Fentanyl Patch Withdrawal Symptoms And Duration (Page 14)
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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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Thought I'd share: this is posted elsewhere in these forums...
Yes you can cut the Mylan brand patches into smaller pieces. I know as I have just successfully weaned myself off of Fentanyl by doing just that. 100 to 75 to 50 to 25 then finally to 12.5.....then I just left the very last 12.5 on and never put another on after it petered out! I am already feeling so much better! I huge chunk of the fog and gloom has lifted! My fifth day since the patch died and things already look and feel better. I'm in pain once but at least I FEEL again. I still take Dilaudid 4mg 4 or 5 times a day but that's an improvement over the Fentanyl. I feel like I got my life back...never again shall a patch be attached to this 52 year old guys back. Hope this help just even one person to quit. Reading all the many related anti-Fentanyl post right here in this Fent-Forum is what got me thinking....then reading...and then weaning and now clean of Fentanyl. I do not even crave it at all. I thank the people of this forum and give credit to the many who barred all so as to help others. Thank you people so much for your honesty. Reading your stories got my brain in gear knowing others have had success. Tom in Idaho.

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I'm going through the same thing. I'm averaging about 3 hours sleep for every 48 waking hours. I've only been on the fentanyl patch for 20 days and it has truly kicked my butt. I started taking the fentanyl patch to help with pain. it helped at first. But other side effects made it not worth continuing. I hate feeling drugged and sickvery very lethargic so I decided to wean myself off the pencil patch and the hydrocodone. Well, I mean ween actually I stopped taking drugs 2 days ago cold turkey. crazy ride totally and saying and makes me wonder why this drug was ever given too human beings.

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How are you doing now, Sir? Please take the medication ... there is NO reason to be in intractable pain!!

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I certainly suffered from the same. I have been through withdrawal symptoms and have had restless legs. It is one of the very common symptoms of withdrawals. It doesn't matter what medication it is as long as it's an opiate that can happen

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TO BEVMAR I have been on the patches since they were put on the market about 15-16 yrs. After 72 hrs there is still 50% of the medication left in the patch. That is why drugies like them. They will go through the garbage to get them (becarefull how you dispose of the used patches). And if all else fails they will eat them to get the medication out. I think I have more experience with this medication than you. BE BRAVE, DO WELL AND GET THROUGH IT QUICK

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I can admit I do have an additive personality. If I didn't I would never have gotten to the point of taking 8 30mg oxycodone pills at least per day. I needed pain relief, but should have been wary of taking that much. It was hard going down 30 mg a week, I think mainly because I would get tempted to take an extra pill occasionally which made me run really low at weeks end and run out too soon and got the restless legs really bad. That is so miserable it just scares me to death thinking if going through that again and probably worse as it was only for about 24 hours and that was pure hell. Climbing in and out of a hot bath looking for a tiny bit of relief. The good thing about the patch is that I think is has been helping me with my mental addition because wearing a patch just doesn't make you feel the feelings you get from regular pain pills that relax you and you can feel your body react to them, which I confess I like. That said, I still know I don't want to be dependent because then we always have to worry about what would happen if we can't get our prescription if we suddenly need surgery or whatever things that can come up and we should need them even more. Not good to be dependent I have realized unless there is no other choice and for some people I know that is the casel.

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Just this past mth I was on the 50 (almost a yr). I WANTED OFF IT. So my doc gave me perks to take, one every 4 hrs. WITH NO PATCH ON. It wasn't easy at times with the restless and Over anxious feelings I would get. TRYING TO SLEEP WAS THE WOREST! Was only about two weeks and restless leg med and Trazadon sleep med took care of that not sleeping and restless body movement stuff. Pretty much the whole mth of January was hard with getting off the patch and had the flu BUT I DID IT.
Also the pain isn't as bad as it was when I was on the patch. That patch not only left square burn mark looking, raw, rashes on me but it a
So intensified my pain. My whole body was always hurting when I was using that patch!
Now I just deal and TAKE NO PAIN MEDICATIONS AT ALL. My emotions are not all over and not feeling depressed either. I think those patches are very harmful, and would NEVER, EVER USE SUCH MEDICATIONS AGAIN LIKE IT. If just needed med for pain such as perks...etc.... Least if you take as Prescribed, then it isn't STUCK IN YOUR BODY THE WAY THAT PATCH IS....

