Fentanyl Patch Withdrawal Symptoms And Duration (Page 5) (Top voted first)

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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Question: Who do you think knows more about a medicine, you are someone who spent years going to school to learn to be a doctor? DO NOT FART AROUND WITH FENTANYL!

It DOES expire in 72 hours, but there is a window of carry-over when the pain will stay where it is. But the DRUG expires in 72 hours because that is the way it works.

I've over five years experience with Fentanyl. Do NOT try to go lower than what your doc has recommended because you will NOT get a refill at any other dosage. Fentanyl is a controlled substance and requires a physicians ORIGINAL Rx slip to get a refill and it is good for about 2 or 3 days and then the prescription expires.

ANY strength of Fentanyl will cause withdrawals at any strength. If you NEED 50 stick with it. Your doc will lower it if he/she thinks it is appropriate.

I'm one of those people who cannot use any other narcotic except IV Morphine for pain relief and that only when I'm in a hospital setting. Essentially, Fentanyl only works for nerve pain, at least that has been my experience. I have peripheral neuropathy in both feet, Fentanyl is the ONLY drug that has made it possible for me to live.

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I interested in what you wrote about Sub

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

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I'm at that point that I'll be using the patches for a long term. I've been on it about five years and so far have found NOTHING that helps with neuropathy. I augment the Fentanyl with 1200 mg of Neurontin as an adjunct to take care of break through pain.

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Just to share. Before I went on the patch I spent most of my time in bed. I took me 5 times as long to do the simplest task. I had restless legs, debilitating migrains that needed hospitalizations and terrible sleeplessness all along with fibromyalgia. I was not living. I was put on the patch and got most of my life back. I still had some pain but nothing like it had been. It did cause some side affects but they could be treated and so I stayed for many years.
I started having physical issues that I put down to getting old but after some testing it was decided that the causes were the patches. So now I have liver issues and my memory is effected. The various doctors all said I needed to get off the patch and at the very least reduce the strength. So know what.
I have reduced from 75mg to 50 mg and within a week I felt like a heavy fog had been lifted. It was amazing and I don't use though words lightly. BUT I have more "bad days". I have already found some things I can no longer do with any comfort. Time is coming to make the next decrease, what do I do?
I can be in little pain but loss my memory and what ever else comes along due to the drugs OR I can be in lots and lots of pain, prevent other things from going wrong and remember every bit of it. JUST ME THOURGHTS

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Don't use methadone because it is very addictive and you will again go through withdrawal. Talk with a pain specialist for the best withdrawal method .

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Yvonne, I can't believe your doctor is telling you that your restless legs symptoms, etc. are not because you were one week off of the patch. I have always been told that even if you go down slowly off of any opiod addition that when you quit completely you will suffer some withdrawal symptoms and a 12 mg patch is still quite a bit. I was on a lot of Oxycodone for a long time and then went down a lot on those and was put on a 50 mg patch for about 6 months. Now comes time for me to wean further my pain doctor decided. I requested going back to the Morphine pills the pain clinic had me on right before the patch. I decided if I can stick with it I think it will be easier because of what you are going thru right now. They switched me to 3 30 mg Morphine time release pills for 2 weeks then I will go down 15 mg for 2 weeks and then another 15 for 2 weeks and so on. It just seems like I will be able to go down slower this way and have a little bit of control over when I am feeling the worst symptom wise to take a pill as long as I stick to the allowed amount. I hope you are feeling better and I hope I can do this without too much discomfort. My biggest fear is the restless legs thing. It is so miserable. I'm not sure if they intend to me completely take me off all of my pain meds or just reduce to a much lower amount and leave me with something for pain. I have back and hip pain mostly. Also arthritis. I sincerely hope you are doing better.

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Denise, I think your plan seams reasonable to me. You may want to take a little longer than 2 weeks or a break after a couple of decreases. I'm rooting for you.

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hjc, I hope my doctor will be understanding and allow me to do what you have said as far as taking a break and staying at perhaps 60 mg per day of the morphine for a little while if I ask and not rush the process. I have finished my first 2 weeks at 3 per day of the 30 mg morphine, which is pretty equal to Fentanyl 50 patch. Next 2 weeks will be 2 30 and 1 15 per day and then back to the doctor. I imagine she will take me down to 2 30 mg per day. I would like to stay at that for a couple of months and then reduce by going to 15 mg morphine pills and I guess just taking 3 per day of those. I am not too thrilled with getting off all pain meds as I have pain, but am willing to try and see how it goes. Thanks for the good thoughts.

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I have run out of 10 mg oxycodone pills one week before I see pain doc. I have a 50 mcg Fentanyl patch. I can't tell if I am having withdrawal or the flu: hot/cold flashes, anxiety only. I am taking .25 Xanax to help with anxiety every 4 hours. Should I be having withdrawal symptoms? I have been on meds for over a year.

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My pcp wrote me a 3 month script at a time. I never abused them-used 1 every 3 days. I'm going to have to get my other knee replaced and I wanted to get off the fentanyl so they'd be able to relieve my pain during and after the TKR. Went to pain mgmt cut my fentanyl to 25mg--5 patches--now I'm on 200 mg of tramadol. I'm feeling crappy today, but I've been off the fentanyl patches since 5/8 today is 5/20. Is this withdrawal-can't sleep, toss and turned all night couldn't sleep, just feel BLAH!! Any suggestions for me out there? Thanks

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