Norco & Fentanyl, I WANT OFF

[dardo]

Hello, I need advice as but donlt want to ask my dr's cuz i want to hear wut folks with experience have to say.

I need to get off the Fent patch cuz i can't stand the 30 day triplicate circus and the hoops i have to jump thru every month and there is always something that gos wrong, whether its the pharmacy, the office staff or the dr himself, which in most cases is the primary culprit. For example, my dr has called in sick the last 2 appts and failed to make arrangements to take care of the needs of the patients who needed a triplicate. i was on my last day of 75mg of fent patches both times and had to experience the worst WD for 3 days twice. Also, he has been at a conference and I had an appt set. the result? One day of WD and the next morning I am making a mad rush to the other office which is a 90 mile trip so i can get the c-2 script. So that was only a one day WD but I am so sensitive its horrible. So, I started to imagine what would happen if something happened where I had to endure the WD for an extended period of time. i have heard that Fentynal is one of the worst of them all.

Also, I am prisoner to the 30 day thing cuz i can't go out of town w/o thinking about when my next appt is and this 30 day leash had interferes with at least two past vacation attempts and now i want to go see my sick brother and visit for a month but I can't. i almost just want to schedule an appt with my PMD and say let;s quit right now and lets just focus on Norco and when my insurance kicks back in, we will do more steroid shots between the disks, under light sedation. i know, PMD would love to have me off the fent ASAP cuz he was so mad when I was referred by my GP and he had placed me on the fent patch. But when i reported that i was pain free 100% for the 1st time in 10 years he thought i should decide, even though he comments that he can't believe that my GP started me on 125mg.  

So, right now, my dr. has me on a weaning program and I am at 50mg down from 125mg originally. But its gonna take another 12 to 14 weeks to be off for good and I don't want to wait that long. i would rather be in pain and rely on Norco to dull it, even tho fent patches take all the pain away from my bulging disks 100%. i would exchange 30 days of various levels of pain in my back then experience one day of WD but i don't know wut to do and I need advice.

I found a dr. who specializes in WD TX using Bup but its a 1000.00 for unlimited appts, and all needed scripts and he clams that he can get a patient off opiate dependence 100% free of any WD almost all the time and feeling normal cuz he sees you every day for the 1st week where he does a med adjustments, which i hear is very, very important to have the ability to make several adjustments a day until the right dose is found. And i don't have insurance.But paying cash for the 3 months of fent patches will add up to almost 700.00, not to mention the dr office visits so I think it might be worth it. ALSO, DOES THIS GET IN THE WAY OF GOING BACK TO A NORCO REGIMENT?

But, i don;t have any problem with the Norco and both my PMD and my GP have said you will be on that for the rest of your life. i would not have believed it but I have been through the entire process, two orthopedists, x-rays, MRI's, nerve conduction studies with related experts, steroid shots under light sedation with a neck specialist, a back surgeon and my current PMD. The neck specialist who is also a pain management specialist said that my neck looks like a 75 year old man's and its degenerative. And the surgeon said that he tells all of his patients to be very careful when considering surgery cuz if fusing needs to be done, the limited motion will make it very difficult for the rest of me life. So he ultimately said it was my choice but said if it was him, he would rely on Norco and special excesses along with more steroid treatments and see how it gos for the next 10 years.

So, does it seem like the 1000.00 is worth the price of TX which uses bup as its focus and a very confident dr, who is certified and says that i will likely feel no WD wut so ever.

Or do I do the 230.00 one time fee for methadone TX with a clinic where I have to do counseling 5 times a week for a month and all kinds of other stuff?

I just want to back to the Norco TX. my PMD gives me Norco every month for break through but the amount will have to be increased to levels b4 I went on the fent patch, which was about 160 monthly or 240 vicoprofen a month (we would switch every 3 months cuz he says the difference between the Tylenol and Advil will actually help a little with tolerance.) My GP did the exact same thing.

Wut about going back on Norco with the help of Clonidine and Librium. I am very tolerant to clonidine and most benzos. I once asked about CT and my PMD said, i can give you the two meds, which he said work wonders, especially when used together. Has anyone used these? Or used them in conjuntion with a weaker opiate to control WD?

To me the combo seems antiquated compared to today's newer Bup TX plans.

But do the two treatment options to get off the Fent patch ASAP get in the way of going back to the Norco regiment? In other words, can i go back down to c-3 after going up to c-2?  

Or, do I just go see my PMD and tell him I want off right now and see wut he says if i ask him if going back to higher doses of Norco will be enuff to keep the WD's from being big time?

Oh yea, I forgot, it might be good to tell how long I have been on the narc meds. I have been on Norco for 4 years (4 to 14 a day, but almost none when I amon the patch) and then the Fent Patch for 3 months. I rarely take Norco since I have been on the patch, sometimes I go weeks w/o Norco. But i really needed it b4 i started the patch.

Any and all advice would really be appreciated. I look forward to your responses ASAP.

Very kindly...

[cat9841]

I too, was on Fentanyl patch, same thing, a slipped disk, then a spinal fusion surgery. I stopped the patch 3 weeks ago, the w/ds were for 8 days, the dr should give you meds for w/d symptoms, but I didn't go get them for 4 days, but they will help. your right, its a pain, but eventually you will have to go off them and the sooner the better. NOrco is the same thing, its stronger than viocoden, but its much less, fen is like herion, its really a nasty drug, if you can detox off it, it will be better. read these posts, they really help, I was asking everyone for help and this fourm was the only thing I had, even my dr. laughed at me, he wanted me to stay on patch, but my thing was it was day 4 and I didn't want to start over. hang in there, we are all here for you.
CAT

[Jacqui805]

check out TT1979's post, and Cat's post, both of which are the other two I mentioned abou the fentanyl.

[Jacqui805]

Thanks buddy, you know I'm here for you too!

Jacqui

[notsowise]

I'm here for ya

[Jacqui805]

Please read my two seperate posts to two seperate people about my use of fentanyl (200 mcg for four years).  I'm way too tired to type it all again...but it's all there.  You could also check my posts when you click on my name, or my journals.  I can tell you briefly that opiates are interchangeable, as are their dependencies/addictions/tolerances.  The potency of the fentanyl plus it's dose will be reviewed with an equi-analgesic chart to find the dose of Norco to match it.  Same ****, but now you'll not have 24 hour pain relief and the tabs will peak and trough in your blood stream as well.  Some folks need to be on meds. like these, even when it's temporary.  Only your doc. can truly help you there.  If your doc does not equate the Norco dose to the same as what would be needed to get the relief you found on the fentanyl, you'll go through w/d.  By the way, I try to inform as many as I can here:  Norco = Lortab=Vicodin=Vicoprofen=Hydrocodone               Percocet=Percodan=Roxicet=Oxycontin=Oxycodone

After reading those two posts and or my journals or posts on my name, if you'd like to know more, or chat, please do, by all means.  Got your back.  Jacqui