Fentanyl fading @ 60 hours

[Dezdon]

HI All,
  I have been on the Mylan 75mcg fentanyl patch for almost a month now. Im having a bit of a problem this last patch change. I change my patch every three days. I change it in the morning after my shower (I do this after my shower so I can take a nice hot shower and not have the patch over release due to heat that I read about)
  The morning my last patch was due to be changed, I woke about 5:00am in the beginings of withdrawels. It was very uncomfortable. I had to take my breakthrough dose to get comfortable. (thats not what that breakthrough is for)
  I am completly covered for pain for the initial 60 hour period. Its perfect. I dont think I need a larger dose, just a dose that last longer then 60 hours.
  Has anyone eles experienced this? Did you aproach your Dr about this if you have experienced it? What was your Dr's reaction, was he/she receptive or said, thats just how it is? And last but not least, if you were sucessful in changing the prescription to 60 or 48 hours, did you have issues with your insurance Co. with the shorter dose interval?
  Sorry for the barage of questions.
Thanks for your help,
-Dez

[Dezdon]

WOO HOO!
Just spoke to my Dr. My refill is due the first part of next week. I asked the nurse to talked to her about changing the patch every 60 hours. They called back and said change it at 48, but watch yourself closly. Whew...no more last hour w/d's.I have only been on them less then a month, I was worried the w/d's were going to get worse. I just went through all that w/d **** with my oxy adventure the last six month and never want to feel that feeling EVER again.And there is no reason I should have to.
  She was also understanding that I lost my very first patch. I had put it on my shoulder blade, and it fell off in my jammies in the middel of the night and got fuzzies all stuck to it and wouldnt stick to me. I had even saved it to show them just in case. She was understanding and is compensating for the lost patch on my refill date. The only thing I am concerned about is my insurance Co. allowing the 48 change now when i refill next week. Anybody ever had problems with their insurance co. and changing from 72 hours to 48 hrs?
    Im happeir then a cat covering poop now. I think this is the last of working the bugs out of my meds and should be smooth sailing from here.
  Want to see something interesting. I was bored last night and was just surfing the web. I put in Google search....., "Drug seeker stories from Drs" I ran across quit a few blogs. It seems if we are in pain at an ER, we are already pre-judged and most nurses look forward to kicking us to the curb with no opiates. Like neener neener stuff. I did run across a sad blog by this Dr who thought he had a female drug seeker with back and head pain. He sent her on her way with toradal. She returned a few days later with migranes, the Dr on duty that shift thought the same thing drug seeking, but put her through a work up and a cat scan turned up cancer in her brain, terminal situation. The first Dr felt terrible. They called that kinda patient a "zebra" looks to be wanting one thing, but turns out to be a very seriose case. Theres some enlightning info and insight in these blogs. Some of it is kinda sad its come to this. I personaly have never sought ER drugs, just dont have the stones or acting skills, or ever that desperate (even in full blown w/ds) to try that kinda stuff. Im always scared of getting yelled at, embarrassed or arrested, same with pharmacy prescriptions, I never crossed that line. I am so lucky I never got that bad.
take care all.
-Dez

[Mollyrae]

Hey Dez, we all make mistakes...we are not perfect nor live in a perfect world. I have made some bad choices and have learned from them as you have. I am really happy that you're in the right place. You sound so much better.

Don't ever be afriad of what others think in this forum. You are just as valuable here as the next person.

Peace right back to you friend,
Molly

[Dezdon]

Hi Molly,
Thanks for the kind words and wishes. Im kinda embarrased now posting at the pain forum, becuase of my past behavior, but I think Im am posting for the RIGHT reasons now.
  Your right, I had a HUGE problem with the oxys. I didnt realise just how out of control I had gotten. I had somehow crossed that line where I started to use my pain meds for the euphoric feeling and energy and not for pain management as they where designed and prescribed for.
  I went through hell for six months.Now that I look back at it, i cant believe i went through all that. Fortunitly, I finaly faced up and looked at myself in the mirror at what I had become and was just sadened. I knew for months what i was doing with my meds was wrong. But I had been sucked into the sweet alure of the opiate of my choice.
   I was scared to make the change away from the oxys.  I couldnt imagine my life without them. It was such a bleeck dead end I was heading to,and I knew it. But I realised finaly, that my pain hurt more then the feeling I was getting from the oxys, and I was jeapordising a very special privalidge to even have pain meds. especily with the way dr's are now days. It wasnt a right, It was a privalidge. And the choice was mine. I am so lucky I didnt cross that line of no return from a true opiate addiction. Am I out of the woods?, I dont know. But I will fight like hell to stay on this side of the fence from now on. I definitly know now what my true poison is, and what to stay away from. God, Im lucky.
  Ya know,I posted once about what I was going through and someone posted that my only hope was a meth clinic. I got so mad, when I replied my post was deleted. I felt I was thrown under the bus by forum members. But in reality, I knew I was it possibly true and was so mad and scared at myself. I dont want to go to a meth clinic, I dont want meth withdrawels someday. I dont want to get caught short on a pill count and have the embarrassment of being fired by my own Dr and live in constant pain becuase I was choosing to get high
  The patch has been a blessing to me.Is it the answere to everyones problem?Probebly not.But for me, so far,it has worked great. My seeking behaviors have totaly stopped, My obsessions have totaly stopped. Im doing the things i used to do before I was prescibed the oxys. I am starting to have my life back again. Its been a month and I feel so much better. My pains covered and I am not high. I dont seek the high from the patch like I did the oxys, the behaviors is just not there. And i dont feel like I am on the edge white knuckleing it. It feels natural. the pains just gone (except the last 12 hours) I almost feel like this is what a suboxone patient goes through, but with great pain management.
  Thanks for the fentanyl replies on my posting. I was afraid I had scard myself somehow from my oxy problem.
   I heard this about the the patch fading from another member, but was wondering just how common this is.  
Peace
-Dez

[nurseaudrea]

I too had the same problem when I was on the patch. The doctor did not have a problem telling me to change it every 48hours and the ins paid because that is how the doctor prescribed it. Just explain to your doctor about what is going on and hopefully they will have you do the same thing.
Good luck        Audrea

[Mollyrae]

Hey Dezdon, nice to hear from you. I had the same problem with my patches. I have used them for almost a year now and I will tell you my story.

In the beginning, they worked great for the 72hr. period but after a couple of months or so, I experienced the very same thing. The 75mcg patch was no longer lasting for the intended amount of time it was suppose to. I found that after 50 hrs. it was not as effective and the w/d would start.

During my next office visit with my Doc, I explained to him what was happening. He said that some patients had a greater tolerance and that it would be in my best interest to change the patch every 48hrs. That solved the problem. The 75mcg patch was working really well until last month when it needed to be increased to 100mcg.

I guess if I were you, I would have the Doctor do the same. There are many ppl out there who were the patch every 48hrs. instead of the 72.

I hope that things are going better for you this time around with the patch. I think you made the right move by switching to a patch rather than using the pills which I know  you had a problem with. Take care and good luck with your new Patches.

Mollyrae