted to say I have quite enjoyed the candidness expressed by most of those on this site that have been here for awhile. It has really helped me to know that I am not alone when it comes to pain and the experiences involved that come with the long term use of narcotic pain medications. I can certainly commiserate with almost everyone here.

I really hate it when someone leaves a message intended to tear someone down instead of building them up. I honestly believe when someone does something like that is because they have never honestly dealt with chronic long term pain. If they do have chronic debilitating pain they would not make those types of judge mental statements.

I wanted to say thank you all for sharing all of your stories.

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Don't be afraid, just be mindful of going super high on Fentanyl levels. If you need it, don't feel bad at all I also have several back issues and some things caused by trauma. It's a very good painkiller, it just needs to be respected. All people not with terminal cancer or something like that, especially at our age... Lol... must have some serious pain going on, and had not had a history of drug or alcohol abuse. I know I had a long relationship with my Dr. And other issues with taking pills by mouth and absorption issues. I am sure you are on a very low dose at this point, just use this at the minimum level that you can, as aCCP WE BOTH KNOW WE'LL NEVER BE PAIN FREE...... we can have a life without constant increasing pain. Everything you see on here is generally people who have problems with taking high levels or misuse and abuse. Just use it as directed, on your skin , it is a medicine to be respected and kept out away some place like w gun would be, especially when the little ones come around!!! Like I said don't be frightened, is it working to help you well with your pain?

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Oh yes Karen, I get hot flashes all the time. I don't know if it's the dilaudid or menopause. They are embarrassing. As far as feeling better I hate to tell you but it took about a year to start feeling stronger. Now I went from bedridden to out and about. The 150 mcg of Fentanyl knocked me on my ass. I would just want to sleep all day and was so out of it. I am now very cognitive and have made friends and started my own group on fibro. I also found taking vitamin b12 shots each month really helped heal part of my memory and speech. I was always forgetting words or stopping mid sentence. Don't get me wrong I still have bad days when I can hardly move from pain and weakness. But when I look back I realize that the patch was not helping at all in fact it caused so much damage to my kidneys. I almost died. Was on my death bed when they called my kids to come in to say goodbye. I was out of it and didn't know. But by some miracle I survived and got so much better. I still can't walk to far but I'm doing well. Trust me Karen, we have chronic pain from injuries and surgeries and will most likely have it forever but it's how we choose to handle it that matters. You are handling everything well. Have you tried any counseling at all. I found I really needed it. I also found that keeping a diary of your pain and problems really help. When seeing doctors or specialists make a list of your questions or anything that has changed. I hope you find this helpful. You are not alone. It is really really hard for your body to adjust without it. You realize that Fentanyl is 70% more potent than heroin. Now you see why it's so deadly and addictive. If you don't want me bugging you just let me know. If I can help even one person come off this drug I will be so happy!

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Sorry SLICK,but methadone SUCKS FOR PAIN! Maybe it helps in other ways for some, but I tried this year's ago for pain and it did a.b.s.o.l.u.T.l.y. nothing...

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Yes. You are having withdrawal symptoms. I've used fentenal 75 mcg. for a long time. When I had hot flashes I would get more medicine released which led to misuse. I'm now on Suboxone to relieve my chronic pain and addiction problems.

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Hang in there HappyGirl. I'm routing for you.

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Hey Happygirl,
I have severe Rheumatoid and neuropathy--so far pain is OK. I just lost a lot of weight so this is optimal time to try to get off patch. I'm well stocked with lortabs, lyrica and muscle relaxers if pain increases. So far motrin is handling the pain that I can't tolerate--am use to dealing with pain unfortunately. My biggest problem is extreme fatique--exhausted all the time. I've folded mylan patch when at 37 mcg with no problem. However suggestion I read and am going to try is taping over half of patch to make 6 mcg. I use a wound covering thing to keep patch on so pressure on fold not extreme. I so want off these patches so am trying to think positively, but everytime something hurts or I get so tired, I get worried that it may not be possible. My pain levels have never been well contolled, but I also don't want to go back to where I was before the patch either. It's nice to have a buddy through this.

