If anyone has had experience with fentenyl patches, I'm having a terrible reaction to the thing.

I put it on Saturday morning and - sorry to share so much info here - started vomiting about the 24 hour mark, along with vivid, harsh dreams, and a pretty shaky mental state. Real shaky. I took the patch off after this first day; it was to be a three day patch at 25mg.

It's now Monday afternoon, and I still feel awful - still nauseous/vomiting, mentally a wreck.

Any suggestions or similar experiences?

-- Dennis

I have NO experience with fentenyl patches, other than to know my doc wouldn't give them to me.

Your time, L.A. You should still have time to call your doctor, Have you done that?
That's the First thing I'd do!
(if you can't get the Doc, try the pharmacist)! Make sure there's not something more going on!

Obviously, discontinue use. Read the labeling that came with the drug!

Dennis,
It seems that you're going to need to find something else to help you!

You'll get more answers soon....
I was just popping in!

Hope you feel better!


Pete
asb

When I tried them, I was sick after 6 hours with one on. I tried several times to wear them and couldn't. Strong stuff.

Ada

Hey Dennis,
I hope you followed Pete's advice and called your doctor. It sounds like you may be having a reaction to the patch. You may be dehydrated from the vomiting.

I tried this patch early in my quest for relief and I had a similar reaction.
Call your doctor!!

Take care,
Sherrie

Thanks for the reply. I called my doctor, and I got a script for Zoma (?) for nausea.

For how long after did you feel bad when you tried the patch?

I was put on the patches by a neuro while I was still a wc case. OMG! It made me soooo sick. It's been over 5 years now, but I think it started for me around hour 12. I couldn't eat, drink, nothing. I have never in my life felt that bad. It went on for 2 days or so and I called the doctor. I was given instructions to fold the patch over so only a small bit was on my skin. About 12-24 hours later.....like night and day. I was back to my old self with no more sick feeling! That was nice. Ever 3 days when I put on a new patch, I would inch it up a little so that a bit more was in contact with my skin. It took close to a month to work up to just putting the patch on with no folding.

Everyone's body is different in how it rids itself of medication in the body. It sounds like with you still feeling so horrible, yours is slow to rid itself. You should start feeling a lot better really soon.

He took me off them 2 months later to, in his words "See if your pain is better now." ROFL Yeah, sure it is! *shakes head* Whatever, I began folding them again going backwards until I was "off" them. Just like weaning off pills. I felt slightly sick the whole time I was on the patch anyway and didn't like that. It was a good thing work comp was paying for them because they are wayyyy to expensive to get on my own.

I didn't know until after I settled my case that you should not be put on the Duragesic patches for pain relief until you have taken other pain meds for some time. For example, having taken vicodin, perc, oxy, etc and you find they are not working any longer and you need a stronger pain medication. Fentynal is 80-150 times stronger than morphine! This is not something a doctor should give to someone who has taken next to nothing for pain meds. That was my case. The only meds I had been given to that point were 7.5 lortab for 2 months and 5mg vicodin for a couple of months. He should never have put me on the patches.

Hugs,

Karen

Hey --

Like you, it seems I've found out that the fentenyl patches should not be used until someone has previously taken opiates, working their way up so to speak to these potent patches. As I've taken no opiates before this, thus this disaster.

My doctor communicated as much to me through his office, and that we should probably start at a 12.5 patch next time. Next time? Not so sure about that one. My pharmacist was really well versed on this topic too, basically giving me an explaination akin to your posting.

I've taken a script for nausea, and have been taking lorazepam regularly since; things have calmed down - can eat and all that. Still a little shaky. Hoping that wears off soon too.

-- Dennis

glad you are feeling better.

So your doc knew you had no opiates in your system and still gave you 25's(thats fricken scary). if it were me, i wouldnt use the 12.5's until i built up my system to handle it.

my other pain doc told me that a 25 patch is the same as going to the emergency room and getting a morphine injection. at the time, i was on 225mcg/h. so that would be 9 morphine injections per day every day.

i know i wouldnt be here without this medication so it was worth the ugliness the first 4 months i was on it. it took that long before we figured out what would work for me. my sweating made be go thru them so fast. i remember trying 300mcg/h but it made me sleepy and my heart felt it so i went down. the pain doc said you can keep going up until it effects the heart then you either level off or go down a little. i was on a dozen different meds to control pain and they caused lots of problems including CONSTIPATION and bleeding ulcers. now i use the fentanyl patches only except for breakthru pain. thats another story.

if you do decide to stick with this, make sure you change the patch on time. here is what i do. at 8pm every night i grab the patch i need and i grab a marker(sharpie ultra fine tip) and a tegaderm1626w for the 100,75,50 or a 1624w for the 25 and i suppose the 12.5( i dont use the 12.5). i open the tegaderm and lay flat, then i open the fent patch and put the date on it, then i lay it on the tegaderm, then i grab the flonase and mist the arm(shave the arm the night before), then put it on the arm.

the tegaderm seals the patch in so you dont have to worry about it in the shower. next i write what dose i just put on me on the calender next to my bed so i always know. trust me on this, if you are on a high enough amount you cannot remember if you put it on yesterday or the day before.

fent-any-l is the way i remember to spell it. i cant spell anything else, but i did learn this word. LOL


change the patch on TIME, you are suppose to change every 72 hours. at 80 hours or so you will get the worst headache and stomach ache from withdrawel.

Good luck Dennis....

great advice on trying these patches after being on the heavy duty meds for awhile.....

I'm glad you called your doctor. Medications react differently for all of us. It took about 2 or 3 days after I stopped using the patch for me to feel myself again.
When water will stay down drink as much as you can to help flush out your system and rehydrate your body. It's a good idea to drink lots of water each day to help the other meds you take move through your system. Believe it or not water helps with the full body burning I get from my full body RSD.

Take care,
Sherrie