duragesic/fentanyl withdrawl

i was on percocet for severe injury and was prescribed fentanyl patch which worked very well for 16 months..and was able to reduce the amount of percocet i was taking 2 weeks ago my fentanyl patch malfuncioned and i received too much fentanyl at once thus the patch came off permanently i am taking minimal percocet to control the pain as i am 4 weeks away from having another epidural..still having withdrawl symptoms very anxious restless and bouts of stomach problems anyone with experience stopping the patch please tell me how long this will last the first six days were horrible lived through that now this is really annoying also very tired at times it has been 16 days and counting with no patch there is very little help or literature or withdrawl medication where i live even the canadian manufacturer did not know they offered to search the internet for my doctor what a joke the concensus among the doctors up here is it was only 25mcg patch therefore a person should not have any withdrawl ...any experiences shared will help thanks

i am in so much pain i have djd (joints) and my doctor gave me the fentanyl patch 50mcg 72 hrs i found out i was 4 weeks pregnant and i stoped them i am going through withdrawl and i can find any one to help me i have been on the patches for 1 1/2 years i need to know what i can do i have to work and take care for my kids but i cant with all this pain from withdrawl can anyone give me any help on this?????/

carebear32s wrote:

i was on percocet for severe injury and was prescribed fentanyl patch which worked very well for 16 months..and was able to reduce the amount of percocet i was taking 2 weeks ago my fentanyl patch malfuncioned and i received too much fentanyl at once thus the patch came off permanently i am taking minimal percocet to control the pain as i am 4 weeks away from having another epidural..still having withdrawl symptoms very anxious restless and bouts of stomach problems anyone with experience stopping the patch please tell me how long this will last the first six days were horrible lived through that now this is really annoying also very tired at times it has been 16 days and counting with no patch there is very little help or literature or withdrawl medication where i live even the canadian manufacturer did not know they offered to search the internet for my doctor what a joke the concensus among the doctors up here is it was only 25mcg patch therefore a person should not have any withdrawl ...any experiences shared will help thanks

I cant belive a doctor would not give you anything with withdrawl. I know your posting is older now but i just got on her for the first time. If you are still on the 25 mills and have the sticky tape kind not the gel, you can cut them in half, like i have been doing and it is slowly lowering or tapering my dose. I am not a doctor nor nurse and am new at this as well, but it seems to be helping me a bit. I also received xanax and clonidine for withdrawl sysmptoms. I havent take the clondine yet because i havent needed it yet. I have to the xanax and that does help with anxiety. I dont know how long the withdrawls last no one will give me a straight answer. My doctor yesterday said it could last for weeks, i am NOT looking forward to that. If you have kicked the patches since your last post, please let me know and or let me know how you are felling now. Thanks

dakota5 wrote:

i am in so much pain i have djd (joints) and my doctor gave me the fentanyl patch 50mcg 72 hrs i found out i was 4 weeks pregnant and i stoped them i am going through withdrawl and i can find any one to help me i have been on the patches for 1 1/2 years i need to know what i can do i have to work and take care for my kids but i cant with all this pain from withdrawl can anyone give me any help on this?????/

I feel for you, is there anything a doctor could presribe for your withdrawls? Then again since you are pregnant, i dont know how much you can take or if anything. I really hope someone can give you some insight and hopfully get you through this. I know your post is an older posting i am hoping you have got some help please let me know how you are doing. I will pray for ya.

dakota5 wrote:

i am in so much pain i have djd (joints) and my doctor gave me the fentanyl patch 50mcg 72 hrs i found out i was 4 weeks pregnant and i stoped them i am going through withdrawl and i can find any one to help me i have been on the patches for 1 1/2 years i need to know what i can do i have to work and take care for my kids but i cant with all this pain from withdrawl can anyone give me any help on this?????/

Get to your doctor he should be able to help you being pregnant and on drugs is not what you would want but theres gotta be a drug thats safe or safer cause going through withdrawals is not healthy for the baby(its alot of stress)

the withdrawl slowly dissipates it took me about four weeks for the physical symptoms to stop and about 8 weeks for the extreme anxiety to settle down it does get better i used ativan very sparsely to control the anxiety its been almost 5 months off patch the sad part is the pain is debilitating at times and i refuse to increase the percocet but one day at a time the withdrawl does get better...try to keep positive