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Hello fellow travelers,
I wanted to report the results of my taper so far. I am 72 hours free from patch all together. Still not sleeping very well. Have the restless legs and just plain fidgety. I hear this could be over in as little as 4 and maybe 7 days.
I hope so! I am very tired. I also feel keen, or sensitive, or irritated. Any experience from you guys at this point is wanted!

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Hi all,
Just had to put my two cents worth here. I have been on fentanyl for 8 yrs due to severe rheumatoid, post cancer neuropathy, fibro,...to name a few of my diagnoses. I have finished weaning off fentanyl. It has taken since June reducing two weeks at a time. I had been on patch as high as 100mcg and did the weaning in increments of 75, 50,37,25,12, and then 6 brfore stopping. I increased lyrica dosage, but that was it. Yes, I have some residual pain, but I am off fentanyl now for 7 days. The only major problem I am having is sleeping due to increased neuropathy. No not everyone can get off this drug due to legitimate pain control issues, but do not discourage people from trying. I never thought I'd ever be off it--and never would have considered trying if it hadn't been for a huge price increase. Even my doctor wasn't very positive. So for everyone trying, don't give up----if you need extra help talk to your doctor, but again know---it can be done.

Jemmy

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Happy Girl,
Keep up good work. It has been two weeks fentanyl free and like you I feel so much better-am doing more physically than I have in past 5 years--less fatique and brain fog.
I bought a heating pad as my reward--have missed having one so much while on the patch. It also helps with late night neuropathy. My overall pain even seems better. I do have problems sleeping, but that was always a problem as am a night owl. I am thinking of you and sending positive vibs in your direction.
Jemmy

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Hello B-Rad..I hope by now that you would have turned in the methadone clinic you were going to because the clinic you were at is 100% different than LEGAL methadone clinics.. I have been on methadone maintenance since 1984 on and off, and full time since 2001. The clinics DO NOT keep raising doses just for the fun of it. In fact they don't or won't raise your dose at all w/o your permission, and you must have a good reason to want to keep going up. Clinics have state and Feseral guidelines they must follow and raising patients doses isn't included unless you do blood tests that include letting them know that your body eats up methadone faster than you can store it.. A lot of people try to get their doses increased without luck because they want to get high. As for them taking payment plans, what is wrong with that?? Any medical office takes payment plans, and I would love to hear your thoughts on what is wrong with that. I also have had other doctors who took payments, so there is nothing in the world wrong with that..As for the methadone program not being what they tell believe it is, please enlighten me on that. I would love to hear your version of the truth. Methadone programs are not meant to keep you hooked on methadone, most patients get off of methadone at some point, and the doctors at the clinics don't hold anyone down forcing them to stay. That is up to the patient. This is a freee world and you can do whatever you wish to do..I am curious to know how long you were hooked on heroin because you said something that is not true. You claim that methadone w/d is much worse than heroin..NOT TRUE. While the W/Ds may last longer, they are not anywhere near the hell you go through with heroin. And if the Restless legs, etc lasted for weeks for you and that includes any opiate. That is a very short time, you area verylucky person to have had PAWS only last a few weeks. How about your whole life??? Well, mine lasted for 10 years, and that wasn;t methadone, it was heroin..I like your choice of words the prescription underbelly you must be a very angry person, and you are going around just blasting methadone. I can understand anyone wanting to be clean, but to blast a whole program that has saved many more lives than it has hurt, you are being very hateful and hopefully you aren't scaring someone off whos life could be saved by methadone..If your W/D's were that bad, you should have tapered because methadone when used the right way, and when patients tapered slowly, the withdrawls are not horrible like you claim they are, Ya know, I usually cheer people on who want to get off of methadone (my husband is one of those people) but when people like you come along and tell out and out lies, that makes me angry because you deffantly don't really know squat about methadone, and you are trying to put fear into people who methadone does wonders for.. If you deciedeed to buy methadone off of the streets, that is illegal so you have no right to judge any program, in fact you should thank them for saving your but*... Next time you want to bash in a program that has worked for tens of thousands of people like me, make sure you know exacally what you are talking about, because I have been around opiates most likely b4 you were born. Happy girl, being on methadone for chronic pain is not even close to being on it for maintenance, In the first place your dose would be much lower. So please don't think it has anything to do with methadone being used for addiction. I just wish people who bad mouthed certain drugs knew what they were talking about b4 they try to talk other people off of them, (I am not talking about you) To people like B-rad, if you hate methadone so much, you really need to go to the NA website..You will have a huge cheering section..Just don't try to demonize a medication because you hate it, that is just wrong. If I were the owner of the clinic you are bad mouthing, I would see where I wouldn't even want you near my clinic. As for buying methadone on the streets, the people that sell methadone are killing people because of overdoses, you are just as guilty for keeping them in business...To anyone who is going through PAWS right now,,There is no time limit for it to go away, Some people never suffer from it, and for a very small number, PAWS may never go away. Just be patient.. Some people just learn to live with it because they have no choice. There are medudations for PAWS, ask your doctor.. Some people swear by quinine, and others (my husband) swears by putting a bar of soap under his sheets right by his legs. Its' cheap and he says it works wonders. There is also new medications but I jsut don't know the names of them.. And please friends, if you don';t have real information, it is better to say nothing at all than to say things that can hurt others

