My PM prescribed the 12mcg months ago and numerous reasons as to why he wanted me to try it. However, I was afraid to take it.

But, after much discussion with him, my Neurologist, etc., I put it on yesterday morning.

Anyway, I was just curious if anyone is using the 12mcg patch...not the 25's.

So far so good and completely amazing! But I still haven't made up my mind totally about staying on it. I will say for the first time in 8 years I went to sleep last night with no pain whatsoever.

I used the patch for about 8 or 9 months this past year. I started at 12 which did not help at all and gradually went up to 50 mg patch. The med in the patch is the best pain reliever I have ever used. The problem is the delivery system of the med. The patch itself is a pain in the butt! I could not keep it on, had trouble taking a bath and if it does come off after that you might as well throw it away because it just does not work after it loses contact with your skin. The other problem I have with the patch is I would have maybe two good days, one really good day and the thrid day would be a very painful long day!!! It only worked maybe a day and half sometime two full days if it stayed on. Ok then when my dr did switch me over to oxycontin from the patch I had the Worst withdrawls coming off of the patch!! I ached all over and just felt horrible.
I guess the patch med is much stronger then oxy and ms contin because they did not stop the w/d.
Like I said the med itself if it were in a pill form would be the best for pain ,but the patch is such a pain lol. At least for me it was.

Thanks Balmy,

I am using the Janssen Duragesic patches and haven't had a problem at all with it staying on. But I also taped around the edges. And I don't really have a problem with transdermal patches since I used HRT in a patch form. I am just saying I am used to patches and have found little tips and tricks through the years.

You are right about the timing though. For the first two days it was blessed relief! Yesterday was very painful but this morning I am to change it. I see my PM in a couple of weeks so I will let him know he needs to change the script from 72 hours to 48 hours. I don't think he will have a problem with that since he is the one that has wanted me to try this for ages!!

One of the reasons which I failed to mention earlier is that I am extremely hypersensitive to most medications. I have been taking Vicodin and Klonopin for ages but VERY low doses. I have GI issues and his thinking is that the patch will help to BYPASS some of those stomach problems. He did NOT say it would obliterate the stomach problems; just said the patch would HELP with that. In other words, not dumping more medication in my stomach. Otherwise I would be taking a longer acting med instead of the patch. He also wants to cover diffuse body pain at a consistent rate. Since he knows that taking more oral meds makes me worse, he just thought that this would be the best way to go. Darn it, forget something else LOL! I have a fractured coccyx too along with a cystocele and rectocele so constipation can be a MAJOR issue. To take a long acting med like MS Contin would make the constipation so much worse. I am not to strain whatsoever. I know the patch can cause constipation but it hasn't yet...not so far.

I thank you for your input. And you are right...I was absolutely painfree for a couple of days. Oh, and I need to give this more time too. The doc and the pharmacist are saying 7-14 days before the level is steady.

Ive used and still do use Duragesic 75mcg every 2 days,I refuse generics as they dont work well. The manufactur is a subsiderary of Johnson & Johnson and for FREE will send you a box of 50 clear adhesive bandages to go over the Duragesic Patch. You must contact them and provide proof of purchase,Ive been getting them for years so I can swim and they do a great job of not allowing water in. Also,for those living in hot climates..Its a proven fact thea the med goes through your system faster when in hot weather,most doctors know this and will swith the dose from every 3 days to 2 days if you notice the drug isnt there on the third day,Good Luck!

Okay, you guys, Balmy I think you were right. The third day is absolute misery! I tried going to 48 hours and it was AWFUL! I truly thought I would have to go to the ER I was so loopy! I should say first though, I have been using the Tegaderm patches that keep the Duragesic patch on very well. There are no problems with that at all. What I hate is this...you just cannot control how much or how little is absorbed. So, I tend to get various fluctuations. The first day of course it takes awhile before it kicks in, but when it hits, I feel as if I shouldn't drive at all NOR do I have the motivation to do so. The second day is okay most of the time but not always. And today, which is the third day, I feel like somewhat of a normal person. Or, it can be the other way around and I feel awful. I have only been on this 12 mcg patch for a month. So, the nurse and another nurse online told me I need to give it more time...a month isn't long enough. But I am not so sure about that. I do see my PM this coming week to talk about all of this because I am not sure if I can handle these ups and downs. I did much better on Vicodin and probably am the type that do better with short acting meds anyway..or so it seems.