If and when I have future surgeries, I will try a different method. If not, then will ONLY take med for when it's too bad and then STOP because THANK GOD I don't have an addictive personality as to where I have any pleasure FROM ANY MEDICATIONS. JUST THAT PATCH HAS YOUR BODDY NEEDING IT, Addicted or not because your body gets addicted. You don't have to like it to be addicted to it. I was PUSHED and PUSHED so bad by someone I thought I trusted to go on that patch. I should have never listened. I can look past it today as a lesson learned! Don't give up and just GET OFF OF THIS. You can do this and you too will be saying you are Past this now. Good luck.

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Restless legs are the worst part of Fentanyl withdrawal and they can last 3 months or more. My specialist recommended Morphine Solution taken when the restless leg syndrome kicks in. I take 7.5 ml and that sees me for about 28 hour. I strongly recommend it as the restless leg syndrome is sheer hell

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Nutty, It's possible that Sub might be a option I should consider after all. I know in time the doctors at the pain clinic are going to encourage me to try to get off meds all together or mostly. I also think I should try. I'm not sure how the pain will be because wearing the patch helps I know, but now that I have been using it for a couple of months it's hard to know how much it helps because it is just always there instead of pills that you take and they wear off. It just becomes the new normal with always having a patch on. So far I don't feel like I have any side effects or problems with using the 50 Fent patch, but worry about how hard it will be to get off them is all and if switching me from the 30 mg Morphine at 3 per day to the patch will be harder to come back from. I sort of think he did that to prevent me from the temptation of taking to many pills and running low early which I was having a hard time with. I don't know if it is because it was not too long ago that I was on such a high dose of the oxycondone, but I'm sure that's why. Addicted brain.

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I had to go to the ER because my 50 mg Fentanyl patches couldn't get filled Friday 1-17-2014. The withdrawals where so bad I couldn't sleep for 60 hours, irritable,restless legs, my stomach hurt bad. I thought I was going to have a heartache! The Dr. gave me a fentanyl 75mg shot and 2 pills and sent me home and it started again so I called him back and he said it would do that until I put my patch on. Thank god that they finally delivered my patches 1 hour later. I would never recommend anyone to quit cold turkey. I wouldn't want my worse enemy to go through what I just did. Thanks for all your in site. I may try to quit these patches. I have chronic back pain and have been on these patches for 6 years they help the pain great but I'm worried what they can do to me later with increased doses. I'm only 47 years old. Thanks everyone and I hope this helps some one.

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I was just brought down from Fentanal 50, every 3 days . With two Norco for breakthrough pain.To Oxycotin 2,15 a day w still tht norco.At first the fentnal was a blessing, I could do all the things I couldn't again, but bad side effects and more issues came about.I am 37 I have been on prescription pain killers since I was 16.I have tried to stay off only to be put back on by other doctors . I've made attemts on my life cause I cant handle the pain and the loved onees in my life pretty much labeling me an addict!I am doing my best w my pain professional to now ween myself off these drugs, but the withdrawl and not being able to function is wearing on me.Any suggestions?!

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Danise. Sorry, I had to go read your post one more time. I was in a big hurry when I thought it was you getting on to me for the way I answered Bev. The Suboxone, was the best thing I have ever took to come off of the patches, or oxy's either one. I used Subs for both. First it was the patches, then when I come off the patches I had a setback on the oxys. I should have never agreed to try the oxys. My mistake and doctors mistake. I went back on the Subs. I get 90 a month but only take about half that much. I don't need the rest but in my addictive mind, think I need to keep the other in case of things that have not come along my path. Don't get me wrong. I just hate to tell the doctor I don't need them then mess up down the path and not have something that will ease me out of it. I have not had anything tempt me in the 1 1/2 year. But it could come along at any time. That is what I call addiction. The subs just don't work like other opiates.

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Denise, I take suboxone because the desire I have for pain meds in general. Suboxone, does not mess with your liver, it can make for a new way of life and I am not in the bed all the time like the patches and oxys put me in. I now get up and move, go to church, and have a life. It may not be for you, but it is for me. Just like patches is for Bev. I was just telling her to be respectful of this site. It is for those who don't want to be on the patches any longer and she can't or don;t want to live without them. Then she wanted to tell someone that you could not hold a script past 3 days. That in my state is up to the sole discretion of the pharmacy. Sorry I was just telling that to have a easy withdrawal off the patches Suboxone was the way "I" went, no one else. but me....

