Mallinckrodt Fentanyl Patch (Page 2) (Top voted first)

Does anyone know how it is made? Does it have the medicine woven into the fabric of the patch or is it in a pouch form? Thank you.

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CONSUMER BEWARE!!! I do understand that the post I'm responding to is 3 years old but I couldn't help myself. I am just hoping to help someone...anyone who may read it and be forewarned. I originally began a search for any information on the Mallinckrodt brand Fentanyl patch. I've been on the patch for over 10 years and have been at 100 mcg for about 5 yrs. I've had many different brands some with the gel some without and they all seemed comparable in function and effectiveness then along comes mallinckrodt. I had a brush with this brand quite a while ago when I was still at 50 Mcg They didn't work at all then and I recently got stuck with them again. They were the only thing available in my small town at the 2 pharmacies. In retrospect I can see why they were the last to go. There is definitely something wrong with these patches!!! I started to suffer withdrawal symptoms at about 30 hours after the first one applied. Ok, defective patch, operator error? Not unheard of so, stuck on the second one then peeled off the first circa 1/2 hour afterward as directed when you change them at 72 hrs (Duragesic, P.A.R brand both state in the directions to do so) Changing any other brand I've used at 30 hours like that would have sent me into sweating, nausea, vomiting (Sorry had to say it) all in all an overdose. I ended up in a s*** storm with my doctor thanks to this P.O.S substandard product. To be totally fair I should have pushed the panic button before the second patch but I mistakenly tried to muddle through and maybe try to remedy the problem somehow myself??? dunno what I was thinkin there and 9 days later solved nothing and put my ass in a sling with the doc. Him thinking I was trying to OD and commit suicide or that I all of a sudden decided to start selling my script or God knows what. There has been so much bad press over the fentanyl patch deaths that most docs are skittish concerning them and rightly so it seems. BE CAREFUL! IF YOU GET THE MALLINCKRODT BRAND AND HAVE NEVER USED THEM BEFORE!!! If you do and notice any sign of trouble contact everyone involved immediately: Doc, nurse, pharmacist, shout it from the nearest mountain top and know this for a fact: IT IS NOT YOU - IT IS THE PATCH! I ran on and told you all that just to tell you simply THEY DON'T WORK!!!

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Okay, it's not just me.. I've gone from 75 mcgs of PAR brand gel filled every 48 hrs for years to now 25 mcgs 72 hr Mallinckrodt brand in 8 months (to fast IMO). I'm being sent down and off by the pain clinic that started this mess with me because pain pills bothered my stomach! Anyway, I dropped to 62.5 mcgs Mylan Brand and did fine.. Then 50 mcgs Mallinckrodt brand not knowing why; I had itchy skin, headaches, irregular heartbeat horrific stomach troubles not to mention they DO NOT last even 48 hrs I didn't know it was the "BRAND" until now! They dropped me to 37.5 mcgs Mylan brand and all the added problems vanished I never considered it was the brand! Can't say I didn't have withdrawals, still do. Now they dropped me to 25 mcgs and back to Mallinckrodt brand and all the miserable added side effects are back.. No, I wasn't expecting or anticipating them to return because I never connected the dots as to what caused them before. Mylan cost 4 x what Mallinckrodt brand does for a reason they don't work and don't make you sick.. Possibly the carriers in this brand don't agree with some, I know something does it. I can't afford Mylan out of pocket so I'm stuck! What can we do if the Co. doesn't care?

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My insurance covers it, but makes me jump through some hoops. I had to have the doctor fill out a form saying that it was needed and another saying he approved it. I asked them what part of his signature on the prescription doesn't already say he feels it is needed and he approves it. I have been on narcotics for pain for 12 years now, ever since we determined that I am allergic to every other option. Other meds kept landing me in hosp with pneumonia over and over again. I was very thankful when the connection was made. Sadly with all the abuse of meds my life can be very difficult abiding with all the regulations. My doc and I were just talking about "personal responsibility" being a thing of the past in our society. It used to be if a doc wouldn't prescribe they could be sued for not properly treating the person's pain. Now if the doc does prescribe he can be sued for causing the addiction. Garbage. If you know you have a tendency to take too much, then you have the responsibility to tell yourself no.