Pat

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Hey fellow fentanyl withdrawers!!!
This is what I love about being off the patch, as well as the breakthrough oxy's- no longer do I count the days beforey refill is due. No linger do I have to be treated like a potential abuser by my HMO, signing agreements that stigmatize me.. aluding to illegal use. I don't have rashes and adhesive marks anymore..I don't live in a fog...once I was through the worst of the withdrawal, I had a brain again. I look forward to more improvement. Thank all who offer encouragement on this site. All opinions are valid from those who have experiened opiate dependency. Our Docs haven't walked through the fire.. Big Phara is culpable to a large extent. Med schools now are educating more , to prevent iatrogenic addiction. Thre is a site called painEducator. that publishes an journal you might be interested in. We need to be partners in our Heath care. Knowledge will arm you to make the best choices. If I have known what I do now about drug toleance and withdrawal five years ago!

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Sounds right, going back to where he is under medical care.
I was detoxed from 100mg patch plus oxy for Brk Th pain over a two week period.
Had the racing heart, too.
Plus the hosts of goblins mentioned earlier.

Are you remembering to take care of yr self,during this time?!!

To address the difference in opinions, what I believe is-
addiction vesus medically dependent tolerance should be viewed differently.
The addict craves the drug, and basically is miserable without it

the Med Depen. is so happy to get off the drugs, he/she never wants to be under it's control again! Of course, with trama, like surgery, it will be ok. Just not daily. What do you think,Pat?

The vocabulary of addiction, like clean vs off all medications
is important to note. Also, using vs taking as directed.
When Mary started the withdrawal from fentanyl dicussion thread, it was about a medical condition caused by legal use of a pharaceutical, prescribed by a dr.
Could we at least get away from the Narcodics Anom. lingo?
Peace out....

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I am on my 27th day without Fentanyl. This is my first post on the internet, since my journey began. Reading online forums was very discouraging. And now i have found out why. If your reading this you may be someone that is trying to get of fentanyl or someone that is hoping to get off fentynol. #1 i would like to give a big F$%^ YOU to all the doctors that over prescribe this drug. If you are not terminally ill, do not take this drug. IT WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE. People that say dont worry, you will not get addicted if you use it properly are just plain stupid. I used fentynol for 3 f'ed up discs in my back. Along with perks. I was using 100 mg per day with 7-12 perks for breakthrough pain. Do i have an addictive personallity? YES. Do people admit to having an addictive personality when they are face to face with thier doctor? NO. I didnt even realize i had an addictive personality until i started recovery. This drug will turn you into an addict. I promise you that. I never once got high off the drug. You will find yourself within weeks, yes weeks worrying about being addicted to the drug. I tried everything to get off the drug i tried weening myself off by reducing the dosage by 10mg every 2 weeks, tried cold turkey (do NOT try this) talk to the dumb ass that prescribed you the drug in the first place, i also tried changing the type of opiate which just opened up a can of worms that i am still kickin myself in the ass for. There is no magic pill that gets you off this stuff. If you are on Fentanyl you have a very rough road ahead. Im sorry to say this but it is true. I am going to explain how i got off opiates this past 27 days.

