I was on the fentanyl patch for about three years, switching back and forth between 50 mcg and 75 several times. 50 wasn't enough and the side-effects from 75 were too much. I agree that the Duragesic worked better than the generic brands, but to me the difference wasn't all that dramatic.

I went off the patch in February because I just couldn't stand it any more. For three years I'd felt like I was just existing in some strange different world by myself. I tried methadone, but got hardly any pain relief from it, and it made me feel sick a lot, so I stopped taking it after only a month.

Now I try to get by on nothing but Dilaudid, which I was taking all along for B/T pain anyway. My doc is willing to try whatever I want, but for as long as I can I'm going to try to live without it. Most people have problems with drug tolerance, but for me the effect seems to be the exact opposite. The longer I take a drug, the more intolerant of it my body becomes, at least when it comes to the side-effects. Besides, no matter what I've tried, the relief I got from pain has always been marginal at best. I guess for some of us, effective pain relief is just a dream.