Fentanyl Patch Withdrawal Symptoms And Duration (Page 10)
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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 with the 12 mcg patch a week ago and am still suffering from periodic nausea, irritability, daily joint and muscle pain, but the worst is the consistent restless legs. it is driving me crazy. my doctor says that is not withdrawal. is he right? i don't think so. if it is withdrawal, what can i do about it and how long will it last? i am going crazy.

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I have RLS and at times when I've missed changing my Fentanyl Patch I too had bad RLS symptoms. However, I've suffered with it for over 30 years. I'm not sure whether the Fentanyl helps suppress the restless leg (and when my level drops it gets worse) but I seldom have the RLS when my Fentanyl is as normal levels.
As far as helping the restless legs symptoms, what works for me is to clench my calves as tightly as I can then wrap them tightly in Ace Bandage or Sport Tape.

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hang in there I was on patches for 12 years and slowly tapered and swapped to morphine s r. Now reducing that.There is hope if we persevere through the suffering I believe.

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Your story sounds like mine! You describe the withdrawals so well. Sounds exactly like mine. I have to had the summer and heat wear the patch off early. Then pharmacy not help. Then be out the next day! Horrible experience. Wish you all the best. I feel so dependent on these drugs and hate that I am but hate the pain. Its hell either way.

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Yes those do sound like fentanyl withdrawal symptoms. Fentanyl should not be used for short term pain management. The doctor should be understanding as it sounds like he used this medication improperly. I hope your better soon.

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After using fentanyl patches for 12 years I reduced from over 100 mcg over 18 months by slowly cutting 1 to 2mm strips off the patches until I got down to 50 mcg. I then switched to 180mg Kapanol last week. Still hard to cope with pain,anxiety and depression.
Fentanyl is very effective for the pain but not worth the crazy side effects and enslavement. I am going to try and reduce the Kapanol now but everything depends on the pain severity and I have tried everything for that

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Hi posted last July and appreciated every ones replies. TY again.
I am back and the thread has moved along. Much helpful and encouraging. I am worse off than last year at this time. My husband wants me to go back to the mayo clinic as the dr.s here have me on so many meds. They put me back on the 100mcg. fentanyl w / 4mg of dilaudid up to 6 times a day, 50mg of nortryptiline, 100mg of zoloft,and 5mg of valium (all generic). The valium only on days of major flare ups because if i take it everyday i always need to increase the dose as time goes by.
I hope that I hven't discouraged anyone of u.
Once again i am a paraplegic. I have been for 42 yrs. now. and I have had chronic pain issues since 1985. My previous comments are found in July of 2014.
I am at my whits end. And i do not know if i have any more fight left in me at this point.
If possible get off the meds. my drs. believe that i need to be on them. Of course i am not so sure as they have not really found an exact reason for the pain in the first place. And starting at the pain clinic last July has gotten me no where.
maybe I need to go back to the mayo clinic in rochester mn. It is just so far from home.I have a place to stay and that is a big help. But i wont have my husband because he has to work. Just asking you guys for your thoughts on the matter.
I am afraid that I could be gone for over a yrs. time. or that i will go and have to come home and to go back again. It sounds like it could be a whole yr. before i could get off of some of these meds. according to previous posts. I am just tired of the fight to try to get better. Maybe i am beyond getting better at this point. anyways thanks for reading my post. I will look forward to your replies once again.
browneyedgirl

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It does feel horrible going through withdrawal. Once I weaned my self off it seemed like pure hell. My body jerking. I could not get comfortable it was the worse time in my life. I did decide to just get off of all the meds. I know how scary it can be and if you decide to wean once and for all, I found myself in a much clearer frame of mind.. Just be strong. I would rather deal with my pain in a total different way. Walking. Exercising. Gym. Swimming has really help me. I will never ever go back to the patches.

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I am happy to report that fentanyl seems to be gone from my system. I have to withdraw from low dosage of hydromorphone soon and with low impact exercise from walking and water rehabilitation classes that are superb for pain, I will be almost drug free. I take one/100mg Lyrica twice a day and have tried to reduce that before but too much nerve pain forced me back. I will try again though as with the warm sunshine, my body aches don't feel so bad! It is Easter...a time for new beginnings. For those just starting to withdraw be encouraged that you WILL feel better off it. Get help to withdraw so depression doesn't make pain and agitation aggravate your situation. Reading all these mags does make you fearful of trying so take what info you can but don't allow yourself to absorb everyones' fear. Feel free to msg me if you need help. It has taken me over one year to withdraw slowly as I was on fentanyl for almost twenty years. If I did it, so can you. Love yourself, love life...sit in the sun and find peace.

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I feel almost suicidal as I have just gone from 1-50 to 1-75 fentanyl patches and have been investigating coming off them altogether. Now I have read about the almost impossibility of coming off them. Please some one tell me it is possible as I am going round the bend.

