How do you administer 12.5 mcg Fentanyl with a 25 mcg patch?

Answer 1

Never, EVER, cut a fentanyl patch! The patch is designed to time release the medication through the material. If you cut the patch, the medication's release will no longer be appropriately "time-released". Technically, you are supposed to wash your hands after applying the patch as well. Fentanyl is 80 times stronger than morphine and can easily put someone into a coma or kill them if they are abused. If these patches have been prescribed for you, it is imperative to follow the instructions exactly as prescribed, and to be certain to wash your hands after applying. Cutting a patch could inadvertently release the medication in a significantly quicker manner, and cause a lot of harm. It is very dangerous.

Answer 2

Absolutely - Duragesic and generics are designed in different dosages so that they can be mixed to achieve the best dosage combination. I've used both 1 100mcg patch and at times when my pain has increased or I've had another operation, I've had to increase to using 2 100mcg patches for many months at a time, and I do know of cases where terminal cancer patients have had up to as many as 6 100mcg patches applied at once.

Typically you only increase another full dose if you're using your breakthrough meds at an increased rate, and/or if the patch dose isn't cutting it. It's not uncommon, as your tolerance will increase over time. After 10 years, my tolerance is extremely high.

You should try a 50mcg patch first to see if it does the trick, but if you're using an equivalent amount of acute meds (e.g., Percocet) to cover the pain the patch isn't dealing with effectively, then you should talk to your doctor about increasing to 2. Don't do it unless your tolerance level is high enough, or you could wind either with increased side effects, or worst case, respiratory depression and death. You can always ask your doctor for a box of 50's with your regular prescription of 100's, then double the 50's if you don't have a problem increasing to 50. Just be aware and let your family know to be on the lookout for symptoms of increased side effects so they can take your patch off and cool you down if necessary.

Answer 3

The correct or responsible answer is not yes. If your dose is 75mcg/hr than don't add more without checking with your doctor. I take either a 12 mcg/hr and a 25mcg/hr at the same time changed every 72 hours or I also have 50mcg/hr patches to use in cases of severe pain. I'm allowed 100mcg/hr but I choose to live with some pain because fentanyl is the worlds most potent narcotic. So if you have 75mcg/hr patches now and that's not working for you please discuss it with your doctor instead of trying to self medicate. Also if you put a 25mcg/hr patch on after on two days then you are getting an uneven dose. It's important for your body that you change the patches and doses at the right time and carefully. Fentanyl is a incredibly addictive narcotic and you can die from withdrawal if you stop cold turkey and you can die if you take too much or mess with the dosage without your doctor. I have been on it for three years now and I can tell you that dosage is not to be taken lightly.

Answer 4

You can't - it doesn't work that way. You can add patches to get a larger dose, but you can't cut them to get lower dose.

The only way to do it is to either go to a lower patch dose, or use Fentanyl lozenges.

Answer 5

Yes you can. It's exactly the same rate of delivery per patch, the surface area is just smaller... 3-25mg = 1-75 mg etc.

Answer 6

You typically can wear two patches at a time if you are prescibed a dose that requires it but to do it to just do it I strongly would advise against it!

Answer 7

Yes - even though they're referred to as 12's, they're actually 12.5mcg rather than 12 for most patches, but check to make sure with your Pharmacist. Otherwise you'll wind up 1mcg short.