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I am sympathetic to your pain. Seems the chronic pain patience are always feeling the worst end of the political rd tape. the addicts still get theirs, but whoa the true folks in real need of relief to have some quality of life and to be able to work and provide are under attack more so than ever. I am so sorry that addicts die, that patience die while either abusing or adverse reaction to taking meds correclty. lets face it. taking meds away or at the very least make it an ordeal so bad that we as chronic pain patience we just dont want to deal with the BS. We did not ask to be in pain, we did not ask to have to depend on help. We go to work, we work hard to provide and all we seem to recieve is more grief.

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I have a question.
Had anyone experienced nose bleeds when wearing the patch? Like clock work 16 hours after putting one on I get a pretty bad nosebleed... I stopped wearing them because it scared the hell outta me. I'm in so much pain in ready to jump off a bridge. I want to use them... Just afraid. Am I alone?

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No, I'm sorry, due to the risks of then being abused, such as people trying to smoke the medication from a patch, they no longer publicly list the specifics of its make up.

They are really only required to list it with the FDA safety filings anyway, so they can get away with doing this quite easily.

Learn more Fentanyl details here.

Have you gotten some manufactured by them from your pharmacy?

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For all of the non-gel type patches the drug is actual "mixed" in the adhesive which is why they call them a "Matrix" patch. Drug and adhesive are in a matrix form which means they are not separate layers but not exactly mixed together either. I wrote a while back complaining about the Mallincroft patch not working. I decided to give the patch another go but a different brand. Rite-Aid carried the Mylan brand and I tried out the 50mcg size. It was definitely better than the Mallinkroft but it also turned out that the 50 mcg was just not strong enough. The 75 mcg was better but still not enough. I am now on the Mylan 100 mcg and all is good. I am so happy with the patch because I am barely aware that I am on a heavy drug I guess because it is absorbed at a continual level and there aren't the up and downs with taking pills. I also found that with the right dose my pain control was much better than the Methadone. Some days I feel almost normal. ;) I do believe that the conversion rate that is given for the Fentanyl patches is overly cautious. The recommended cross-over isn't right. They even tell you not to use the recommendations in reverse i.e. substitute the fentanyl with another opiate using the other opiate to Fentanyl conversion chart. Anyway, I ended up at twice the amount the conversion chart said but I did go up one step at a time.

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I know this is an old post but some pharmacy's are ripping off customers

(15) 100mcg Watson Patches
My pharmacy billed Cigna .$282.95 and got paid $267.95

(15) 75mcg Watson's $186.23

(15) 50mcg Watson's $121.40

(15) 25mcg Watson's $63.02

People don't let any pharmacy rip you off if you don't have insurance. These prices are from 2 different pharmacy's that billed my insurance. Same prices.

One Pharmacy tried to bill $490 for (15) 100mcg Watson but was only paid $267.95.
Same rip off pharmacy wanted to charge me $150 for (1) box of 25mcg. That's 5 patches for people who don't know. The patches come in a box of 5 patches.
These rip off pharmacy's need to be reported for price gouging.

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You can usually find the amount of drug on their website or just searching around. It is not only how much of the drug is in the patch but more important is the release rate into your system per hour.

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As far as I know Fentanyl patches contain the medication Duragesic. Not sure if you can get the Mylan brand in the UK but I have been on the Fentanyl patch since 2004 and find that Mylan makes the best patch. I have some skin sensitivity issues but do well putting a Tegaderm dressing over the patch immediately to block air getting at the edge of the patch. They come in a maximum 100 mcg patch so I use one 100 mcg and one 25 mcg patch together.