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Your doctor is wrong. Ask an AODA therapist. What you have desribed is typical withdrawl and it is terrible. Benzos about 8 mg will help. Also 30 to 40 mg a day methodone.

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Correction on last post...... should have said that I take 8 pills a day of Tramadol when I stop taking the oxycodone. For whatever reason Tramadol did not get put in on my post.

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I was the one who wrote that I at times will stop taking my oxycodone for 2 weeks so as to not build up a tolerance. For those 2 weeks all I take is 2 x 50mg tablets 4 times a day, so 8 pills. These prevent me from going into withdrawl. Don't get me wrong I do experience some wd's, but not even close to what I would if I just didn't take anything. I get a little irritable, and I loose my appetite but that's about it. I don't sweat, I don't get cramps, I don't shake or experience anything that I hear others go through. 30mg oxycodone works very well at controlling my pain and will venture to say that I have tried many other pain medications and they just don't work as well or I don't like the side effects of the others, so in order for me to remain on the oxycodone and not build up a tolerance I must do without now and then. I have taken oxycontin and was on those for just over a year and I decided I didn't want to take them any longer, I was offered the fentanyl patch but I didn't think I needed anything that strong and I had heard nightmarish stories about getting off of them so I decline to use those, I can't take morphine as I am allergic to it and vicodin is for me like taking tylenol. So my PM doc and I have decided to just continue with what has worked well for me and as long as I am not abusing them by taking more than allowed then we agreed to just stay on those. By skipping up to two weeks now and then I am able to remain on them and still get plenty of pain relief. In the end you just need to find out what works for you and also figure out how to continue to stay on them without becoming tolerant and for me I figured out that the 2 week absence works . Good luck to you in finding out what works for you.

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Nutty: My question to you is if Suboxone is a good way to withdraw then why are you still taking it for a year and a half. I went from 240 - 270 mg of oxycodone per day to the 90-120 mg per day in 2 months. I have heard that it gets harder when you go to the much smaller amounts. I am scared to switch to Suboxone because I have heard it can cause you to feel withdrawal symptoms to do that too. The doctor at the Pain clinic switched me to time release Morphine 3 per day and then to the Fentanyl 50 because I was running out early. I will say that Fentanyl has stopped that problem, but at some point they want me off them and I agree, as I think if I could get rid of the physical and mental addition and just take something on occasion as needed I would be better off. For my back pain I feel it's true that you just get used to the drugs and then they only help so much and then make you have more pain due to the way they work on the brain.

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I interested in what you wrote about Sub

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BEVMAR, who are you mad at?? The world>??Or yourself??...you must be mad at your self because you in your wee little mind can not control others. First of all, I have had prescriptions that I held on to for weeks that did not expire. It is the sole direction of the pharmacy if they want to "expire" at script. And they must have see just how desperate you were to get your script. I have, on numerous time, been givin a script for narcotics, and some of these were patches, and did not get them filled. Even the pharmacy would hold them sometimes for a couple of weeks for me until my insurance would pay for them. Please don't come on here and try to "show" your authority by screaming about knowing it "all". You don't know it all. And screaming and telling others what to do doesn't do anything but show your ignorance. So please don't scream at anyone. Thank you , and have a great day. Us who want off this deadly patch, good luck and stick with trying to come off. Oh, and BevMar, if you don't want off the patch, and think it is the only thing that will help you, what are you doing on a blog about "fentanyl withdrawal, and what will help with the withdrawals"? Don't slam someone that is wanting to come off this drug and get back their lives....have a good day..

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Yes, my doc gives me 15 a mth and so low. Not working at all for the body restless twitches. Going nuts and 3 days now with no sleep. I need to sleep. No energy..... Cause no sleep and not eating right cause too tired to cook. How much longer? Am I almost there? Only been 4 days off. I will never put a patch on my body ever again. I had no clue and just wanted the pain to go away. Needed too many surgeries and couldnt do them all at once. Pain level much better I WANT THIS CRAP OUT OF MY BODY and need this restless leg and BODY JERKING STUFF TO GO AWAY. I need sleep.

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