Belbuca and Pain: What Users Say

• Ske...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 29, 2020

For Pain "Was on the Belbuca 7-day patch but suffered from withdrawals every 5.5 days. If not complete withdrawals, then pain all day on the sixth day. Got tired of it and changed to the 12-hour film. No matter how hard you try, it sticks to your teeth and takes about an hour to go away. I found it took care of my sciatica but didn't do a thing for stretched nerve pain. It would break through the Belbuca at about 11 am, and screaming breakout pain would be with me for 12 hours. So I couldn't tell if it worked at all. Either my breakout pain was a hundred and the Belbuca was a ten, but I could not tell if I was on the medication or not. I hurt every day."

• Bad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 8, 2018

For Chronic Pain "Works well if applied exactly right and it stays there. My problem is that it is difficult to apply and slides down inside of cheek and ends up in a little roll between gums and cheek. It does not enter bloodstream when this happens, torturous pain is the result. Sometimes it sticks to my teeth. Either malfunction destroys bioavailability and leaves me in horrible pain. My Pain Management (PM) Dr staff behaved as if my pleas for help were a huge imposition. I thought resolving pain issues was their job. I called twice politely asking for help. Their response was that if I don't shut up and wait for my appointment I had to have steroid shots if I want treatment. The PM Clinic power trip over those who are vulnerable is pathetic and inhumane. Sick of so-called pain management clinics. Shame on you Dr and staff."

• SCa...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 28, 2019

For Chronic Pain "Belbuca is great, absolutely a godsend. If you have real pain, this is exactly what the doctor ordered. My ex-doctor could make much more money by switching me over to spinal injections. He was just interested in being able to charge my insurance company much more money for the injections in my back. I overheard him saying to the PA who handled my regular visits. I was under the impression that a physician was supposed to help, not cause any harm to a patient, not to manage his service on how much money he could make before his retirement. My brother took injections for four years, and now he is in a wheelchair for life. After having his lower legs amputated at the knee because of blood flow in his lower extremities directly due to pain/steroid injections in his lower back, according to his new neurologist, there was no medical reason to switch to spinal injections because his previous medications were well managed and properly used."

• NDP...
• August 1, 2016

For Chronic Pain "This medication is hard to open. Almost impossible. It doesn't last 12 hours. I am still in pain. I am on a low dose and I take it twice a day. I have had no relief. Last week, I went through two injections to my hips and lower back. I have been dealing with my lower back since '06 due to a car accident. I've had two back surgeries. I have been on all kinds of pain medications. I don't know what to do. I don't like how the medication makes me feel. It's too expensive, even with insurance. There is no way I can afford this medication. Without the coupon, I would have paid $120.00. I go to my pain doctor on Tuesday. I am hoping that I am taken off this and put on something else. I would not recommend this medication to anyone. Not happy at all."

• Bel...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 11, 2021

For Chronic Pain "I am a 58-year-old woman from CA. I have taken a lot of opioids for over 3 years after two back surgeries. My pain management doctor and I have tried many different meds, injections, so when Belbuca came about, the doctor asked if I wanted to try this out. I was willing, and we started off with 75 mg, then up to 150 mg, and now 300 mg. I was hoping to find the magic solution. As I tried this for many months, I am still in so much pain. Yes, Belbuca has touched a little bit of the pain, but it has not helped the way my doctor had me think. My doctor said, 'You are on so much medication that this is compared to morphine.' I said, 'You've got to be kidding, this is not morphine. I can't even feel it.' So I am taking a lot of Tylenol and muscle relaxers and trying to sleep through the day because I just cannot handle the pain. I would not advise anyone to take Belbuca if you have chronic pain."

• Mic...
• June 9, 2022

For Chronic Pain "I have been on 300 mg of Belbuca in addition to 7.5 hydrocodone. I was on Belbuca for about a year, paying $125 per prescription using a discount card. Last month it went up to $300 with the discount card included. I can no longer afford it, and I can tell a huge difference. I have hurt so badly I can barely move, much less work a full-time job and help raise grandchildren. Not sure where to go from here."