Fentanyl Patch Wearing Out (Top voted first)

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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 again be more active. I exercise for an hour every morning and walk in the evening. My dr said the patch will last me 72 hours but by 48 and sometimes less, my pain begins to return and I start feeling withdrawl symptoms I use to feel on oxy or percs. I've tried telling my dr that I need to change every 2 days but he insists that this does not happen to anyone else. Does anyone here have the same issues? And are you feeling better results from different brands of the patch?

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3

Unfortunately most Doctors have not been on the medications they prescribe and are clueless as to the issues because they prefer to listen to the drug reps rather than their patients. The fentanyl patch does not last for three days as prescribed. I know several people on the patch and hear the same complaint from each of them. This reminds me of when Teva started producing and distributing OxyContin. The formula was so seak many people including me went I to opiate withdrawal. We have two big issues to deal with regarding drugs. The first is as I previously stated is the Doctor's lack of real knowledge on how these drugs affect patients as the Doctors have not taken them. Secondly, the drug reps over sell the benefits of the drug they are selling for a commission and rarely adequately explain the adverse affects and withdrawals. Your Doctor is not a God so you should let him know he is uninformed.

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4

Hi Jessica, I had the same problem the patch never worked 72 hours for me either, my doctor changed it to every 48 hours. It allowed me to be able to function again. If your doctor won't change it ask him to try you on a different time release medication. I hope that helps you.

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10

I'm not sure if I'm using this forum right but 48 hours is all I get as well

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1

Hello, Jessica! How are you?

Your morning exercising may be causing the problem. There are actually warnings with the Fentanyl patch that tell you that anything you get hot, sweaty or overheated, it causes it to release more of the medication, which in some cases has resulted in overdose. Thus, you may be absorbing more then, until your body cools back down, so it is unable to last you for the full 3 days.

The FDA classifies this medication as a narcotic analgesic, so it has the potential to be habit forming and may cause side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth and constipation.

You may want to speak to your doctor and ask him to research it.

Is there anything else I can help with?

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6

Jessica, I have used Fentanyl duragesic 75 mcg for several years. A few years ago I noticed that at 48-60 hours the patch was no longer effective. I spoke to my pain management doctor and he said that I had probably developed a tolerance for the medication. I began applying a patch every 48 hours (I try to hold out up to 60 hours) with Vicodin for breakthrough pain. My doctor's solution has kept me from increasing the dosage which would have been the alternative. Talk to your doctor. If you have insurance he/she can prescribe 15 rather than 10 per month. Honestly I am not as physically active as you are but in the hot weather I know the medication is absorbed more quickly than during cooler seasons. Hope this information is helpful. Good luck.

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15

Hi, the oramorph is liquid morphine. 5ml spoon =10mg of morphine. I used this to ease the withdrawal symptoms. Only using as much as i needed. Coping with some of the withdrawal symptoms. Been off everything for over a week now and only have slight tummy upset. My worst symptoms have been back and stomach pain. Also restless at night. I hope this info helps.

Phil.

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20

Jessica tell ur doc to give u opana er 15 to take night before ur third day .. I did this till I had my doc change me to every 2 days ... im off all meds now exploring other Av of pain management .. acupuncture massage therapy and hot I mean hot hydro therapy

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29

Jessica definetely have had the same issue before your body has grown an identical tolerance and the only way to hang in there is to taper off with some low dose brekthrough medication you dont want to add more medication as you would be going in the wrong direction but also know reading your other article that the fentanyl helps you need tomaybe strengthen your toletance instead of weaken it per say otherwise your 125mcg will soon not be as effective and youll then be glued to that tolerance and have a rougher time making things manaegable with the pain you have to deal with maybe im not making any since but backing up and taking a small timeout 20second one to put it would help more and give you back 2 differnt tolerances to work with(i should know working on mine)due to such high painlevels im dealing with know were your coming from

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34

I spray my arm with Nasacort (nasal spray), let it dry, and apply my fentanyl patch. I no longer suffer from a rash in that area. This hint was passed on to me at my pain center. I also change my patch every 2 days because it does not supply any relief by day 3.

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37

Hey jess, I had the 48 hr dieing issue with my 75mcg patch. I also had issues with dr and getting the change to 48 hours - the dr came back with it says 72 hours and if i write it for 48 they could get in trouble, thus i did the research and found the documentation that many have issues at 48 hours with patch effectivness. I showed the dr this info and where it could be found. Dr. still gave me a hard time and i explianed that i should not suffer because of those that abuse their meds and explained why do you think i would abuse them, i have never failed a drug panel for anything i do not have a script from you for. I then explained maybe the cia needs more money, why else would the govt crack down on pain med scripts --- After about 4 appts of this type of exchange (do not loose your temper) the dr did change to 48 hours and my quality of life has improved at least 4 fold. Good luck.

