Hi I have been on these for a couple of months now after trying butrans that affected me ie blistering/burning of skin. Whereas the fentanyl patches are great just a bit fiddly for me. I am on low dose at moment and certainly notice when i forget to put a new one on the difference. do many of you use these and do you still drive etc?
I only drive locally as my limbs really feel it, stiffness etc and the arms, then the stops for the loo, getting to the loo and back to car etc etc I also feel that driving any further afield even with stops may not be wise under the influence of fentanyl as my concentration is not as good and reaction times maybe slower etc.
any other users of fentanyl let me know what dose you are on and how you get on with them please

I have tried them but they didn't work for me, they kept falling off, my doctor had me on 50 Mg patches and the only time I felt it was wen I would rub on it As far as driving I no longer do except if I am desprite for cigs. I always found that with all the different pain meds it wasn't safe so I just drive on those emergency days no more than 2 blocks.

I hope this helps and good luck,
Nipper

Yes Thanks

No I only drive about 1 mile just local when have no choice to get to post office or something. Sorry you had probs with patches falling off I find the durogesic fentanyl ones good but my previous butrans buprenorphine one crap blistered and burnt my skin etc. thanks again

I used them for a time but got weaned off of them as they were too unpredictable and toward the end of second day would be insufficient for the pain. By the third day when new ones were needed I'd be hurting badly. Also burned the skin. Take care to wean off gradually. Strong stuff. I use oxycontin for breakthrough pain but have intrathecal pump with dilaudid and baclofen mixed for majority of pain relief. Second pump in 9 years now. Keeps mind very clear and gets rid of 80% of my worst pain.

Hi
Been on them for the past 4 years now. started on 25's then after 12 - 18 mths uped the dose to 50's.
Can honestly say they are the best drug that has helped me with chronic pain. Never had any bad reaction to them, and have continued to drive with no problems 2 - 3 - 4 - hours behind the wheel.
since loosing all use below waist 9 weeks ago, I also lost alot of the pain too, and have been able to drop the dose back down to 25's. I do know when I have forgotten to change the patch, so I set reminders on my mobile phone when to change the patch. It saves any yucky unplesat days.
Stick with them for a while, and you should feel the same way too. Remember when you get repeat scripts for them to state Durogesic DTrans Fentynal Patch otherwise the chemists will issue you with non generic brands that (are cheeer for them so ssue) are naff in comparison, not only in strength but also the adhesive they use and will fall off.
Al

I only tried a Fentanyl patch once but by the 3rd day I was as high as a kite and couldn't focus or think straight.
A friend happened to phone, and noticed I was talking rubbish (More than usual ) She's a nurse, so drove over and quickly removed the patch, and I soon returned to normal, although I know some people would dispute the 'normal' part..

I'm one of the lucky people who have found Gabapentin works for me. I have some pain, but not the severe nerve pain I had before/

Thanks for that. yea when you forget the patch you know about it. thats my only issue is remembering when to change them! The mobile sounds like a useful tip as I OFTEN FORGET TO TO TAKE DRUGS OR CANT REMEMBER IF ALREADY TAKEN THEM SOMETIMES which isnt clever!
Sorry to hear you have lost use of below waist. Thanks also for tip on using Dtrans brand etc and no others, they are fiddly though!




Oh not nice very bad. I dont get the high feeling at all. I usually talk rubbish anyhow! Its good gaberpentin works for you I do take Lyrica but that doesnt help some of the pain. Nice to hear from you again.

I have been using them for about 5 years now. I started at 50's, moved to 75's, moved to 100's and now I am back to 50's. I also use Lyrica, amytriptaline, baclophen (spasms) and hydromorph contin. I found after about 3 years that the 100's were no longer doing it for me so I reduced my Fentanyl and replaced it with the hydromorph contin. Over time I expect to change that again as my body gets use to these drugs (drug rotation).

I drive periodically. Lately fairly often. I have driven for a couple hundred kilometers with no problems. I do not experience any "high" from the drugs I am on but my pain levels are severe.

I use the 50's for only 2 days at a time for the same reasons as others do. They wear off too fast. The first day is tolerable. My second day is bad. My third days were scarey and my choices were to use a two day schedule or drive off a bridge. I do experience the fentanyl burn if I am dumb enough to put the patch on the same area each time. What I do is use a two patch system. I start with a patch on the upper left shoulder. Day three I put another one on the left arm below the first one. At least a couple of centimeters away (1 inch, min). I don't take the first patch off even though it is functionally dead. Day 5 I put a new patch on the lower right shoulder and remove the one on the upper left shoulder. Day sseven I put one on the upper right shoulder and remove the one on the lower left shoulder. I keep putting a new patch on, in this circle. Using the old patch reminds me where to put the next one on. If I did'nt use some sort of system I would likely put a patch on skin that has not had at least 4 days to"repair" itself and I would get the etching of the skin that Fentanyl can do to some people. I did find that the fentanyl patches with the liquid fentanyl in them etched the skin more than the ones that have the fentanyl coating on the plastic. The liquid patches worked a little better but it was not really different. I can't remember what brand I take I would have to look if anyone cared. I also found that the fentanyl patches with the liquid did fall off a lot more than the ones that had a fentanyl coating on them. I tried to tape them on with some waterproof tape so the shower would not take them off but it was a pain in the *ss so I changed brands.

Just as a fine point. I know that my body abosrbs almost all the fentanyl in two days. With my system if I take the extra patch off early or it falls off, there is no real extra pain or "down" like feeling from the loss of the patch. It's more to remind me whether I need to put another patch on that arm or whether I should switch over to the other arm and give the skin a rest.