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Fentanyl withdrawl question

by cetiya, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
I am going to be going off my patch, 25 mcg, I have been on for about 4 months.  I innocently tried last month, and went into full blown withdrawl symptoms.  Now that my patches are almost gone, I am to see my pain specialist.

  What should I ask him for to make this as painless as possible?  I still have to function, go to work, sleep.  I plan on asking for Ativan, I should have some ambien still, and I also have a couple of Clonidine patches which are supposed to help too.  I'm really scared that he won't give me anything.  I hope he doesn't do that to me. i was completely useless before, and I can't lose any more time off work.  Any advice will be appreicated.
Member Comments (49)

by vikequeen, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
To: To the Good Doctor
Dear Doc, what longer acting benzo would work? I have klonopin can that alone be taken for w/d from Vikes I take at the most 4-6 7.5 mg per day, for the last month and half I had 38 days clean and stupid me relapsed when my foster mother died, I used it as a crutch like some use valium when a loved one dies.



Are my W/D's gonna be bad? Thanks Doc Baddgirl

by mrchris, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
You can wean down on vics, T3 or percs.  It has been my experience that opiates are interchangable.  So you should be able to stop the patch and take a vic as needed.  Duragesic (Fentanyl) withdrawl was the most painfull withdrawl I ever had.  At one point I had a 160mg oxycodone habbit and it wasn't nearly as painfull as a duragesic 25 withdrawl (and I had only been on it for 30 days).  My doctor messed up my appointment, leaving me 2 days from the time my 30 day supply was up until the next appointment.



Chris

by Diss, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
It won't be easy from my past experience. I was taking the duragesic patch for about 4-5 months ending up with the 50mg patch changing it every 24 hours. This was working perfect with no side effects and no withdrawls until I had a doctors appt. and he took me off of them telling me I was getting addicted. He prescribed some persocets and told me to take them as needed. Well I took off my last patch on a Friday night and it was one of the worst things I have gone thru in my life. The shakes, sweats, chills, numbness of the hands and feet, not being able to sleep or eat for days. It has been 9 days now since going off of it and I still can't sleep. My legs are so jumpy (doctor says I have restless leg syndrome) I can't lay still in bed. I've tried sleeping pills, anti-inflamatories, percocets, tylenol 3's. Doesn't matter. If I don't get some sleep soon I don't know what I'm going to do. I have soaked in baths for hours but doesn't do anything. Please does anyone know what I can do to make my feet stop twitching so I can sleep.

                    Thanks for listening

by poptart, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
I'm so very sorry to barge in your thread here, I wish I could contribute but I feel you nice people have to know something...



The poster "Rode" is also the poster "Motz" and "Mrs. Motz"



I just wanted you guys to be aware that this person is deeply disturbed...be careful.



Good luck!

~Ruthi

by Forum-M.D.-rcb, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
To: Baddgirl
The Klonopin would fit into the category of a longer-acting benzodiazepine. I hope that the w/d won't be bad. A lot would depend on how long you were using and how often you've cycled in the past. Hang in there.

by SarpyJesse, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
To: Poptart
Thanks for the warning, Poptart-



Yes, the butterfly has many aliases.

by SlakeStyx, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
Hello,



i have been trying to post a question for a couple of days.

so i thought i would try to do it in the comments area. I had a bad back injury when i was 13. i crushed 3 vertibre in between the shoulder blades, and my spine is slightly twisted now and my vertibre are out of alignment. i was nearly paralyzed. i spent a few months in PT and taking pain meds untill insurance ran out. i have had back pain ever since the injury. a few years after the injury i was hit by a car, but i never went to get it checked out becuase i was taking illigal drugs and was scared to get caught. i had been using just about every drug you could think of during my teen years. i managed to quit all the illigal drugs about 5 years ago. i about 2 1/2 years ago i started getting vics again fairly regularly. then i moved up to vic es. then to lorocet 10/650 and propoxy-N 100/650. i relized i was addicted to them when i managed to pick up my monthly prescrip early, and it only lasted 6 days. i had been getting 120 a month from the pain doc, and spending all of my money to buy more off the streets. i was taking about 12 of each kind when i had alot of them. i would panic when i would get down to 30 or so and i didnt have money for more. i tried to taper off but with no luck. i ran out about a month ago for 3 days and was taken to the hospitol throwing up blood. the er doc ran some test and gave me scrips for nausa and some more VICS!!  