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Can you tell us what brand the pharmacy gave you? I for one had absolutely no relief from the Mallinckrodt brand and since you posted on this page that's why I wonder. So sorry you have to continue suffering. I also have had no reaction other than pain from being without pain meds when there have been breaks of a few days waiting until the right brand comes in. Sadly I cannot take any NSAID pain relievers because of allergy.

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And that is the 3rd stool of the leg. I just began a new job the day after my (Easter Sunday) "incident." I have not been able to sit at a desk for more than 1 minute; unable to stand at a desk for more than 1 minute. Etc. etc., ad nauseum. My new company simply cannot fathom that it is impossible for me to work as they have never had the pain that I am experiencing. I am going to call the doctor and ask for a bill that will allow for "breakthrough pain.

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Detroit Ken,

I'm in the boat, I can't sit for long, can't stand for long. I have an ergo lift at my desk that I can lift into a standing position that raises my entire monitor, keyboard, mouse and thenlowers it back down when I need to sit again. I can't imagine why they wouldn't haveyou on something for break through pain as well.

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Yes this is true you have adhesive then the membrane. Next the Medicine and the plastic film son people say three layers because the glue is on the membrane. But it is a actually four. The membrane is very easy to peel. Take a k I've get it started in the middle and work it around. The whole membrane will peel quite easily.

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these patches dont stayon my skin and donot last the 72 hours they are supposed to.

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I have tried the same brand of mallinckrodt and it was so weak compared to the activis brand I used.

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I was placed on the fentanyl patch 50mcg after a serious injury. Originally I was given the Actavis gel reservoir type, which I secured with tegaderm. This work fabulously for me; I could always tell it was working within about 3-4 hours and it seems pretty close to working the full 3 days (I am fortunate and my doctor and insurance allow me to switch at 2.5 days to avoid the "tail end" withdrawal feeling and increased pain). My pharmacy, in an attempt to save money (we are assuming) switched me to the matrix Mallincrockdt 50 mcg. I.e. No gel reservoir and completely different delivery system. It took nearly 8 hours for me to feel ANY sort of relief, and the relief I got did not even cover as much pain as the Actavis gel patch had been. I was able to switch my patches back to the Actavis after raising a bit of hell. I am currently awaiting my "switch" time so that I can return to the Actavis, and I am extremely queasy. I cannot keep down a meal to save my life. Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed with my experience with the Mallincrockdt matrix patch and will never be using them again. If your pharmacy tries to switch you from something that was working to a different kind of patch, you have a RIGHT to say something and know why they switched you. Please avoid Mallincrockdt matrix patches at all costs!

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I just switched to mallinckrodt from Avius I think is how it's spelled but this one is a lot better then the other.

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I only get 2 days relief as well and you will find on the manufacturer's website they recommend some people need to change every 48 hours so I now get 15 of the 100's and 15 of the 75 ea month. I find tegaderm covers help with the sweaty skin problem some as well as not putting the patch on the trunk of the body if you can help it during hot sticky weather. Sadly I am allergic to every other type of pain med and thankful I can take this to keep going to work.

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If the patch has a gel filled pouch....what would the gel be there for if it wasn't impregnated with the medicine?

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Is there any way of finding out which pharmacies contract with certain distributors? My pharmacy informed me when I went...

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Is there a way to find out what brand pharmacys cary without calling them all? I am alergic to most but Mallinckrodt doe...

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I will be walking and look down my 50 mcg mallinckrodt will be on the floor only after putting it on the previous day. H...

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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...

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CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO KEEP THE PATCH FROM COMING OFF AFTER SECOND DAY ? I SHOWER A COUPLE TIMES A DAY AND ON THE SEC...

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I would like to know WHY the FDA has not taken the Fentanyl Patch off the market? This drug is being handed out like can...

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Hello. I am on the fentanyl patch, 125mcg every 72 hours. And ever since starting the patch I have been able to once aga...

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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...

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I have been on fentanyl / Duragesic since 2005 when i was not longer able to take oral opioids as my stomach lining was ...

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my patch keeps coming off prematurely. can you recommend a solution? ## You can buy Tegaderm at Walgreen's, it's...

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