What are the long term effects of Duragesic?

Answer 1

There aren't many studies or data available on long-term Fentanyl (or opiate for that matter) patients for a variety of reasons, but in general it's because that until the last few years, opiate therapy wasn't really widely accepted, and it still hasn't been by all doctors. The other reason is that opiate patients typically tend to be terminally ill, so they're not around long enough to study the effects on. A smaller percentage of patients are long term chronic pain patients and Duragesic users like myself, but the number is growing who are being prescribed it.

Pain management hasn't really been at the forefront of medicine until the past few years. However, again it comes down to a quality of life decision - if you're in constant extreme pain 24/7/365, it doesn't make a difference what the long term effects are - I guarantee you that the short term effects of that pain will kill your spirit long before the effects of long term opiate use will.

For any long-term user of Duragesic like myself, it is fundamentally a quality of life decision to start or continue with opiate therapy. Of course there are long term physical considerations, and the normal side effects of opiates in general (mood swings, urination problems, constipation, etc.), but those can be dealt with as long as you learn how to deal with them. The reality is that if you're in enough constant extreme pain to require Duragesic use, then long term effects aren't really an issue, as the extreme pain will kill your spirit long before the effects of using opiates long term will.