Can you eat a Fentanyl patch?

Answer 1

It depends on your overall condition, reason for pain, your overall tolerance level, and the length of time you've been using Fentanyl Transdermal patches of any type. However, in general, if you're up to the task, then yes, it's okay, as long as you're aware of the potential risks involved.

Fentanyl patches (either Duragesic or its generic alternatives) work by slowly releasing the drug through a transdermal membrane into the bloodstream via the skin layer. The dosage delivery is controlled by body heat, and naturally any strenuous physical activity will increase your heart rate and elevate your core body temperature. This alone increases the dosage delivery rate, and if you're not yet that tolerant to the drug or opiates in general (rare since the patches are only supposed to be prescribed to prior opiate tolerant patients), then confusion or other increased side effects can occur.

As a long time Duragesic user and chronic pain patient on opiate therapy for many years (see my bio for specifics), I've experienced this several times while doing outside work or remodeling around my home. Even though I knew what was happening, the confusion level is so much that it's difficult to get out of the situation on your own. I describe it as being stuck in a loop you can't get yourself out of. Only removing the patch (if you do it properly you can re-attach it later - see my answer on that) or cooling your body to normal will alleviate the problem. It's also important to understand that opiates are Vasodilators, meaning they open the blood vessels (that's why you feel cold when the dosage tapers off - they start constricting). Opening the blood vessels wider naturally warms your body, but again if you're tolerant to the constant dosage over time then your body is already used to it.

However, if you take simple precautions to keep yourself from getting overheated (stay hydrated and cool while working) and your overall physical condition doesn't limit you from the work (e.g., you're dealing with extreme pain but are physically able to work), and you're prepared for what can happen (my family knows what to do if they find me in such a situation, and I always have my cell with me when working) then there isn't much you can't normally do that you didn't do before.

As you become more tolerant, the depressant effects will become less. I found years ago that a cerebral stimulant will help overcome the depressant effects to the point where I feel relatively normal. Of course I don't use them often, only when I'm using higher opiate dosages to control pain.

As far as driving, it's an individual situation. Not everyone handles opiate therapy the same way, and again only tolerant individuals can deal with the depressant side effects over time. I've never had any driving restrictions, though I've always been acutely aware that in any accident it would likely be an issue. Having said that, unless I told you that I was a high level opiate patient you'd never know as I feel normal most of the time. It's really a topic for your pain specialist and yourself, but if you've already got handicap driver plates or a placard, then your doctor has already signed off on the fact that he/she believes that you're okay to drive. How responsible you are is totally up to you. I won't drive if I need to increase my normal dosages to deal with increased pain.

You should also be aware of the fact that the patches will and do slow your reaction time, so you need to be more aware of safety factors and compensate for your slower reaction than normal when working. Also, remember that opiates work by altering the brain's perception of pain, and if you over-exert yourself, you could further aggravate your condition without realizing it until the pain becomes worse. Be smart.

If you're wondering, at my highest dosages I was using 2 100mcg Duragesic patches for primary pain, Percocet 10/325's for breakthrough (120/150 per month), 100mg Demerol tabs, and 30mg MS Contin tabs for pain. My normal dosages are 1 100mcg patch and the same amount of Percocet monthly. Those have been my normal dosages for about 9 years.

Answer 2

It's a Catch-22, and a question I struggled with for many years. In the end, I decided not to, and I'll relate my reasons.

Duragesic, like any Fentanyl patch, improves your pain tolerance to the point where you feel relatively normal, and you're able to do most tasks without any problem. However, the fact is that if you do have a problem at work, or have an accident, regardless of your tolerance level, that fact that you're an opiate patient will figure into the equation at some point, whether you were to blame or not. There's also the inevitable mood swings that come with patch use, and that can be used against you if you have enemies in the workplace (been there, experienced that).

In the end, I decided (in my case at least) that regardless of how much I wanted to go back to work, it would be unfair of me to place any potential employer into such a position. While society's view on opiate patients has improved somewhat, there are still doctors who can't seem to make the distinction between addiction and dependence, let alone the general public. Only my closest friends and family have ever known of my opiate dependence. Others I meet don't have a clue unless the subject comes up (e.g., one lady noticed my patch on my arm - her late brother was a terminal cancer patient who used them).

It doesn't mean you can't work - it just means you need to find something that'll get you money that you don't have to work in a regular employment setting. In my case, I was a Web/Computer consultant before I started using patches, and I've continued that after I was forced to retire on disability 11 years ago.

Answer 3

Sure - if you want to kill yourself in a heartbeat.

Fentanyl patches (brand name Duragesic) have a concentrated Fentanyl gel inside that is released by body heat into the body via the skin. It lasts anywhere from 2-3 days depending on the patient. Fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine, and the patches concentrate it even further. In order to even be prescribed Duragesic patches, you have to be what's known as "opiate tolerant". In other words, you need to already be tolerant of opiates before you start using even a low dose of Duragesic.

Bypassing the time release component the patches by anyone not tolerant of drug to begin with usually winds up with the idiot who bypassed it killing themselves. It is not a drug to be trifled with. Just getting the gel on your skin is enough to make you sick or send you into respiratory arrest if you're not used to opiates.

Answer 4

Depends of tolerance,cut 1/8

Put on tongue. Till desolve15min to2h.

Answer 5

No