Almost every oral pain med I have ever tried made me so sick to my stomach that I preferred the pain to the nausea.

That is what is so GREAT about many types of pain patches. I can use them without being sick to my stomach on top of dealing with pain.

Another benefit is not having to wait until your body metabolizes a pill.

Another benefit, it the dosage is TOO strong, you can take a patch OFF. You do not usually get to un-swallow a pill once you find out it is too strong. You have to wait it out until it gets out of your system.

I realize many people use BOTH, oral meds AND pain patches, but I am somewhat limited to just patches or I need to take pills to counteract the nausea when I take an oral pain med. The anti-nausea meds usually make me sleepy so that can be both good and bad, depending on one's situation and time of day.