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Day 4. Well, I removed my last patch on Sunday night at 8pm. w/d started near midnight with sweating and pin pricks all over. By 5:30am I was sweating profusely, restless legs and arms in constant motion, sneezing, watering eyes, yawning constantly, reached 25 on COWS and took 2mg subutex (NOT SUBOXONE), I know I could've taken it sooner given the absence of naloxone but I waited to follow a detox recipe I found online that seems to have worked for others repeatedly with success. I did not feel much better after a couple hours, took another 1mg, and repeated, my legs finally relaxed at 8mg (I had hoped to stabilize at a lower dose, but it just didn't happen). Day 2, 3 and 4 I took 4mg in the am, and another 4 about twelve hours later. I still have some sweating, but nothing like I know it should be. Lack of energy is still present but I'm feeling good just knowing I'll not put another patch on. Tomorrow (well, today) I will begin to taper down by cutting 1mg off both daily doses and maintaining for four days to allow for the half life to catch up and determine if I experience w/d from the cut, if not, then proceed again. Wish me luck!

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Me too! I went to Emergency for severe agitation and breakthru pain. The emergency room doctor treated me like it was my fault that I was having such a problem. He said 'you are supposed to be withdrawing; I can't go against your doctor's wishes--you just have to accept this. He phone my Dr and then talked to me kindly, gave me some meds to calm the agitation. I felt humiliated and talked down to. Thank goodness fentanyl is almost out of my system but I have read complete eradication can take up to a year.

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My problem with the withdrawal is not being able to sleep. The patches do not kill the pain, they just reduce it. Am trying to get off the stuff, but very hard to do. Take 50 mgs every three days, not being able to sleep is the big problem. Any help will be appreciated.

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I was also told by every medical professional except my pharmacist to NOT read things on the Internet. "Too much false information" they said. What did they know? They weren't the one going through withdrawals; I had more up-to-date info than them!!! I was very upset but said not a word...after all what was I going to do if I upset my doctor? GE and I have since had a much better relationship....I think he went to a seminar on chronic pain management. He is a truly nice man trying his best but still 'learning' the effects of this drug. Fentanyl was only used in dying patients for many years. I started using it in the early 2000's as nothing else worked. Here I am at 70 and 'nothing else works' .

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I went for a year on fentanyl 100mcg while it was the dumbest thing ever I just went cold turkey after 7 days. It was the worse I have ever experienced in my life and will no longer take any thing stronger than Advil. my pain is still there but I am happy to be off of the patches. I now felt normal and did not experience restless legs

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Thank you! I know how you feel these patches are great when they work but trying to come off of them is hell. I agree doctors need to do more research on this drug! If doctors had to go through the withdraws from these they would only give them to cancer patients that are going to die. The drug companies need to come up with a drug that reverses the withdraws from these. We asked for help from our doctors not to have them think we are druggies. I got a drug panel once through my doctor that was crazy! Good luck to you I too need to get off these was going to go to rehab but would have to wait 2 months. I might wait till the fall!

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Hi to you all,
Still here and getting very very nervous about the next reduction from 37 to 25. The sweating is terrible andy suggetions? Still can't sleep most nights but the leg problems don't seem to bad. Had a day that I thought I was going to go nuts though. I agree that Drs can make you feel as though you are a drugie. I'm going to be 70 so I don't party !!!
You all know that my thouughts and prayers are coming your way.

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I got stuck at 25 dosage of fentanyl and was in constant agitation. Dr prescribed pramipexole for restless legs and I had to use marihuana to help me sleep. Finally after 3 months of no improvement I asked to be switched over to hydrocodone at same dosage as fentanyl. Life is easier BUT because I was so sick from withdrawal which took me a full year to get to 25 (got to 12 last Aug but so sick Dr increased fentanyl back to 25). I got to point where I couldn't tolerate fentanyl at all so hydrocodone took away withdrawal symptoms and I have morphine for breakthru pain which I have daily now due to weakness of my back muscles. If I walk too long, my back flares up; if I stay in pool too long my whole body flares like a furnace with pain. Now I have medical prescription for marihuana and it helps but makes me too sleepy yet for daytime usage.
I was interested in the methadone withdrawal assist. My pain clinic Dr recommended that method but my GP didn't like to use it. Doctors know too little about Fentanyl withdrawal.

