I have been on the
fentanyl patches for almsot 2 years and was recently weaned off due to an unexpected pregnancy. I found that very few pharmacists and doctors even bother with the 12.5mcg patches. They figure that if you were on pain meds before the lowest effective dose will be 25mcg. You don't want to put saran wrap under half the patch... we tried this and it just caused irritation and the part of the patch that was actualy exposed to the skin to not stick very well. then the other half of the patch is useless once it's been stuck to the saran wrap. If the patch is too strong for your wife then the doctor needs to re-assess her and put her back on something else. Be thankful that she hasn't been on the patches long because the withdrawals are hell. I stopped fentanyl 10 days ago now and the withdrawals have had me in and out of the hospital. they are not at all fun. you get very sick and become a different person. Fentanyl is not a medication that should be used lightly. Once on it you develop a tolerence to it quickly and the dosage needs to be upped to compensate for that.. making it harder if you ever want or need to come off of it. Don't get me wrong... it worked great at pain relief but be very very careful with it.
I hope she feels better soon. I have a wealth of information on the patch now if you have any questions you can e-mail me (skin_chik88@hotmail.com) The only thing I can't really give you any information on is how long withdrawals last once the patch is stopped.... I'm still looking for relief and that info. The doctors all have different information to offer on that subject but none want to do anything about it.