United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I just started a fentanyl patch series after being on 30mg of Oxycontin and 15mg of percocet a day. I still take some percocet but less.
Does anyone have experience with a fentanyl patch? On day 3 i get crazy; not able to sleep, increasingly anxious, and increased pain again. Does anyone know why this would happen.

Also I have had some issues concentrating lately. Anyone know of a supplement or anything that may help with this. Thanks for any info you can provide.

that stuff is dangerous!!! a guy here just died from that. they say it's like 40x the power of morphine and you can easily overdose.
daniel

What Daniel said is true, this medication should be used very carefully. Follow the prescription to the letter.

You say you get anxiety, I looked at the Side Effects "Notify your doctor if you develop: irregular or slow heartbeat, anxiety, tremors, seizures."

I suggest you talk to your MD and let him/her know what's going on.

Marieke 33, LOBPI
RN

To immediately say, "this stuff is dangerous" is an overreaction. Obviously, you are having the kind of side effects that raise a red flag and you should contact your doctor immediately. But Fentanyl is no more dangerous than any other narcotic pain medication. Careful management is the key. The publicity and major hazards come from leaking or damaged patches, the method in which the medication is delivered to your body.

What may be a possibility here is that you're going through withdrawal from your OxyContin, which is highly addictive as you know. Once you are taking OxyContin for a period of time you build up a tolerance in your system, so in time the dosage needs to be increased to give the same effect. You can't stop taking OxyContin "cold turkey" but must ease off of it slowly. OxyContin may also cause changes in your emotions or your ability to make good decisions, especially when making changes in the medication, so make sure you're aware that and seek the help of your doctor.

You didn't mention the dosage of Fentanyl patch you're on? Hopefully your doctor started a low dosage to see how you tolerated it, like 25mcg/hr, applying one patch every 72 hours. But this medication should not be used all of the time, it should only be used as needed to control temporary bouts of extreme pain. It is not a substitution for pain medication that you are taking daily, round the clock.

Most importantly, seek the advice of your doctor. I don't know if anybody else that is commented yet has taken the medication before but I have used it occasionally and it has helped me tremendously. I only took OxyContin for a few months after the accident I was in, but it was a horrible blurry mess. Since you're stopping the OxyContin and you're not have any luck with the Fentanyl, you may want to try to Neurontin, Topamax, and a very low dosage of Methadone(10mg 3x daily as needed) as a substitution for the OxyContin. It sounds like a lot of medication,but if you have a lot of pain you may need it. Otherwise just try the Neurontin and the Topamax.

I wish you the best of luck with everything, hope my input helps a little.

Genevieve, CA
(p.s. But I'm from the Philadelphia area, originally, too!)