I recently went off fentanyl 50mcg. It's been two months. I did it pretty quick, going from 50 to 25mcg to 12.5mcg and off in a matter of 10 days. It was pretty quick and I advise you to speak with your physician and also research what to expect so you don't panic when things happen.

Opiate withdrawal is not fun, however, the worst is benzodiazepine withdrawal which I undertook after the fentanyl withdrawal. I have been in some state of withdrawal now for 2 months. I am 28 days past the last klonopin and this has been agonizing physically. I am finally up and walking and eating, and much of the brutal stinging, burning and pain is fading. I get momentary glimpses of what it feels like to be normal. I am in less pain not more. I will warn any one going off benzo's to talk to your doc....I had to set up my own ICU in my home, my BP was extremely labile. I puked for several days, and could not eat. My body went into overdrive and I lost 15 pounds. I had to use supplements as I could not eat. I needed to use other meds, such as BP meds while I was in active withdrawal.

Likely I went down too fast, however, I was at tolerance with a 1.5 mg daily dose of klonopin and did not want to go up. Now I am in post withdrawal where my GABA receptors need to reform or be replaced, and gene transcription is going on, to reprogram and replace all the structurally changed receptors that klonopin caused. This can take years, but seems for me to be going fast with the exception of normal sleep. Some people are permanently altered. All that one can do at this point is hope and pray that one's body recovers on its own.

In the last year, I also quit Ambien.

I researched opiates and benzo's prior to going off, and found several interesting things. One is the Paradoxical Pain Syndrome, which can only be cured by going off opiates. I think I was having this, since my pain went down after I got thru the withdrawal off fentanyl. It is worth researching.

The other is benzo tolerance, and the only way to deal with this is increasing your dose or weaning off. I have never encountered anything as brutal as going off klonopin, and I was on a small dose!

In the next few months, I think I will get to baseline with my neuropathy. I know for sure, that I have autonomic neuropathy and polyneuropathy as my tests were done before I went on pain pills or benzo's. My neuro did not like my being on opiates or benzo's. I just wanted to live my life actively and felt the meds would help me with that....(not).

I do have a maxed out ANA, low C4 and receive IVIG, which, without it, I do not think I could have gotten off my meds. My pain has gone down since IVIG was reinstituted.

Anyway, perhaps you should allow yourself to stabilize off the fentanyl before getting the implant. Keep telling yourself that you will be OK as you go thru withdrawal. You can do it. Opiate withdrawal is fairly short in duration. Bennzo withdrawal and post-benzo syndrome lasts years. I would never have thought that such a difficult drug to get off of, would be given out so easily.

Oh, I am still dealing with RLS, and take a small dose of Mirapex, and that is all I take.....now if I don't start compulsively gambling or carousing around, I will be fine, LOL.

I wish I didn't have to mess with my neurotransmitters at all....but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.