[lndmwry]

This is my first time to this site and I am hoping some one can help me. I began seeing a Pain Managment doctor for the first time about a month ago. He prescribed a 25mg Fentanyl patch to be reapplied every 2 days. In addition, he prescribed Diladid to be taken up to 3 per day. Before seeing this doctor my PCP was prescribing Vicodin and I was taking anywhere from 3 - 5 a day. Here's the problem: the first week I began taking the patch I was quite pleased. I was not out of pain but the pain was tollerable with the Diladid which I was taking 2 a day. The second week i experienced excessive sleepiness and tiredness. I am sleeping most of the day. I can not seem to stay awake more that 4-5 hours at a time and I am sleeping 10 hours every night. My questions is if anyone using the patch experienced this same side effect and if so did it get better? I see my doctor again in a week and at first my hope was to ask him to increase me to 50mg patch and hopefully only have to use the Duladid once in a while for break through pain. Now I am concerned that I cant try this. Please if anyone has experienced this please let me know. I am trying to decide if its the patch or something else is going on with me.
Thanks for any help!

[Robert_325]

I posted on your other thread. I would try to avoid the fentanyl patches if it were me. God bless.

[MeridianMan]

Hi Ind, A week ago I just started using a 50mcg Fentanyl patch for a multitude of back problems I have been dealing with for several years now. I started my pain management by taking 3-4 10/325 Percocets daily and went up to 6-7 a day and began to get sick from them. The long acting duragesic is supposed to help with my chronic pain but I now am once again only taking 3-4 Percs. daily (for breakthrough pain) and the patch is not helping much. I have not been taking it long enough for sleep trouble (yet) if anything I am experiencing a touch of insomnia. But with research I have only seen symptoms of insomnia and not those of oversleeping, I'm wondering if it may be the Duladid that is causing the sleepiness? I know that when I was taking only the Percs. I would sleep for many hours at night and with a 2-3 hour nap in the late afternoon. I hope your situation improves, I see a pain management doctor as well and am going for a CT Scan and more imaging to see if nerve blocks could possibly be effective (I've heard these help)- I have had trigger point injections which unfortunately were ineffective. I will let you know when I get to week 2 and give you an update on my Fentanyl therapy. In the meantime stay in touch and I'd like to help with any support I can since I deal with horrible pain and know how bad it can be. God bless and stay well.. PS- I also empathize with you about not knowing what is what regarding the patch, I had some serious nausea,dizziness and fainting spells when I first began the Fentanyl but was unsure if it was the patch or by suddenly decreasing my three year 7 Perc. a day use in half in the period of a week. Dunno and still don't, anytime I feel a lousy side effect I don't know which is which either, but I am glad your seeing a pain specialist- you are on the right track my friend...

[lndmwry]

Hi Ken,
Thanks for the post. I did not experience any of the other side effects that I have heard about with the patch (vomiting, fainting, dizzyness). I am thinking I might have discovered the sleepiness issue. I use to be on a C-Pap machine for sleep apnea and I lost over 100 pounds and the doctor said I should not need it any longer so I stopped using it. From many hours of reading and searching on the internet I learned that the patch can slow your respiratory system. Diladid can also and I have been taking one 4mg each night. I think this might be the problem. I began using the sleep apnea machine again a few nights ago and feel better. I am going to talk to the doctor about this when I see him. I am really hoping this is the problem and I will be able to get on with my normal routine which is not sleeping half my day away and all night too! (lol) Please keep me informed on your progress and maybe we can help each other along the way. I, like you am worried about addiction also. What choice do we have though. Suffer with horrible pain each day...kill our liver with pain meds....jump off a bridge(lol)... I guess you can only try to make the best choices following your doctors advise and hope you have some decent quality of life. God Bless and take care!
Linda

[mpvt]

Vivodin is candy compared to fentanyl. The patch is usually used for cancer patients but in the last few years it has been prescribed more and more to chronic pain patients. The drug can be very mind altering when taken for long periods of time. I don't understand why a doctor would take someone from a fairly weak painkiller like hydrocodone and put them on the strongest prescription opiate there is and then prescribe dilaudid for breakthrough pain. This is over prescribing and that's why you can't stay awake. Your sedated and don't realize it. If you have to stay on the patch I would avoid going to the 50mcg. I don't know why your doctor didn't prescribe a sustained release opiate like ms contin (morphine) with a 10mg statex for beakthrough. This would seem to me to be the natural progression rather then going to the end of the line. You can't go to anything stronger after the fentanyl patch. Good luck to you and be carefull......Dave

[MeridianMan]