#1- Checked myself into the local Detox. This was tough i know a lot of people in my town. I was embarassed. Addicts are the people that steal, live on the streets and have constant problems with the law. DEAD WRONG. I met people from all walks of life. It was there that i learned about legal addictions, illegal addictions and addcitions to almost anything you can imagine. We live in a world of addictions. You probably know somebody that is struggling with an addiction. Do not be embarassed. Most detox centers have recovering addicts employed there. If you go this way, talk with them. Be honest. These people can help you a lot. Your probably wondering how did i feel at this point. I felt like hell. I went into detox cold turkey. This is the only way you can go cold turkey. You need to be watched 24/7. I had a seizure my 3rd day in. Im telling you if i had access to a gun i wouldnt be writing this right now. It is that bad. After the seizure my doctor prescribed Suboxone ( i will get into this later). I stayed at the detox center for 7 days. And your probably saying "F THIS" a seizure? yes it can happen. You need to talk to your doctor before you get yourself off the Fentanyl. Also the mental part of withdrawl is extreme. I did not want to be alive anymore. The physical withdrawls were terrible. Vomiting, nausea, living on the toilet, chills, body aches, dehydration, headaches and sweating like its 120 deg. but feeling like its -10. It is truely hell on earth.

#2 Suboxone- This is where everyone starts to argue. Methadone or Suboxone. Methadone is a powerful narcotic. You will be just switching your addiction. You will be racing down every morning for your drink. I talked with many addicts. And they loved the methadone. Now talking with recovering addicts, well thats a different story. Most have tried the methadone but truely they were not ready to get off drugs. They used the methadone when they were down and out. When they ran into money they were back using opiates. Now I dont want to say Suboxone is a miracle drug, because its not. You can get severely addicted to Suboxone. But I am on Day 3 with NO SUBOXONE..and of course - NO OPIATES! How to i feel? Like sh!t. I have body aches, i get the chills here and there. Basically it feels like i have the flu right now. But I am starting to feel the difference of having no drugs in my system. I am dreaming again at night, something i do not remember doing when i was using the opiates. I notcie things that i didnt notice before. The sun, rain birds etc... When you are using opiates you go on living day by day and start to kill yourself spiritually...i do not need to tell you about that. If your reading this far in you know what im talking about. But getting back to the Suboxone, i do not think i could have gone this far without it. There is a line in your head and it gets crossed when you are getting off the Fentanyl. You just cant do it physically. The problem with Suboxone is that it is used too long. My wish was to get off drugs. All drugs. Yes you can take Suboxone for the rest of your life. Do you want that? I didnt. I used the Suboxone to get through the withdrawl period from the Fentanyl. Heavy withdrawl symptoms last 14-? days from fentynol. I do not know if im withdrawing from the Fentynol or the Suboxone right now. But i can tell you that the symptoms are minimal right now in comparison to the withdrawls i had in the first few days before Suboxone. And for that I am grateful. Suboxone does not make you feel great. But it helps tremendously with the severe withdrawls. At the bottom of this post I am going to put my dosage of Suboxone for everyday i was on the drug.

