Fentanyl for Pain User Reviews (Page 3)

• Min...
• September 23, 2013

"I have just recently started this medication for severe fibromyalgia pain. Unlike most others who have posted here, I have not been taking strong opiates for my pain prior to being given this patch by my doctor. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia eight years ago after being rear-ended in an auto accident that happened twelve years ago. This past year, I have been on hydrocodone 5/500. Prior to that, I was on Tylenol for pain relief. After 4 days of being on the 12.5 mcg patch, I am beginning to get some relief for my pain. I think I am going to like this patch."

• Coa...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 10, 2012

"I have been having back pain since 1998, when I had my first spinal fusion. My back is now a solid unit from L3 south. I am going to see my spine surgeon to see about fixing the latest pain problems. I change my patch every 48 hours. I used the Watson patches for several years. They were effective, except for the falling off mentioned by others. Paper tape solves that issue. My latest experience is with Nylan. These have been wonderful; they actually stay on my skin, and the amount of fentanyl is much more consistent. My new ones are from Mallinckrodt/Covidien. We will see how they work. Before I was put on patches, I went through all the usual meds. They would help, but not keep the pain under control. Patches are the way to go."

• vle...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 3, 2016

"I had 2 broken knuckles replaced. Sent home with OxyContin and oxycodone. They were like eating a Tic Tac. I ended up spending a week in the hospital pushing a button on a pain pump that contained morphine. It did absolutely nothing for my pain. Finally, I was seen by a pain management doctor who prescribed 50 mcg fentanyl patches every other day. I was able to go home and start physical therapy. I am so thankful they found something that worked for me. Every patient is different, and everyone responds differently to different medications. I am a 100-pound, 55-year-old woman."

• tal...
• May 10, 2012

"Fentanyl has been a lifesaver. Started on 25 mcg patches/72 hours and over the years have progressed to 100 mcg/72 hours. I also have Vicodin and other medications that treat my diseases and also help alleviate pain. However, I have been experiencing a lot of breakthrough pain recently, so my physician is making changes in my medications, and fentanyl is one that he is considering changing the dose and shortening the time to 48-hour patch replacement."

• unt...
• September 19, 2007

"I have been using the fentanyl patch for over a year, and I find it to work great. Before this, I was on time-released OxyContin, and I prefer fentanyl. My pain relief may not be taken as far down on the scale (1-10), but the breakthrough isn't quite severe. When they don't want to stick, I use paper tape."

• Anonymous
• August 18, 2008

Fentanyl "My husband finds great relief with this for his breakthrough pain. Very fast-acting, but relief only lasts about an hour. He needs more than one of these for use a day, but since the DEA has declared war on pain management doctors, he is only given one dose per day. His quality of life would greatly improve if he were allowed to have more for his breakthrough pain."

• Ms ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 17, 2017

"I have only been with pain management for 6 months but suffered from debilitating pain (osteoarthritis, neuropathy) for years. I am hoping through the fentanyl patch I may have some consistency with my management of pain. Have tried Opana 15 mg X 2 and before that a morphine tablet (cannot remember strength). I also had Percocet 10/325 every 4-6 hrs for breakthrough pain. The only thing that helped was the Percocet but felt I was taking way too many; 150 a month. I got the patch today. I took 2 Percocet initially because I had been without anything for 3 days and was really hurting 10+. My pain level is at 1, maybe 2 after 16 hrs of applying the patch. Praise God! My only issue is a headache and not being able to sleep. I am not sure if the headache is from sinus or patch?"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 5, 2012

"I have been on these patches for about 2 years. I started out on the 25 mcg's and now am on the 100 mcg's, and I change them every 48 hours. They work great. I also am on oxycodone 15's, 1-2 every 4-6 hours for breakthrough pain, but I usually do not need to take them that often. I have a rare muscle condition that causes extreme pain. During the years prior to being on these, I have been on just about every type of pain medication (narcotic and non-narcotic) that you can think of. I must say that these are by far the best, and I would recommend them to anyone that has real issues with pain. They are not for people that just have occasional migraines or back pain."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 7, 2020

