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Butrans patch vs Fentenyl patch

Hello All,

I am new to this forum so let me give you a quick background on myself. I am a 35 yo female, with 3 kids, daughter 17, daughter 16, and my 13 yo son has cerebral palsy. I have had chronic pain due to endometriosis, scar tissue, and just recently found out I have bulging discs in my back from lifting my son all these years. I have had a complete hysterectomy due to the endometriosis but it still keeps growing back and covering my abdominal wall. I have had over 10 surgeries, approx 5 of them to go in and cut out endometriosis. I have recently started seeing a pain doctor. The more surgeries I have the more pain I am in from scar tissue. I have tried norco, dilaudid, nucynta and am currently on percocet. I have asked my doctor if there is a patch I can try so I am not popping pills all day. I hate swallowing all the pills and feel it has a negative impact on my teenagers that popping pills all day is ok.

My doctor prescribed the Butrans patch. At first, my insurance did not cover it (medicare) and my insurance wanted me to try morphine or fentenyl patch instead. My doctor said he did not want me on the morphine or fentenyl patch because he felt it would sedate me too much and I would not be able to care for my disabled son. The nurse fought with my insurance for 2 weeks and finally got it approved. I have been on it for 2 weeks now and it really hasn't helped with the pain at all and it also seems to be preventing my percocet from working as well as it used too for breakthrough pain.

I have some questions...has anyone tried the fentenyl patch and if so what side affects have you experienced? Is is that sedating where I will be unable to function normally? And how do I tell my pain doc that this medicine he tried so hard to get my insurance to cover isn't working? Its actually causing a lot of skin irritation, headaches, and nausea....7 days is a long time to wear a patch especially when it doesn't work! Those of you who have tried the Burtans patch, have you had any success and have your breakthrough meds worked while wearing the patch?
9 Responses
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7721494 tn?1431627964
Our experience with medication side effects can't really help you -- everyone reacts in their own way to these medications.

If you do well with percocet, why not ask doc about Oxycontin? (Perhaps medicare will not pay... )

Morphine is very different from oxycodone, so who knows how you'll do?

I'm reading reports from people here about uncontrollable anger with fentanyl patch -- I never experienced this, but I was only on for 2 years. Perhaps this is a long-term effect?

Good luck with your facet procedures. I'm in line for another set of lumbar RFA procedures for my facets.
Helpful - 0
8976007 tn?1413330650
hope your procedure went well.  
the thing with the fentanyl patch is-- it does seem to help with the pain.  doesn't come close to taking it away, but i do not have  the ups and downs i had with short acting percocets alone.
the thing  is----  it ROBS you of every ounce of energy you have.  so, am i really having a small reduction in pain or is it because I hardly move all day and stay in bed??  my guess is it is because i have no energy to move because when I have to move I am rolling on the floor in pain.
so when deciding on whether to take it take that into consideration, especially since you have a small child.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
First I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to share their experiences and opinions. After being on the Burtrans patch, I started having problems urinating again, I had this same problem while taking nucynta. I am unsure if they have any common ingredients that would cause this issue but I made the decision to stop the Butrans patch. I was not getting much relief from it as it was and that is not a side effect I am willing to live with.

This Friday, June 6, I am going in for B/L Facet L3-S1 and will let my dr know that I decided the Butrans patch was not for me. After trying this patch with no success I am not hopeful that finding something to control my pain is going to be easy. I have read some other forums where people have said that any patch is difficult to wear in the summer because with the hot weather, it can cause the patch to release too much medicine at a time.

I don't know what to try next and what will work well with the least amount of side effects!
Helpful - 0
1855076 tn?1337115303
I used the Fentanyl patch and though I know there are people who find it ti be a wonderful med, for me it wreaked havoc on my body in so many ways.  The only way I would ever go on it again is if I was using it for end-of-life pain and knew I would never come off it again.
Helpful - 0
8976007 tn?1413330650
since being on the fentanyl patch I do not get the 'euphoria' I used to get when taking the percocet, so it seemed as if they were not working.  
if you only take them when you are truly having break through pain and not as a timed ritual you will find they work.  before being on the patch I was always watching the clock for that 4 hr period to be up so I could take the percs.  

so now I only take them when I am having excruciating pain and I also take otc naproxen or motrin with them and do notice a decrease in pain.

I have been having more and more 'excruciating pain' and I think that I need an increase in either the patch or break through meds, but I am reluctant increasing the patch.  I am on 50 mcg and have been here for about 5 months.  I have read too many horror stories about withdrawing from them.  I am scared.
  

Helpful - 0
7721494 tn?1431627964
Sounds like you are opiate tolerant, and I hope you enjoy the long-acting benefits of the patch.

For those of us who are on opiate analgesics for life, the problems of stopping medication aren't really an issue. These medications allowed me to raise a family, have a profession, and enjoy life.

Breakthrough meds are a way to add 10-20% more medication for those times of increased pain.

Best wishes.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you both for your responses. I have heard that people who have been on opiates for long periods of time do not have such a terrible reactions to stronger meds like fentenyl like people who have not taken opiates. I have not tried Oxycontin I started off on norco then went to dilaudid and now percocet with the Butrans patch. The percs work well but they haven't been working as well with BT pain since I started the Butrans patch. Unfortunately, it does seem all the meds that work well will have withdrawal symptoms which I am not looking forward too either. I know I have built up a tolerance because I went in for a gastric block where they do like a light sedation but do not put you completely to sleep...and I was wide awake the entire time, the meds had no affect on me at all and my doc did say patients who are used to pain meds have a high tolerance to the meds they use. All I really want is to live my life with my kids and not have to be doubled over in pain.

Yes I am a Raiders fan but I wont hold it against you philnoir that you like the Broncos!! BOO!! haha
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi there! I'm 29, have had severe abdominal pain for about 14 years and started going to pm about a year and a half ago and for about 4 months I was on over 200 10mg Percocets and 90 10mg morphine a month. After 4 months of that I changed doctors and he out me on the fentanyl patch. Started me off at 25 and I am now taking 125mg every two days. Personally, I do not even feel like I am on any type of drug when taking these patches. They do not and have not ever made me feel high in any way at all. I am a single mother to a three year old boy and I haven't ever had any problems being able to take care of him being on the patch. Not sure how you should approach your doc about getting onto the patches beside being honest with him. However, the more I am researching these patches the more nervous I am getting about being on them because of how difficult it is to get off of them. I would research the patches a little more first. Good luck!
Helpful - 0
7721494 tn?1431627964
Butrans is used because the powers that be in medicine are more concerned with opiate abuse that treating pain.

I prefer the fentanyl patch because it is all pain med -- fentanyl is a pure opiate agonist, like morphine, where as Butrans depends on a medication that is part agonist / part partial agonist.

But either patch should be worn only by those who are opiate tolerant. Even the circular provided with the Duragesic patch warns against using the patch in those who aren't used to opiate analgesics.

Have you tried Oxycontin? Also, if your body does better with hydrocodone (like in Norco), there's a new long-acting formulation that is based on this drug - Zohydro.

You should also know -- I'm a Broncos fan and we do not like the bad-boy Raiders. Better step softly here! :#)
Helpful - 0
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