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Oh Lord, how wd scares me. I've experienced it already, in periods of maybe a full day and it was terrible. I am currently on 50mcg fent and 10mg percocet 4x per day for breakthrough pain. I have 'lost' a patch a few times in the heat of summer (before I discovered tegaderm covers-lifesaving Lil suckers) and more recently have had instances of my insurance deciding they're spending too much money on me and havingto have my doc fight with them to cover my meds (I've never tried filling early or anything that would cause problems in that sense, they just don't like my monthly bill). The fear of what I went through with that, should my insurance ever just decide to cut me off (which I've heard horror stories of) has made treatment hell for me. I'm a business professional and was once across the country on business-I went to my doc before the trip, got my scripts, told her my travel plans, she assured me there should be no problem filling there when they were due in a week since she has lots of 'snowbirds' that go to Florida from these northern winter's and they have no problems. I even called the pharmacy near the hotel I reside in while I'm down there, 'no problem'. WRONG. I was then a thousand miles from home, on my last patch of course (since you must be abusing pain meds if you fill them before the day you need them, if it's heart or another maintenance med then you fill them the week you need them to be proactive-in case something happens, you have time to deal with a situation involving meds that can affect your life so tragically, right-unless it's a pain med. Then your an abuser, why do you need to fill early? The patch you have on is still good until tomorrow......Then when you come back tomorrow they tell you they're out and won't come in for 4 days. That's why legitimate people want their scripts before the day they need them).

Sorry for the rant, but it's happened to me more than once, and I'm always treated like the a**hole. So, after the last incident, on my last patch, within a couple hours after I was due to change, it started. Sweating. A little at first, then wave after wave of drenching sweat followed by freezing and being a blanket. Sneezing so violently sometimes that I couldn't catch my breath. Nose dripping. Body aches worse than any flu ever. No energy. Explosive diarrhea. Skin so sensitive it's painful to the touch. RLS more like restless body, so bad that it felt like every molecule in my body was in a constant state of flux so violent that they were swelling inside me and my body would burst from the inside out at any moment. Eyes watering. Most terrible feelings I've everexperienced. All because someone else felt entitled to decide not to fill my perfectly legit medication. What power. I could lose my job, could lose everything, because I can't function like this. That's when I decided I need off. Though I shouldn't have to, though I have the right to be treated and live a full and pain-free (pain managed,I should say, it's never gone) life, I feel that the right to do that has been taken from me being able to faithfully rely on it without fail due to the negligence, mis-use of power and unfair labeling by our systems (government, insurance and even the pharmacist behind the counter that sneers at you when they see the meds your filling).

This has led me to the decision that I'm better off living with the pain. I've tried several times to drop from 50 to 25, and found that to even be far too intense to be able to function at work and home. I am on the Mylan brand, these are not the reservoir type, and I have successfully tapered in the past by cutting very small pieces at a time off of each patch, remaining at the same level for nearly a week before cutting a larger piece off and repeating the process. I first had to wean of from taking any of the percocet of course, as I figured once I got to a low enough dose of the fent, I'd stop wearing it and replace with an equal dosage of the percocet and then taper those from there. That's what my original plan was, then I was in a car accident and went back to my normal dosages quite quickly. So here I go again, and even doing it slowly like that, was uncomfortable, tired, diarrhea. But I did find that tramadol helps TREMENDOUSLY, especially with energy and the depression that sets in, I actually found that my mood was the best I can remember in a very long time. It would be wonderful to have that right now to assist and get this show on the road. I'm petrified and rambling now just thinking of the long road ahead. Best wishes to you all, May we all find strength (and God willing, FEEL strength) from each other.

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Thank you, thank you!!!
You all have been such a help. My dr. had her office up and close so my new dr. won't write for my old 75 fentenyal patches. I have gone from that to 50 for a month now 37 and next month 25. My pain hasn't been bad but hot flashes are terrible and inablity to sleep a bear. I thank the Lord only have restless legs occassionaly. My I take an anit-depression med but sometimes feel terrified about going back to the terrible pain that caused me to try serious try to take my life a goodly number of times.
Interesting is that my pain hasn't increased with the reduction. I always had a 3 or 4 on the pain scale while on the 75mg. Please those of you that put in a good word for me and I will do the same for all of you. A fellow sufferer one day at a time

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The restless legs are definately major withdrawl symptom from going off fentynal. My doc gave me 4/10mg methodone for 4 to 5 days ea time I went down a dose of fentynal. This made the withdrawls go away completely. And by only taking 3 or 4 methodone for 4 or 5 days, I had no with! Rawl from that. I did dose the methodone so I took 5 the first day, four the second three the 3 & 4 days 2 the next two days and one the last day.It was a miracle. I also tried benzos, like 8 mg/ 3 x a day for 2 days, then 6 mg/3 x a day, then 4 mg/3 x a day then 3mg 3 x a day then 2mg 3 x a day then 1 mg 3 x a day the 1 mg 2x a day for 3 days then 1 mg a day for'a month.This w pepto, a sleeping pill at night, immodium and tylenol and naproxen 2 x a day really lightened up things to tolerable. Of couse did nothing but sleep, soak in hot bath and lay in bed for a week......

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