"Been using Mallinkrodt 100 mcg fentanyl effectively for almost 10 years. Around April/May, pharmacy said could no longer get Mallinkrodt, and the other brands did not work. What is the issue with Mallinkrodt? Without Mallinkrodt, pain is at 7-9 out of 10."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 5, 2017

"Had 6 surgeries for cellulitis advancing to sepsis. 60 days in the hospital. They discharged me with 2 weeks of oxycodone, a pretty high dose around 120 mg/day. My MD preferred Fentanyl patches with a low dose of hydrocodone for breakthrough pain. I definitely prefer the Fentanyl, no wild mood swings or sedation like the oxycodone. Just blessed pain relief. Only have to put the patch on every three days. It seems to weaken on the third day, so I use the hydrocodone, but it beats being tied to the very tight dosing of oxycodone, with all its weird baggage."

• Ket...
• April 6, 2009

"I have been through several spinal surgeries due to bad degenerative disc disease. Besides the herniated discs, stenosis, radiculopathy, and arthritis in my spine, the main problem I have is scar tissue, which has encompassed my nerve at the L5-S1 level. Constant pain! I also have fibromyalgia. I have used every opiate-based medication there is and find fentanyl to be my favorite because it is NOT ANOTHER PILL I HAVE TO TAKE. I am on enough prescription pills, so reducing the number of pills I take is a plus. I do have to take oxycodone for breakthrough pain pretty frequently now, maybe because my body is adapting to the dose, so I should be increasing the dosage soon. Fentanyl allows me to get out of bed in the morning and go to work."

• kcp...
• November 17, 2011

Fentanyl "I have a doctor who is not into breakthrough medicines that much, but he is still reluctantly writing Norco 10/325 for my breakthrough pain, and I found that this medicine does pretty good for about 40 hours. The 72 hours they claim is a real stretch."

• Anonymous
• January 26, 2012

Fentanyl "My husband has spinal stenosis. He had major back surgery, so his Dr. prescribed this medication. He was doing a lot better. He actually could move. Now his Dr. ups and quits, and he has no more medication. No Dr. at his practice is able to write out this prescription for him, and now he's back in bed."

• PAT...
• May 20, 2008

"Just a quick note to maybe help a few folks. When I change patches, I thoroughly clean the skin for the new patch, and after sticking it on, I press it firmly against the skin for 1 minute and then press each end of the patch for an additional 30 seconds or longer. I have not had a patch come off early in well over a year. Currently, I use the Sandoz generics at 100 mcg every 2 days. Hope this info is able to help anyone."

• bzb...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 27, 2012

"I developed RSD after diving off a ladder onto the driveway. I tore the labrum in my left shoulder by severely dislocating that shoulder. The pain from RSD is overwhelming, so after using morphine, Trileptal, and other pain meds, I started using the Duragesic patch, 25 mg then 50 mg then finally settling on 100 mg. I put on a new patch every other day. The three-day use was really ineffective on the third day. I used a fentanyl lollipop for breakthrough pain, which happens a lot with RSD."

• Cul...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 6, 2016

"Very effective for pain. Have been on pain meds for 11 yrs. Tried many others, i.e., hydrocodone, morphine, Percocet, oxymorphone, several others, but nothing worked like fentanyl. However, I have had some serious side effects. First, I froze at 78 degrees inside our home in southwest Florida. Then my left eye started getting really hazy. I thought my glasses were filthy. By the way, it's still hazy after going through almost four months of withdrawal. Then my right leg felt like dead weight at night. My left leg felt like it was wrapped with a very tight sock from below the knee to my ankle. I felt like I was going to vomit any minute, my mouth started to get watery. My gut hurt like anything."

• Dia...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 19, 2020

"I have been on Mallinckrodt 50 mcg fentanyl patches, also 12 mcg patches for over 10 years for neuropathy. Just recently, the pharmacy cannot get my brand. The replacement brand does not stick to me! I have been using waterproof tape for 3 weeks, and my skin is breaking down. How can I get the Mallinckrodt brand?"

