Has anyone used Butrans patches?

[sara12345]

And any side effects, withdrawal effects?  If so, were you changing any other medication at the same time?  I'm considering getting my prescription filled.

[Jaybay]

Glad to help!  "Opiate naive" is medicalese to describe a person who has not built up a physical tolerance to opiates.  If someone uses Butrans who hasn't worked up the opiate ladder and built up a certain amount of tolerance, he'll be overmedicated.  

Breakthrough meds refer to additional short-acting opiates used to treat pain that breaks through the long-acting meds.  If the long-acting meds are working well, you may not even need anything else.  Since the only active ingredient in the Butrans patch is buprenorphine and it does not contain naloxone (like Suboxone does), breakthrough meds will still be effective.

That is wonderful news that the patch is working so well for you!  Hope it stays that way!

[sara12345]

I just got cut off after sending you a comment, so hope this isn't a repeat.  I really appreciated your response with so much great detail.

I did wonder what you meant by "not for the opiate naive".  And also didn't understand what you meant by "breakthrough meds".  Does that mean that if take an opiate, Lorcet, or a barbituate, Esgic, that I can still get an effect from those meds?  

I've been prescribed the patch to give me more relief from my 24/7 migraines for 3+ years from a major stroke.  If I do practically anything, I get severe migraines and need to go to the ER at least once a month.  So far in the week that I've been on the patch, I've had practically had no headaches at all.

And sorry not to get back to you sooner.  I just got the email that I got a response back.  Thanks again.

[Jaybay]

Butrans is new to the US market this year.  The active ingredient is buprenorphrine which is also used to detox addicts off opiates under the brand names Subutex and Suboxone.  Suboxone contains an additional ingredient that blocks most of the effects of additional opiates making it a poor choice for pain management since breakthrough meds won't work.

Bupe is a very strong, synthetic partial-agonist opiod.  That just means that it doesn't sit on the receptors in the brain as nicely as something like morphine or oxycodone.  It's also extremely long-acting with a half-life of some 36 hours.  Definitely not for the opiate naive.  If breakthrough meds are even necessary, they can be taken with the butrans patch.

There's no way to say if you'll feel withdrawal or feel over-medicated or any difference at all.  It depends on what you're currently taking, how long you've taken it and how slow or fast your metabolism is.  Just remember that your body will adjust and use it exactly as your doctor prescribes it.  Don't forget your pharmacist as a great resource for information on side effects or interactions with any other meds.  I've found they're usually much better with that sort of thing than my doctor.  :-)