[abritt121222]

my doc wants to put me on these because the hydrocodone i have been taking is not working very good anymore and i have read bad things about these patches.
i am also wondering if i am going to have to go through withdrawals from hydrocodone if i do switch to these patches?

thanx

[KWELLEYE]

the patches r verrry addicting and verrry hard withdrawls when done with the medication..ive tried the patch and it made me a zombie..BE CAREFULL!!!

[melinda7.5]

Hi abritt
If your scared of the hydocone w/d I would hate to see you when your going thur the w/d from the patch...i know someone that was on the patch and she just went into hiding she went into her room and would not come out.
I agree with kwelleye, stay away from the patch...
Melinda

[Robert_325]

I don't think they should even RX fentanyl unless the patient is terminally ill! Freakin fentanyl is the worst drug there is to stop using if you EVER plan to stop. Plus it just sucks the life out of you, makes you a zombie.

There are a TON of different drugs between hydrocodone and fentanyl. How about trying something not so dangerous first? What's up with these pain management drs slamming fentanyl off on a hydrocodone user? Gimme a break!

Don't go with fentanyl unless you're leaving out lots of information. God bless.

[xenon10]

No, you will not withdraw. The Fentanyl will prevent that. You also should have some kind of instant release opiate on hand for rescue dosing in any case. Continuous release opiates are fine as far as they go, but people's pain is rarely exactly the same all the time.

I, too, went from Hydrocodone therapy (60mg/day) to Fentanyl patches (50ugm/3days). This turned out to be too high of a dose, and caused rapid escalation of tolerance. The Fentanyl patches tend to be prescribed too quickly as they are perceived as a low abuse threat. This is a shame, as this drug (IMHO) is a bit too strong as the "next step" from hydrocodone. First, if the hydrocodone was working, but you just needed a little more help, then it would have been best if you were titrated to a stable dose of another short acting med such as Percocet (oxycodone & APAP) before selecting a continuous release med. Once stable on IR (instant release) opiates, then consideration of a CR (continuous release) opiate may be indicated. Too often doctors jump to a CR before properly titrating with IR meds in the first place. However I can partly allay your fears of discontinuing the Fentanyl patches. I used them for just about a year, and had no difficulty tapering off. They make a 12.5ugm/3 day patch to assist. I switched to 15mg Oxycodone HCL (Roxicodone) Q6, (and recently Q4) and in my opinion this was "just what the Doctor ordered" (pun intended) to control my pain. If you must use the Fentanyl, be very careful not to allow it in contact of a heat source (heating pad, etc.) as people have died from this (body heat controls much of the release mechanism, and excessive heat causes rapid absorption of the opiate). Good luck, and I hope you find the relief you need.

[Robert_325]

I'm glad it worked so well for you and don't doubt what you share about your experience. Most people who have used fentanyl curse the day the first time a dr ever mentioned fentanyl to them. That is a fact. God bless.

[xenon10]

Robert_325, Please note, I'm a new poster and in no way meant to post as a rebuttal to your thoughts on Fentanyl. I should also clarify that I was not "kicking" Fentanyl at the time, but crossing to a different opiate. It no doubt would have been very difficult had I been weening off of Fentanyl to zero opiates. But this brings up an important point. No one should attempt a complete cessation from any of the strong opiates without assistance (and Fentanyl is by far the strongest of the opiates available). I will also add in somewhat support of your statements, that Fentanyl should be the last resort opiate, and only used when other opiates are ineffective (but I would not restrict it only to the terminally ill). However, most pain patients have little say over what they are prescribed, yet they need an opiate pain reliever to function. These patients often have to learn to live with these prescriptions, or suffer relentless pain. If the patient is allowed a choice, then by all means use something else. If not, then respect the opiate, and expect that careful planning will be needed when (hopefully) their pain has eased, and the need to break the dependency becomes evident. Where most patients fail, and experience the hell of withdrawal, is that in their anxiousness to quit, they fail to take the logical first step of moving to a weaker, fast acting agonist. So in essence, no one "quits" Fentanyl directly (or shouldn't), but rather they move to another, easier to manage opiate, then taper. So please excuse me if my last post seemed to diminish the potency of Fentanyl. That was not my intent. It was only to say that, with proper technique, it is achievable with little difficulty, and should not be feared greater than a life of constant pain.