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Lost my last Fentanyl patch - what do I do?

I have several chronic pain conditions and have been on pain mgmt for several years. I've been on 25mcg Fentanyl patch with 3 10/325 oxycodone daily for break through pain. I moved a few months ago and have had a hard time getting in to a new pain Dr where I live now, so I have to drive a couple hours to go to my old Dr. I have an appt tues, and applied my last parch Friday night. I received a different brand when I got this last prescription, and I've had problems with them falling off. Well, yesterday morning I woke up and my patch came off and I can't find it!  I am going through horrible withdrawals and I don't know what to do! I've heard its very dangerous to stop Fentanyl cold turkey,  and I'm really scared!  I have to go to work and function the next two days until my appt. Should I go to the ER or urgent care? Would they even be able to help me? Its my second day of withdrawal,  will it get better by tomorrow?  I retally appreciate any help or advice anyone cold give me!
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7721494 tn?1431627964
So many docs these days are afraid of "opioid induced hyperalgesia" (OIH) which is a rare condition that increases pain with increased medication.

For those of us who do well on opioids, OIH is a non-issue.

I imagine you're going to have to prove that reducing the opioid will not help your pain.

There are, however, other medications you might try. For example, some anti-seizure medications can help chronic neuropathic pain. The so-called GABA analogues (that have nothing to do with the neurotransmitter GABA), like Lyrica (pregabalin) and Neurontin (gabapentin) can also help. Sometimes we all need a good muscle relaxant. And there are other adjuncts to treatment that can help reduce pain a point or two. So many of us forget about the simple remedies, like ice packs and warm baths, or taking a short walk, or listening to music -- anything to get your mind off the pain.

Living with chronic pain is a game of inches. Every step you can take that reduces pain by a point or more, is a step in the right direction.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Things like this is exactly why I want off the patch! I'm on 100 mcg patch and just started seeing a new PM doctor due to insurance changes. He doesn't prescribe anything above 75 mcg! So he has cut me to 75 mcg of fentanyl AND reduced my morphine from 15 mg every 6 hours to 15 mg every 12 hours! I am absolutely MISERABLE!! I honestly feel like the pain is about to kill me! I have only slept a total of 16 hours in the past 7 days ( it's 4:36 am right now)!!  We drove the hour and a half to his office today only to be told because of new laws here I'm Florida he CAN'T write me a prescription for ANY additional narcotics until my next regular appointment on the 11th! He told me to go back on my 100 mcg patch since I had some left until then. The problem is the pain is so far ahead of me now its not helping at all! If I don't get some rest and relief soon I'm afraid I'm going to collapse with a heart attack and die or something! My BP which is generally very low (I'm lucky if its 90/60) was 138/88 today at his office! I'm scared I'm stuck at this new increased pain level and on this patch forever! HELP!!!  I'm seriously scared!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Ok at 25mcg you are not in real danger unless you have some serious health issues. It is considered a lower dose. But it will be a very awful week. You have Oxycodone though. How much do you have? You can use that to ease some of it. Otherwise hot baths for any aching and restless legs.

Do you have someone who can drive you on Tuesday? If you don't find that patch it will be a horrible drive there.

Please let us know.
Helpful - 0
8976007 tn?1413330650
check the bottom of your socks and shoes
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8976007 tn?1413330650
oh and 'will it get better tomorrow'???  NO it will get worse.  i am over 100 days off and i still am not better.  worst physical withdrawal was the first 21 days, so don't expect to feel better anytime soon.
may be a good idea to think about getting off of it.  
Helpful - 0
8976007 tn?1413330650
i hope you don't have any children or pets, the patch could kill them.
how do you dispose of your patches?? old ones still have med in them.  
you will still feel the withdrawal, but i would call my doctor  asap and ask them what to do.  i will tell you right now, they usually don't buy 'i lost my med', but it should be tapered and not stopped ct.  
it won't kill you. i detoxed off of 50 mcg pretty much ct and i am still here.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi- Generally it's not dangerous to abruptly stop fentanyl but it's unpleasant.  The good news is that you have oxycodone and that should curtail any withdrawals for the most part.