#3 Support- When i started with this, I was going to do this by myself. I was privately addicted and i was going to get off the addiction privately. Well that was my big mistake. When I was in detox i met a guy that really changed the way I thought about the whole issue. First off, I got along right away with the guy. He works at a large steel plant here in town and me being a plumber, well that was the first person that i met with an addiction that has a good job, works in the trades and seemed to be in the same boat as me. I got his number before he left and i went on through my withdrawls. The 16th day in I called him. He said he was going to a meeting. He asked me to go and i went. It was a NA meeting. There is where I found the support i needed. For now I go to these meetings every night. I do not talk at all. I havent even looked at the book that they have. I know they have a 12 step program. But just going to these meetings and listening to people and being able to ask them anything at all makes the recovery part really easy. Am I going to do all the steps? I have no clue. All i know is that going every night makes all the pains and aches go away for that 1.5 hours and it gives me hope. I wanted to mention one more thing. If you go to these meetings, whatever you do is never compare your addiction to others. You will be lining your self up fpr a relapse. You will hear stories that are enough to make a grown man cry. Making it seem like your addiction isnt "that bad". My addiction was bad enough that i didnt want it running my life anymore. And if your reading this, your likely in the same boat that i am in.

So breaking everything down, there is no magic pill that makes everything go away. Just some plain effort. You can get off the Fentynol. And if you are looking into taking Fentynol. PLEASE read up on it and look and people that have used it. This stuff is killing people everyday. I am sure it is used to help some people. My grandmother took it for the last 5 months of her life. She was terminally ill.


Suboxone

You WILL need to start getting sick before taking Suboxone. If you take it while you are taking opiates it will make you sick right away. I suggest being sick for 48 hours before taking it. You will get a taste of how bad you would feel by not taking anything. Your doctor will tell you this anyways. Your first does is usually at the doctors office anyways.

Day 3-7 8 mg Per day 4 Mg morning, 4 mg 4PM- Dont take Suboxone late - you will not sleep

Day 8-12 6 mg Per day 4 Mg morning, 2 mg 4PM

Day 12-16 4 mg Per day 2 Mg morning, 2 mg 4PM

Day 16-24 2 mg Per day, In the morning

THIS WAS A PLAN THAT I CAME UP WITH. THIS WAS NOT MY DOCTORS ADVICE. I WANTED TO GET OFF ALL DRUGS. IN ORDER TO USE SUBOXONE AND NOT GET ADDICTED TO IT I WANTED TO USE IT ONLY FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. WHEN YOU MAKE THE DOSE CHANGE YOU FEEL LIKE HELL. JUST TRY TO REMEMBER THE 48 HOUR PERIOD OF HOW YOU FELT WHEN YOU WERE IN TOTAL WITHDRAWL. IT HELPS

If anyone needs any info, please contact me. I hope this helps somebody out there, remember your not alone :D

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Chrissy, you must have never been in any kind of pain. Have you had cancer? Have you had your disc in you back proferated? Have you any kind of diseases that can cause pain? Until you have and can relate than you need to find a site that you can relate to. This one is for the ones that have pain, pain from withdrawals and pain from diseases. If you have no sympathy, then you need to sincerily stay the f*#%@ off of our site. Find one that don't have a bunch of "winey babies" as you call us. Sorry friends for someone that is so hardhearted and cold and must have never been where we have been. I hate someone who judges, I think that is left up to God and God only........sincerily nuttynanny....(excuse me if I spelled something wrong, I've been up most of the night with an acheing back and hip)

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There is hope I was on 100mcg patches for 4 years and as soon as I has my hip replacement I wanted off them. I reduced by 25 mcgs every 5 days and I knew I would suffer but I was determined. It WAS pure hell but I was off them in 16 days and haven't looked back. The world is in colour again instead of monochrome and although I still have big pain I am handling it so much better and I am LIVING again. Persevere there is life at the end of it!!!

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I was on the 75 mg patches. I decreased for awhile and been off them for a year now and won't ever look back either. I have pain, but I'll live with the pain instead of the patches. I was determined too!

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The drug in Immodium that helps with withdrawal is actually loperamide, which you can buy at any drugstore, but at both Costco and Wal-Mart you can get large bottles of the stuff for under ten dollars. If taken in large dosages (40-80 mg) along with a potentiater like grapefruit juice, it can help greatly with fentanyl withdrawal. Go to a forum like Blue light, and search for loperamide, and you can get some great advise on using this for withdrawal symptoms. Loperamide is an opioid that is too large (on a molecular level) to cross the blood brain barrier into the central nervous system, but can easily be absorbed by opiate receptors elsewhere in the body.

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