Fentanyl

Whether the Fentanyl patch or oxycodone 30mg is better for your chronic pain depends exclusively on what is causing the problem and what your body can tolerate. Many patients have found better relief with the patch, but you should talk to your doctor about your options.

DO NOT EVER MIX FENTANYL WITH ANY OTHER OPIATE!! I had 2 grand mal seizures and almost died, plus I don't remember almost 2 years of my life from mixing Fent. with other opiates. If you HAVE to get high, just stay away from fentanyl!! And mixing suboxone with any other opiate is STUPID. The suboxone BLOCKS the BRAIN RECEPTORS THAT ALLOW YOU TO FEEL HIGH. If you are lucky enough to get a script for it, USE IT and quit f'n around.

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That's a tough one, and it comes down to several factors.

The bottom line is once you're at a decent tolerance level, you can drive. However, the reality is that if you're involved in an accident and you're at fault, your opiate dependence is going to be an issue. Essentially it comes down to quality of life, and making sure that whenever you drive, you're not being affected by the drug.

Most Fentanyl patients become highly tolerant after several weeks of regular use, and after that period you really don't notice any impairment - in fact, the pain you're taking the drug for is more of a driving distraction than anything else. But again, current laws are pretty anal when it comes to pain patients - most governments and law enforcement don't like to make a distinction between opiate dependence and opiate addiction, even though there is a clear line between the two.

My point is that you can, but be sure you're cognizant enough before you do to avoid any problems.

No - in fact, virtually all pain specialists/doctors who prescribe Fentanyl patches will require you to only use one pharmacy, unless otherwise agreed upon, as part of your pain management contract.

It depends totally on how long you've been using patches, but if it's even a couple of months, I wouldn't recommend it. You might make it few days, but trust me when I say it's not easy, even for someone like me who had experience increasing and decreasing my dosages several times over many years.

If you want to do it, you really need to have some type of acute meds around, though if not, you can get away with Naproxen, Tylenol (extra strength rapid release gel tabs) and Aspirin. Plan to try and sedate yourself, and have someone around to help you through it. Ask you doctor for some anti-anxiety meds to ease the shaking, and keep plenty of water/fluids around, as you'll be sweating like you won't believe. Keep some clean bedding and dry clothes around too.

It's easier if you've got Percocet (just drop the dosage in increments until you're off the patches - Percocet's easy after that). Doing it without a an opiate to help is extremely difficult, even when you're prepared and can sedate yourself.

No! You can not eat it with Fiber, with fruit, with nuts, with anything! Eating fentanyl will kill you!

Fentanyl alone can be lethal. It is one of the most powerful prescription analgesics out there!! You should be careful taking any CNS depressants with it!!!

The urine drug screen would be positive for opioids.

My doctors have had me on both fentanyl patches, fentanyl citrate suckers, and oxycodone for years. There has been no problems.

You really shouldn't - either direct heat to the patch or increasing overall body temp increases the dosage delivery rate to the bloodstream, and if you're not aware of the symptoms and how to deal with it, you can get into real trouble. You can get disoriented pretty fast, and if no one knows what's happening and how to help, it just makes things worse.

You can always take the patch off and re-attach later - see the link to my answer below on how to keep them applied. If it's not feasible, then at least be cognizant of how much time you're spending on the table and how much you're being heated. If the staff doesn't know you're wearing a patch, then tell them, but don't assume they know anything about how to deal with opiate overdoses. Most staffers these days aren't nurses, and even many RN's don't know how to recognize or deal with fentanyl overdose symptoms, particularly if they don't know you're wearing patch.

Everyone's different of course, but in general, any meds that increase metabolism or are respiratory depressants should be avoided. Usually anyone who's opiate tolerant enough to use Fentanyl patches on a regular basis isn't going to have problems with respiratory depression/arrest, but you don't want to push it if you're not sure.

Anything that increases body metabolism (e.g., Ritalin, Adderall, Phentermine, etc.) or raises body temperature should be discussed with your doctor prior to use also. Fentanyl patch doses are released transdermally through the skin, and are activated / controlled by body heat. Any increase in metabolism tends to lead to an increase in body temp, and that in turn can increase the dosage delivery rate to the point where you'll get the effects of overdose. The indications are confusion, dizziness, and a general feeling of helplessness and being "stuck in a loop" that you can't get out of.

If you start feeling that way, the 2 things you need to do are to take the patch(es) off (don't fold them - you can re-apply them later with Bioclusive bandages or medical tape on the edges), and get into a cool shower to lower your body temperature quickly. Drinking something cold to lower your core temperature helps a lot also.

The oral drug Fentanyl is made by many different companies, but Duragesic (brand name for Fentanyl Transdermal patches) is made and distributed by Ortho-McNeil/Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Fentanyl patches are used to treat the pain from cancer. It is a narcotic drug that is prescribed by medical professionals. Pharmacists at WalMart will know if they have the Watson brand.

Not after the first couple of weeks when you get used to the dose. Unlike OxyContin, patch doses are much more steady, and there's no steep dropoff in dosage level like there is with OxyContin as the drug wears off. Essentially, you feel pretty normal, just no pain.

True , but all it would do is make the onset of the drug quicker not stronger

Fentanyl is 80 to 100 x more powerful than morphine. a three day dose of fentanyl is 1 to 10 mg.

Nortryptiline is actually occasionally prescribed along with Fentanly patches as an augment drug (doesn't work for most people). As far as blood pressure med, you can take them, but it's best to wait until you're patch dose is adjusted to see what your BP is going to be. Fentanyl, like most opiates, tend to lower blood pressure, and taking anything additional could lower it too far.

Yes, it will still show up the same (if you live to take a test) but your body will have massive amounts of the Fentanyl in your system instead of a certain microgram per hour as the Fentanyl Transdermal System is made for. You shouldn't be eating these whatsoever. You can die from this. People whom are tolerant to these but using them transdermally still could die from eating a patch. Be careful and very smart of how you use a drug. Know ALL risks and side effects.

I went off 200mic duragesic pain patches in April of this year. I have had most of my body react organ by organ with a type of shutdown affect. I have been in bed for many many weeks, been to 6 different specialists, been in the hospital for 6 days all to try and find out a diagnosis as to what is happening to my body. To date no doctor can find a medical diagnosis to assign all of my many symptoms to. I have been trying to find out if anyone else has had a body/mind shutdown due to stopping the patch. I was on 200mic for 10 years and my thought is that my neurosensor system has been altered/shut down. I am awaiting the results of a brain MRI. This is the first and only post I have entered and would appreciate any feedback from anyone.