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Hi Jessica. I was having the exact problem you are, where the patch worked well for two days but then I started having pain. Incidentally I have two crushed vertebrae in my lower back. Also crushed my pelvis and the sciatic and femoral nerve. But back to the story. When I told the Pain Clinic doctor what was happening he said almost 25 percent of the population have this issue and immediately changed me to a patch every two days. Proven much more successful. Good luck!

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5

I agree with you totally. I am on 100 mcg every 48 hours I convinced my Dr since I've been on the patch 7 years it wasn't working as well. Thank God I have a Dr that listens to me. Do you wear 2 patches? I thought 100 mcg was the highest. Good Luck

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7

Yes and your doctor knows. I always changed every 48 hrs because I couldn't keep it on longer, it would fall off. Also After 2 days I would start to get a rash. You can try using either or both to see if Dr. will change it to 48 hours.

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8

Jessica, I was told 100 mcg/hr was strongest. I try to keep two on until the "older" one should be removed. Often I rash or sweat it off before the 72 hours. I don't know how long it takes for a "new" patch to start being absorbed so the doctor said it was safe to wear the two for the remaining time. I have heard of patients wearing a 100 mcg patch in addition to a 25 mcg patch for severe pain. Maybe that's what the other person means.

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9

I've been on the butrans patch for years and my doc let me take every 5 instead of 7 days wouldn't work for 7. Now I'm on the fentanyl and find it only lasts 2 days I thought I was the only one.

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11

Thank you for everyone's info. I went to the dr last Tuesday and what he decided to do was take me down to 100 mcg and chNge every 48 hours. So I went through a day of minor withdrawls but I'm having to use breakthrough pain meds every day now when before on my first 2 days of 125mcg I didn't need any. I go back on Thursday and I'm going to have to tell him that it's not working. 125mcg is a perfect dose for me. I hope I can convince him to allow me to take the same dosage again. My dr is one of those who is so by the book, follows all the AMA guidelines and is completely paranoid about prescribing opiates. Which is hard to believe because he is a "pain management specialist". I know that they are really cracking down on prescriptions and auditing many doctors who hand them out like candy. I also know that it is only masking my real issues. My dr was really working hard on helping me with my Addison's, celiac, hypothyroidism, premenopausal issues. But it seems like he has given up. It is so hard to find a good integrated doctor who is willing to really dive in and get to the root of things. I found a practice not too far from me but because it is integrated medicine, you have to pay out of pocket. And it's expensive. I hope my dr will allow me to get back on my original dosage of 125mcg for 2 days. Just long enough for me to find a dr who is willing to work on difficult cases.

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12

Jessica, I go to 4 different doctors. Two are covered by my insurance and two I pay out of pocket. I understand your frustration. My pain management doctor is an orthopedic doctor but he claims that he is watched very closely when prescribing medications that are controlled substances. He was understanding when I explained the patch did not work or stay on for the full 72 hours and that's when he suggested applying a new one every 48 hours. I hope you can find a doctor that listens to you and addresses your various health issues.

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13

Hi, i am a 52yr old male with arthritis in neck. I had exactly the same problems as you with these patches. I found that as soon as i got warm after only moderate exercise, the sweats became unbearable. The patches kept falling off. I was feeling withdrawal symptoms between changes. I came off patches from 90mg, dropping 30mg at time, used oramorph to help. I took the last 30 mg patch off 7 days ago. I had no more oramorph. It's been rough week but only have upset tummy at moment, so feel it's nearly over. I won't be using fentanyl or morphine again. I hope you find something better than these patches, because i felt they were inadequate. Good luck, Phil.

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14

Phil, I am not familiar with the pain medication you were using. However, this past summer with the hot, humid weather in NY made it impossible to keep the fentanyl patches in place for even 48 hrs. I tried using tegaderm patches ( 3 of them ) to keep one 75 mcg/hr Par brand patch in place. My skin got burned and cut from the adhesive. Would like to get off the fentanyl. Can you provide any additional info. About the medication mentioned in your post? Would it be an alternative to fentanyl?

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16

My doc prescribes it for every 48 hrs. No big deal to him. I am opiod tolerant AND a large person. (Big guy). Sooo... maybe your doc is just one of those skittish ones who do not like prescribing drugs that are very, very poten

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