The fine print on Duragesic says to use this medication ONLY on people who are opiate tolerant or something to that effect.

It was given to me and the most I had used opiates was some Vicodin. After 24 hours I threw up so hard I broke all the blood vessels in my face and bruised the roof of my mouth. I was taken off immediately and sent to a pain med dr.

Be very careful and read the fine print. Good luck with it.

dllfo,

I am sooo sorry you experienced that!

And I am not opiate naieve. I have been on Vicodin for a LONG time. But you are right...I read the fine print over and over and over again. I even hesitated for months before I tried it. Now, it is coming off. This is going to sound weird but I saw another PM, a gal within my own PM's office that handles the meds. I mean...it just sounds like I have two PM's and I don't LOL! She was just helping me with how to taper off. So, back to Vicodin it is. I thought she might prescribe a longer acting med but she said at this point in time, just to up the Vicodin to 4 a day based on her calculations. Plus she felt that a longer acting med at this point would cause the same issues. I also have and take Klonopin just in case I get jittery. Anyway, it was a long discussion and I am to remove the one I have on now pretty soon and start in on the Vicodin. I will probably have some constipation issues so I need to be ready for that too.

Anyway, my biggest issue with this and as she says, for some unknown reason my body just seems to drink this stuff up way too fast. And I just can't control how much is absorbed. But I can certainly feel it! I know people say that it helps them to avoid ups and downs that you have on short acting meds. But this is just true in my case. I have waaay more ups and downs on this than I ever did on Vicodin. Oops, I should have added...I had no breathing troubles, no nausea, nothing like that. But the sweating has to go!!! It isn't just a hot flash or two or three. It is all day long and sometimes just drenched in sweat ALL day! Then when I went to 48 hours, I about hit the floor. So, the loopiness needs to go too. I have had to cancel PT twice because of it. There is no way I am going to drive when feeling that way. So, this is kind of burning me in more ways than one LOL!

So, let me see how it goes.

[SIZE="5"]Well I'll be ******* just imagine that. I have been dealing with TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE sweating for years.Sleeping on huge towels, terry nightgown, turning heat to 60 in the winter etc. My doctors tried changing every other med that I have, but nothing worked. and one of the first posts I read is on that subject. I started with 50 mcg patches and have been wearing two 100 Duragesic patches for a number of years. I had two messed up foot surgeries and severe diaabetic neuropathy. I have just had a foot surgery that has relieved a lot of my pain so I am in the process of trying to get off the patches.. I am now wearing one 100mcg patch and next change I go to one 75 mcg. The thought of getting off these patches and stopping sweating is fantastic.

arnoldbk,

I am tellling you...it really is probably those patches! Some people don't have the sweating problem though. But, boy, I sure did and BAD! I am post menopausal and sometimes have night sweats. But this was something else...exactly as you described. Now that I have weaned off and am much lower on the Vicodin those horrible spells have subsided a great deal. It was absolute misery. Even the hot flashes from menopause weren't as bad as this. I wish you well with the tapering and hope the docs can find a better med.

Kathy49,

You are so right about how s***** the 3rd day of the patch is. It's like I am 2 different people on the thing. Due to my nerve injuries I am on 100mcg of the patch and today was day 1. It was great. By Monday, I will be in an abyss of pain which is simply intolerable. I broke my neck in 2 places and severed a bundle of nerves which is sheer agony!!

I am unable to be in heat due to my neck & head injury. i live in Palm Beach, FL. which is about as hot as the 3rd layer of HELL!! I keep my room like an ice box so I don't get sick and vomit.

I have been on Fentanyl for about 1 year now. Although I am not too concerned about this issue NOW ... what happends to me years down the road when (if ever) I am able to get off of this. How, in the name of God, does a person Detoxify their body?

Does anyone have any experience with this?? I am thinking I go check myself into a hospital.

Any comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks Folks,

Joe