anyway i have been reading this forum for a few weeks. i dont have the money to go to a back specilist to see if anything can be done. but my pain specilist is fairly cheap. i have been off the opiates for 7 days now but i still have no energy and lots of pain. i am 25 years old and have been deppressed over all this. i been to the point of telling myself that if this is the best my life is going to get then it isnt worth trying anymore. and i feel that way on or off the drugs because of the pain. it never really goes away compleatly.

i just felt like i needed to type this in hear to see is there is anything that might be said to at least make me feel a little better. i havent been to work much in the last few months and lost my apartment.

sorry this is so long but i am new so i thought i would put everything i could in this one.

later

Slake   Styx

by vettezr1, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
To: SlakeStyx
Wow, I definitely don’t think I have it so bad now. Sorry to hear you had to go through so much buddy. The first time I broke my back I was 23 I won’t bore you with the details but I am 43 now many broken bones later and lots of life has gone by and I won’t sell you on a bunch of **** but it is worth living every ******* bit. The pain can be pretty bad and quite a nuisance but I have lived with it most of my adult life without any type of pain meds in fact I only got caught up with the meds for a little over a year or two out of about 20 years of many surgeries.  My point is while it can be unpleasant it can be done and you can enjoy your life it takes time to get over all the stuff floating around in your system and then time to let your body figure out what type of pain you really have and how you can or can’t deal with it. Good luck.

by SarpyJesse, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
To: SlakeStyx
I read your post and I KNOW what you mean man! It's a downward spiral that doesn't stop... You made a good first step posting what is going on in your life. The more you talk the better it will get for you-- AND it will help keep you sober!



If you need someone to talk to, you can E-Mail me here: ***@****



Jess



P.S.

"You write like the butterfly, and sting like a bee-

You'd better watch out-- You can't fool ME!" --Muhammad Ali's Brother

by lisabet, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
To: Jesse
Are you serious????  The person in question is the "butterfly"?...damn!!!!

by theGolden1, May 12, 2003 12:00AM
To: Poptart
Thanks for the warning Poptart .... I always post my email address and recieved some strange letters from a person that didn't want me to know who they were. Guess we all need to be careful ... take care, Goldie

by AlexisInTx, May 13, 2003 12:00AM
Just curious (I'm so nosy) - but would that person y'all are referring to be a spanish fly (butterfly)?  Just curious, becuase that was the reason I left the board last year and it seems so nice around here now.

by cetiya, May 13, 2003 12:00AM
Thanks for your help, maybe I should ask for some Valium instead of Ativan?  I'm so scared, I'm afraid of this whole thing, but will try to do it anyway, I have no choice.

by mrmichael67, May 13, 2003 12:00AM
Why is the doc stopping at the 25ug/hr patch?  That certainly wouldn't be the end of the taper.  Doesn't sound too responsible to me.  The 25ug/hr patch can be equivalent to almost 70mg of oxy a day.

by babyboomer, May 13, 2003 12:00AM
To: cetiya
A few years ago I was on the patch for chronic pain and my Dr. went on vacation(this is a Known problem with Drs.)Anyway,about 12 hrs. later I went into the chills, and it was like I was standing naked in 70 below degree weather!!!Then the vomiting, then restless legg,couldn't sleep and couldn't sit still. Didn't eat for days and dehydrated something terrible. I accually went to the hospital the firt night and was there for 5 days and even with all that they did, I still was in terrible pain and agony.(small town Drs. aren't too up on withdrawl and they tend to be in denial.)THATS SCAREY!I had been on the 75mgl. Fentenal Patch. The only thing the Dr. that dismissed me said, was that they should have weaned me. HA!! How do you wean off a patch? I went on hydros after that . Today I am on methadone for chronic pain. From a pain