So far with most of my research I have not found anything good about Fentanyl and I definitely DO NOT like any of the side effects I have been experiencing from it. If anything I am more scared of its effects than its benefits. I, like Linda experience nasty chronic pain and have taken a very honest, proactive approach to my pain management keeping firmly in the foreground my addictive nature and past. There is nothing worse than being in pain constantly but on the other hand being dependent on a narcotic that I know I am or will become addicted to. I am giving this patch I am using one more day and then taking it off for good and will just try to get by on the limited amount of Percocets I can take without getting sick from them. I constantly ask myself which is more tolerable- nausea and vomiting from the medication or the horror of living with chronic pain un-subsided? Then the depression comes crashing in and its a living nightmare. I hope you find a solution Linda because there is no easy road here I am learning. Take care of yourself and stay strong, but Dave is right, I'm wondering how I myself went from 60mg per day of oxycodone to 50mcg of the strongest medicine there is on the market. I cannot stand the fact that there is something on my body that could potentially really make me sick or kill me if something goes wrong. Perhaps there is another way. Good luck and God Bless.. Ken

[wavedreamer1]

What are you taking the patch for? I have also been on the patch and It was a nightmare! I have tried every RX out there. I have had 4 spine surgreys and 3 for an implanted pain pump. I have nerve damage in my legs and still live in constance pain. I have the medication prialt in my implanted pain pump right now. Not good at this dose. Doctor said to hang in there. It should get better when my body adjust. What about me? If you have any questions on a certain drug let me know. Because I can tell you first hand what it will be like for them to clean a certain drug from your body so they can start you on another one from H_ll! wavedreamer1@aol.com

[wavedreamer1]

With your years of experience maybe you can help me. I have an implanted pain pump withthe new drug prialt since September 08. They go up a drop every 2 weeks I am at 3.4007. My pump only hold 5.0. If they have to go up, which I can not handle because of the side effect, but they tell me to hang in there. My brain will adjust. I am going crazy, but it does help the pain about 40 % if I don't over do it. I have had 4 spine surgerys and 3 surgries for the implanted pain pump. The first one got infected. Wouldlove to show you pictures. My belly on the right side got big as a watermellon. I kid you not. No one ever told me why that happened. I now have another one on the right side. The drug is venom from a sea snail. It effects the nerve to the pain only. That they tell me. Not like a pain killer that effects your whole body. I went through H_ll when they stoped my pump to clean out all the old drugs, I was in intensive care for 3 days. I was taking 100mg of morphoine every 6 hours by mouth with the old pump. Now I only take opana 5mg. every 5 hours for breakthrough pain. Which does not help. Sorry to write a book. Your input would be greatly appreciate.

[KNana]

I am on the 50 F Patch. I fought it in the beginning but it is the best thing that has happened for me. First it is to be changed every 72 hours not 2 days. Second, it should not be used with percocet but something milder such as Loratab. Yes, it is milder. If taken correctly as with any med you will be sleepy at first but your body will adjust. The patches come in many brands. I have found that some brands have stronger effects than others. This is a science and not perfect. We are to let our Dr. know what does and does not work and stand firmly. Please try changing the patch every 3 days and using something milder for the breakthrough pain. I think you will hopefully have better luck. Percocet and dilodid is so much stronger than Loratab. It would make more sense to go up to 50ml on the patch and go down on the pills. The pills give you a quick fix and then you are off to the sleepy race. Do not give up as I know the depression that comes with this. There are also many pain mgmt Drs. out there who will help you find the right combo for you. Good Luck and hope you find what you need as I know the heartache. knana

[wavedreamer1]

Thank you for the information. I have tried all the medications that you have listed. I have had over 6 spine surgerys and I have nerve damage in my legs. I have an implanted pain pump that they are trying a experimental drug now. It is working but the side effect are hard to handle for the first few days when they refill my pump. It is hard because you feel that you are all alone at times. and no one understands the pain if they have never been through it. I have 3 grown kids and my house is way to big for me know and I can't take care if it. If I mention about selling it the kids go crazy. I have lived here 31 years so it is hard to give up a home place. If I go out even to the grocery store my legs hurt me so bad it takes days to get over it. So I am pretty much home all the time. Thanks for listening. Sandra. wavedreamer1@aol.com

[19debwelcut49]

Yes, that "tiredness" feeling will pass; your body will adjust. Push your way through it, it's worth it.

deb

[rubyrearview]

Originally Posted by 19debwelcut49

Yes, that "tiredness" feeling will pass; your body will adjust. Push your way through it, it's worth it.

deb

Do you know the two overlays you can use safely on the patches, I found them the other day but did not write them down and now can no longer find the site.

[norefills]

I've been up to 150mg/h and have nothing positive to say about the drug. I slept until the realization seeped through a Fent Fog--it's never going to "get better". Listen to your body and get the poison patch of sorrow to the trash.