• Dav...
• December 17, 2010

Fentanyl "I have a severe back condition which has resulted in chronic lower back pain for more than 25 years. I was using oxycodone (OxyContin) and other pain-related drugs until I developed a very severe allergic reaction. I started on the Duragesic 50 mcg patch, which I have tolerated with only the very minor side effect of mild constipation about once every 2 - 3 months. I have moved to the Duragesic 100 mcg patch for the past 4 - 5 years, this medicine is a true wonder. I am able to adjust my dosage from between 50 to 100 mcg as required, and the most important thing is that I can lead a normal life, mostly pain-free. The patch lasts between 48 to 72 hours dependent upon my activity, if I sweat, the patch only lasts 48 hours."

• hel...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 6, 2015

"My husband has Stage IV tongue cancer. He was put on fentanyl patches starting at 25 mcg and was raised to 150 mcg every 72 hours. What determines 48 hours or 72 hours, the insurance? How do they know what relieves a person's pain, especially one with cancer? It has been terrible watching him in such pain because the insurance won't cover the patches when necessary with the doctors' approval due to the increase until the pain-relieving amount was reached! Any ideas what I can do?"

• Kay...
• September 12, 2008

"I take Fentanyl patches. First was on a 25, a 12.5 every 72 hours. Soon, the breakthrough pain was intolerable, so he increased me to 50 every 72 hours. I developed some mild breathing problems, so he took me back down to the 25, 12.5, but instead of every 72 hours, he has me taking them every 48 hours. This change is new, but hopefully it will do the trick. This drug has been a Godsend! Without it, I couldn't function and I wouldn't want to live. My pain was THAT bad before Fentanyl, even with the back injections. Best wishes to all of you who are dealing with terrible and chronic pain. Future surgeries may partially correct my back problems; until then, I'm thankful for Fentanyl!"

• Art...
• July 27, 2016

"Excellent! I suffered from inadequately controlled back pain for decades. Finally, when several sleep studies confirmed that at least part of my daytime sleepiness was due to pain issues, I was put on fentanyl patches. While we did have to experiment with dosing, the back pain has been well controlled for decades with NO side effects! It did not work well for my joint pain, but I have other treatment options that are effective. While I have had a recent increase in breakthrough pain, it is likely because my sleep disorder (unrelated to pain) has exacerbated considerably, and I've been unable to change my patches on schedule."

• MRS...
• October 30, 2011

Fentanyl "Scoliosis and multiple herniated discs in both my neck and lower back have required quite a few spinal surgeries but left me in chronic pain. Over the years, it has increased to the point where nothing was helping my pain. My pain doctor started me on Fentanyl 100 and slowly raised it to 150 over the course of a few years. Currently, I am able to control my pain to about a '4' out of 10 by adding OxyContin for breakthrough pain. Drowsiness and constipation are the most annoying side effects, but it's worth it to get my life back to semi-normal."

• Fas...
• April 21, 2008

Fentanyl "Fentora, like Actiq, is a very fast-acting pain medicine that starts providing relief within minutes. One of the advantages of Fentora tablets is that it quickly dissolves in your mouth, unlike Actiq, which is large and noticeable."

• Tyl...
• May 19, 2011

"I was on OxyContin for 2.5 years and 30 mg Roxicodone for breakthrough pain, and then was on massive amounts of morphine, and none of it actually helped. Then, I was given fentanyl 50 mcg patches and I don't get ANY 'buzz', but my pain level is DOWN. I have MAJOR SPINAL PROBLEMS LITERALLY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. I wouldn't be here now if not for fentanyl. I'm disabled for life, and I'm dealing with that in my own way, mentally. But the relief that fentanyl gives helps me be able to think clearer and to be pain-free."

• Sas...
• July 23, 2011

Fentanyl "I was on 15 different medicines for pain and muscle spasms. I have been on the patch for 4 months, and my pain has dropped so much it is unreal. I didn't know about this until 4 months ago, I had been in the bed for almost 15 years due to a car crash. I find this medicine to be wonderful."