Try not to panic. Take the oxycodone and keep looking for the patch.

Stay in touch!
Helpful - 0
1926359 tn?1331588139
Hey Louise-

This happened to me many, many times when I was on Fentanyl.  It's an awful drug and not predictable and this is just one of the many reasons.  You have reported to your doctor's office what happened, yes?  How much oral oxycodone do you have?  If you have enough I would just up my dose of that until you can get in to see a doctor so your withdrawals are not unbearable at work.  Also, you are low enough on the Fentanyl to switch over entirely to an oral opiate.  I would ask my doctor about that.  I did, and I suffered some mild withdrawal like tummy upset and insomnia, but only for a few days as I adjusted.  Oral opiates are much easier to taper and you have more control over your dosage to deal with the pain.  I also began taking clonidine as I tapered (A BP med commonly used in opiate detox)  I was on such high doses of Fentanyl  (150mcg/48 hrs) after my last surgery that I had to taper for a long time, switch to orals, and taper some more, and got tired of it finally and went cold turkey off 150 mg of oxy/nalexone.  It wasn't pretty and I probably should have tapered longer but I figured out (and was right) that the pain meds were causing more pain than the disease itself.  After being clean of ALL opiates for 1 month I was in 90% less pain than I had been on opiates.  I'd also been told I would NEVER get off pain meds, that I would need them to function for the rest of my life.
This didn't sit well with me so against my doctors orders I got off and stayed off for nearly 3 years when I had a flare of my stage 4 endometriosis for which I am having my third surgery this Wednesday.
If you do some research and reading on here you will discover that long term opiate use causes something called hyperalgesia.  Essentially, this is the brain tricking the body to believe it is in more pain that it actually is by creating more pain receptors.  This is why, for even the worst most chronic pain patients, it is important to take an 'opiate' break to evaluate your pain levels.  It does take about a month but most patients are shocked to realize (like I was) that they are in LESS pain.  Opiates are really only good for short amounts of time.  Already I have been taking them longer than I wanted to as my surgery was originally booked for June and I started in April.  Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control had postponed it.  I have kept my dose relatively low so plan on doing a good taper afterwards and being pill free as soon as humanly possible.
Just some food for thought...
Lu
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
did u check the shirt u were wearing? Check the inside of that
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Avatar universal
I do wan to get off the fentanyl, but I want to go about it the right way. Trying to get in to a new dr where I live now and then work on transitioning off. My immediate concern though is what to do right now, and going off it cold turkey like this. Is it dangerous? How sick will I get? Is this something you can ride out or should I get to a Dr. I do have some oxycodone left and I thinks thats helping a little.  Thanks again for your help!
Helpful - 0
9880688 tn?1414115647
The above posters will help you when you can answer their questions.  I'm leaving unfortunately but will give you a suggestion for the future.  Hubby had a problem with those sticking so I finally went to Amazon and bought Tegaderm in the box of 100.  It is much cheaper there than at a medical supply store.  That's what finally kept the Fentanyl stuck on his skin.

Hope everything works out all right for you.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi there- Before you panic just look everywhere for it. Check the laundry, sheets, everything. It probably stuck to something. Be calm and keep looking.

Check back and we'll help you through if it's really gone. Do you still have the oxycodone?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Are you wanting to stop your medication or decide what to do until your appointment?
Nothing is easy to withdrawal from. I'm on day 25 no methadone, hydrocodone, I just stopped because I was tired of living like that. Worrying about my appointment what to do when something like that happened.
I didn't know how dead I was on that stuff. I have DDD, 2 back surgeries & currently 2 stable fractures but the pain off the medication is better than the pain on.

So glad your here. Please clarify your desire. We're here to help.
Helpful - 0
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317787 tn?1473358451
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