Percocet to Fentanyl Patch

[sassylibra]

I have been taking up to 12 percocets a day (sciatica) and now I've been given Fentanyl Patch (16.5 for a nominal in vivo delivery of 100 mcg/h fentanyl for 72hrs) and don't know what to expect, I'm alittle scared to put it on. Could someone tell me how they feel, I have 9yr old twins and don't want to be too zonked out. Thanks so much for any info, I'm so happy I found this site.

[imanaddict]

Oh...to answer your question about how you feel on them. I didn't feel them at all, just no pain.

[imanaddict]

I was on fentanyl patches short term and I suffered withdrawals. At the time, I didn't know what was happening until I put ONE patch on, and suffered withdrawals AGAIN. I do not recommend it if at all possible.

[GoingToMakeIt]

This is a huge step and a warning. Fentanyl is one of the hardest drugs to get off of. Send a PM to Jacqui805 and ask her about her experience getting off of it.
You really need to think twice about this.
     A little known fact is that the more pain killers you take, the more your body 'produces' pain to make sure you give it it's "fix".  Many of us have gone down this road. More pain, more pain killers. My advice is to stay away from the patch and seek alternative methods for pain relief. Chiropractic, specialized massage, acupuncture etc..

[Tiger39]

I meant:  warm,  fuZZY  ( FUZZY)

[Tiger39]

I would say going from 12 Percocets a day to the patch is not really that much of a "jump".     A  100mcg  (and yes, that IS Microgram, NOT Milligram) because Fentanyl is 100 times stronger that Morphine.    The patch delivers the medication slowly, over a piod of 72 hors, tho so you can do the math on what you're really getting per hour.... not that much.

I imagine that for the first few patches you will get "high", the "warm, fuxxy, floating on a cloud" high........but it would go away , obviously, when you got used to it.

Please be careful with these.  These turned into my Drug of Choice (D.O.C) and I would suck them orally to  get all the medication at once.  I did accidently O/D, go unconscious and it spiked my blood sugar ( I am NOT Diabetic) to 457!!   Doctor said I was nearly comatose.  Thats when I stopped taking them but am still addicted to other things.    

[wannabefree330]

conversions for fentanyl are based on a morphine dose over a 24 hour period.  Oxycodone is apx 1.5 times stronger than morphine.  If you take 12 pills a day, assuming they are 10mg/pill.....you take apx 120mg of oxycodone per 24hours.  This would equal out to about 180mg of morphine to obtain the same level of relief.  Literature suggests for a 24 hour morphine dose of 60-134mg you would need a 25mcg fentanyl patch.  So you would be right around a starting patch of 50mcg.  As you can clearly see, a 100mcg patch is at LEAST double the amount you would need.  If I were you and truly considering patch, I wouldn't start any higher than a 50mcg.  In fact, I'd start at a 25mcg and move up.  Its always easier to take an extra pill for breakthrough pain than it is to remove a long acting opiod.

There is no question if you begin the patch you will become more dependent on opiods.  Exhaust your search for alternatives before you jump in.  Many antispasmodics and even antidepressants have been shown to be helpful for nerve pain.  Neurontin is a good medication as well as baclofen.  They are both effective for 'shooting' or constant nerve pain.  If these don't help, I still wouldn't go for the fentanyl.  The next opiate step would be a long acting oral med (oxycontin or ms contin).  And suggesting these seems to be such an awful thing to do, so compare that to what a fentanyl patch would be.  
Be very careful my friend.