http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2005/NEW01206.html

I read a news artical of a women in my state who was on the fentanyl patch. She was moving to a new house and it was summer she was so busy packing and loading things all day and was getting tired she laid down in bed and her kids found her dead, it seems the heat and the sweating made the patch stronger it was so sad to read the story of how her young kids found her.

Thanks for the info and the article! will keep it in mind...

Deb

Hi Debbie,
I was on the fentyl patch for several years - 50 mgs. It made me sleep for up to 20hrs per day and didn't really make me pain free. It was absolutley horrific to withdraw from.

My doctor had put me down to 25 mgs and I was still sleeping all the time so an intern told me to just remove the patch. Well, 2 days later I ended up in full opiate withdrawral - low blood pressure(60/30), stomach pains and nausau. I went to the ER where they had a hard time getting my blood pressure back up and admitted me.

I spent the next 3 days suffering with the most incredible stomach pains. They kept telling me that I had to put the patch back on but I would not. It was a holiday weekend and my doctor was unreachable.

They would not put me on the detox floor and they told me that there was not a protocol for withdrawing from fentyl because it is mostly used on terminal cancer patients. I tried to convince them that I was addicted but they thought that since my doc perscribed the patch that I wasn't an addict. But I was - a physical addiction to opiates. It didn't matter where I got the opiate it was that my body needed it and I wouldn't give it what it needed.

Finally, my doctor showed up and convinced me to put a patch back on. I immediately felt the withdrawral symptoms disappear. It took another 4 months of weaning off to finally get off of narcotics. He used oxycodone pills starting with 8/day for a week, then 7/day the next week then 6/day the next week and so on until I was down to the smallest amount.

Back in 2004, there were many deaths from leaky patches and many from heating pads causing the patch to release too much med too fast. I am very lucky to be alive since I used a heating pad 24/7 with the patch.

That's what happend to me and my fentyl patch usage. I just want you to be aware of what it takes to get off of it once you go on. Something that I was not imformed about before I started.

Peace and hope,
Lisa

The fentnyl patch about 5 years ago. It was one of the first meds I tried and after 6 hours of wearing it I was vomiting. That was at the lowest dosage. I tried several times to wear one and had the same results. They were just too strong for me.

Ada

ok here's a positive,

I was on the patch for awhile, and had a rash, then stopped the patch, then one day in the chatroom of braintalk, an ocupational therapist came in, we were talkin about meds, and I mentioned that the patch was great, but I had the rash, she told me to have the doc give me asmacort spray, it's an inhaler, and a steriod....to apply it to my skin where I was puttin the patch, let it dry for a few mins, then apply the patch,

I am happy to say, I never had a rash again from the patch.

The patch made me sleepy at first, but by the end of the first week I was ok with that. And I did have a pain drop going on. SO I was very pleased with the patch.

Then I got a new nurse at the docs office, who changed everything and put me on a diff med, cause it was cheaper to fill!

SO I was on that med for over three yrs.

Recently I switched entire doc's....and the new doc put me back on the patch with the asmacort spray....and I have been back on there about 4 months or so now...and it's pure heaven.

The pain has decreased, not gone...but less at least...after the second week, the patch no longer made me tired.

I love it! And I'm in heaven again girls!!

Debbie