I put this post in the wrong place (methadone addiction) so I am writing it here. I am a cancer patient. My colon cancer is in remission, but I have just been diagnosed with two different kinds of skin cancer and it is pretty advanced. I had two tumors removed five days ago and I will have four more removed in the next couple of months. They are taking so much of my face that they have to give a month in between to let the swelling go down. I will need reconstructive surgery some months after this all heals. I have also been diagnosed (after chemo) with degenerative disk disease, osteoarthritis, osteoparosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

I take 300mcg of fentanyl patches every 72 hours and they gave me methadone to take with it, but I only do that twice a day 10 mg. I want to get off all these drugs but I have asked three doctors to help me and all of them refused. They said I would not be able to handle the pain. I must get off all this stuff. I can't drive anymore. I am only 47 years old and I just want my life back. I want to go back to work. I want to be able to give more to my husband. He spends all his time taking care of me. He is wonderful and I love him too much to continue to put him through all of this. Please can someone help me get off these drugs???? I have several bottles of methadone that I have been saving so I can help myself get off the patches. Then I will have to find a way to get off the methadone. They also give me Norco which I take when the pain is too severe. The swelling and pain are always there with the pills so why not go without them?

I have been on fentanyl for over 7 years now. I fluctuated from 25 to 75mcg and it didn't seem to matter which dosage, I would experience withdrawl in between changes. I would forget to change my patch and the pain levels and withdrawl symptoms would tell me so. I told my doctor I was having withdrawl symptoms and he said, "You do not have withdrawl from fentanyl". That's BS and I told him so! My body tells me with the constant movement, rocking back and forth, can't sit still, flu like symptoms, chills, and OMG the pain is like at least doubled. I have wondered if my body has been on this so long and then when the meds are gone, the pain is so much worse. I do not understand this except that the pain receptors in your body are overactive after being cut off or deadend from pain meds. THe only thing that has helped me with the pain and anxiety is a muscle relaxer. But the side effects from that are not good either.
The xanax or a muscle relaxer works until your body gets rid of it all which DOES take weeks and in some cases months depending on how long you've been on it. It's not like a "three to four day dry out" to meth.

I too have been on fentanyl (patches & lollipops) for a LONG time (12 yrs), after breaking my neck & suffer from nerve damage - after a MVA in '96. The highest dosage of patches I took was 250 mcgs/36 hrs. I got pregnant a couple of years ago & titrated as low as possible before the baby was born (125 mcgs). I then got pregnant AGAIN right away (luv my husband apparently!), so titrated again - tho wasn't quite able to get off completely. Since I've got 2 little ones at home, I no longer work - & figured I'd try life without drugs now that I don't have the pain form the workplace on my neck, shoulders, back.. Just recently got my Dr. to agree to prescribe 50 mcgs, then he dropped me to 25 mcgs. I decide to quit myself - as waiting for my 3 month visit sounds like too long to keep taking this drug when i don't feel i really need it anymore. So anyway, been off completely for only 3 days - feel awful... holiday parties coming up ... don't want to tell my family since I may have to go back on them... someone PLEASE give an indication of how ling the SEVER symptoms last - just the noticable ones. I can handle the shakes & sweats. someone please give needed knowledge! thx (& HAPPY HOLIDAYS!)

I have been researching (on- line) about withdrawls from the Patch. Not pretty, but glad to see I'm not the only one going through withdrawls. I believe reading all that has been posted on these pages is giving me strength to fight the withdrawl symptoms. I suffer from Degenerative
Disc Disease, 5 to be exact. Have had two back surgeries, tried Chiropractor, massage therapy and Acupuncture (which helps). Twenty Five year veteran as a professional Fire Fighter in a large city....explains the bad back. I am taking Percocet..10 mg, Ultram and Duragesic patches 75mcg. It's amazing how these pain management doctors write these very addictive drugs so easily with out explaining some of the side effects or warning signs about coming off these drugs. This is my third day without patches and Ultram (1-5-09). Trying to just stay on the perc's. It's been very difficult and I'm miserable. Anyone who is or has experienced the withdrawls knows what it's like. Fortunately my wife understands and is supportive and we own our own business so she can cover for me while I am re-habing. Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated. God Bless All of Us Fighting Addiction!!