Ive been on tramadol 600 mg a day as well as butalbital and percacet your dr tried you on the kadian 20 er which didnt work Now he gave you Fentanyl 25 mcg patch to take every 3 days Scared to take it?

Answer 1

I faced a similar problem in 1999, when I was using OxyContin for a year, and my doctor kept trying to get me to move to a 100mcg patch. My only regret is that I didn't listen to her and do it sooner.

I can guess your reluctance, as it's probably the same as mine was; increasing your opiate dependence. But in the long run, you actually wind up using less medication, as your stomach and kidneys can only take so much if your pain levels are high enough and the drugs you've been using are not doing the job. Remember that the stuff you've used in the past is for acute (short term) pain, not constant chronic pain, and only lasts a few hours. Duragesic is for long-term, constant chronic pain, and lasts 48-72 hours, and trust me when I say that it works. Of course you'll run into days where you'll need to use breakthrough drugs, and eventually your tolerance level will require you to increase your dosages. But the alternative is constant agony, and Duragesic at the very least gives you back some semblance of a normal life. Eventually you'll become tolerant enough that you won't even notice it. I've used up to 200mcg's (2 100mcg patches) for many years, and at my tolerance level I feel fairly normal, save for the fact that my pain isn't there.

Using patches comes with a price, and it's a quality-of-life decision not to be made lightly. None of use likes dealing with the restrictions placed on Schedule II opiates, but on the flip side none of use likes to be in constant agony either. You need to consider your long-term prognosis, and if it's going to help you live a better life, then use it. The side effects aren't much different than any other opiate, though mood swings can be more often. But if your pain level is that high, you already know that you can only keep up mental focus for so long before the pain changes your mood anyway. Duragesic at least increases the periods between those changes, and as long as your family and friends know what to expect (my wife just closes the door to whatever room I'm in), it's okay.

If you're wondering, over the years my prescriptions have been:

1 -2 100mcg patches

120/150 Percocet 10/325's per month

100mg Demerol tab

30mg MS Contin tabs

I also use 30mg Fiorinal w/Codeine for migraines (Butalbital/Aspirin/Caffeine).