Fentanyl Withdrawal Symptoms (Page 7)

I'm trying to wean myself off the Fentanyl patch. I went from 75 micro-gms to 50 now I'm on 25. Having a problem and not sure it is related to the decrease in the med. It's been 20 days on the 25 micro-gm and I'm going crazy. I need to keep rocking, moving in any way b/c my body is very restless. Is this a symptom of withdrawal and what do I do? I cannot take it any more.

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122 Sorry all out there no sleep and sometimes you leave things out, The St Johns Wort is a Herbal Mood Enhancer, supposed to work like an antidepressant I have a friend who has tried it successfully off and on just as needed, I want to get back to that eventually. Did you get any help. Let us know!

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Tessie, L5-HTP is a tryptophan analog. You can find it at most vitamin shops & Whole Foods. St. John's Wort can be an effective herbal antidepressant, but it can interact badly with certain Rx meds. So if you're on any, ask your pharmacist about possible interactions before taking it. Valerian tea is calming; I gave it to my kid (now 20) when he was frantic with teething. But valerian root is a narcotic, so don't overdo the tea or capsules. And if you take the caps, again ask your pharmacist about drug interactions.

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Jenny thanks so much for the info. I don't know alot about herbal stuff was trying to throw Matt a rope if he's out there but Matt maybe Jenny has ideas for you too. We'll see if he gets back. Hope he's okay. Thanks Again!!

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What works and is free, to help you in your recovery from opiate dependency....
Gentle exercise
stretching
deep breathing
mindfulness meditation
chi gong
audiobooks- comedys, thrillers

time away from all perscription drugs, so your body can heal and achieve homeostasis

7 months off 100 mg Sandoz patch
and valium. The benzos are the hardest to recover from!!!
Using all the above techiques to cope with a messed up back and nerve damage from failed back surgery. Grateful to be free of drug dependency!

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Maui Girl you are absolutely right but what i didn't mention in my no sleep fog and racing thoughts from this sandoz path is that I was on xananx and patch and was trying to cold turkey both together. after a visit to emergency room and being able to speak with a detox dr. I was put back on the xanax, get off patch first get off xanax, after, that aweful sandoz patch from detox experts stays in your system for 27DAYS after LAST REMOVING IT FROM YOUR BODY. Talked to others now who have used benzo's to get off then I plan to get off the xanax but a small amount has helped me, it had been in system too long. ALL OUT THERE SHE IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT THO, all the things she says works have tried them!! Hang in all. Prayer works for me too!

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All your replies are kinda scaring me ! I've been on the Fentanyl patch for a little over 5 years now on a 150 mcg/hr every 48 hrs dose plus 30mg hydromorphone 12hr action twice a day and Lyrica 600mg twice a day too ! And all that while working 45hrs weeks in a garage ! I've had 2 herniated discs removed 6 months ago and I'm now now trying to get off thoses damn meds ! I managed to lower the Hydromorphone dose but the patch is way harder. I went down 50mcg/hr every month or so with little discomfort...but going off completely is f***ing hard ! Nausea, diarhea, hot flashes, tremors, general muscle pain, very short tempered borderline aggressive, lack of sleep.....It's been a week now and those symptoms are at their worse so far. Don't know how long this will go on but it's all worth it ! I'm doing this cold turkey and I don't want to take strong meds ever again. It's NOT easy but I advise everyone taking this crap to at least try to get off or lower to the max the dose. WHY ? 'Cause I went thru my back surgery and am trying to get off this crap because my Doctor told me my heart would unlikely last more than 5 to 10 years before failing due to the meds (and I'M only 34 years old !). So please be carefull. This stuff is VERY DANGEROUS and not to be taken lightely ! ( Please excuse my spelling...I'm french from Montréal, Québec ! )

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Big Ben, You are right, its scary and it sucks and its hell BUT IT IS WORTH IT. I have rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, bad knees, etc, to cold turkey all meds is bad. MODERATION IN ALL THINGS WITH PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS!!!! I feel GOOD now 14 days out without any pain meds at all BUT AFTER GOING TO ER TWICE and out as much info as possible for yourself is the only way to go. I've had the luxury of being a homemaker and just dealing with the kids and daily tasks was all I could do. You can do it...if you're determined, sounds like you are, your body can't repair itself on no sleep though. Whatever you do don't discontinue the Lyrica, It will be your best friend with the leg jumps and will help with sleep eventually, take all your other prescribed meds as doc tells you or you are prolonging your agony. Good luck and the others are right hang in there.

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I am so glad I found this site. I'm so scared I can't think straight and I am feeling so guilty and ashamed for what I am doing to my family. I started the fentanyl patches 100 mcg 6 years ago after cervical fusion and nerve damage and a rotten spine. I've dealt with depression and anxiety all my life and those have caused me serious problems but getting off these fentanyl patches looks likes it's going to be my biggest hurdle yet. My doctor who was prescribing the patches lost his license to prescribe controlled substances so I was in bad shape for a couple of weeks. Went to the ER until I could find a doctor, but she won't treat me for getting off the patches and she's trying to get me into a suboxone program but noone within a 50 mile radius is taking new patients. She did give me patches 75mcg for one month they'll be gone this week. I am praying she will keeping giving me the patches until I can get into a suboxone program. Well I really wish she would help me taper but she refuses. I wish I had never heard of the patches. I can't say how many doctors I have begged to treat me. I'm 59, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol depression but I am not on any antidepressant right now they never seem to work anyway. now I have real high blood pressure which she is treating me for. I believe she is a good person but just doesn't want to get involved in fentanyl withdrawal after 6 years at my age and health. It doesn't help that I am on medicare because a lot of doctors don't even want to hear the word. I'm afraid of the suboxone but more afraid of cold turkey. All of you seem so brave and I admire all of you. I hope to be free of the patches and still alive sometimes SOON. I take klonopin for panic disorder .5mg and although I never want to see another patch when I get off these I can't imagine ever being off something for panic and anxiety. Fentanyl seemed like then answer to a prayer when I first started taking it. I didn't get high or nervous like I did on all the vicodin I was taking. There was a time about 5 years ago when I was taking the fentanyl 100, vicodin, muscle relaxants, neurontin, and Lexapro. Now the fentanyl and the klonopin are my main demons but I don't know how I will win this battle win doctors don't want to or can't seem to help. I live in a small town and there were a lot of patients from my old doctor who have taken up the suboxone vacancies and doctors just don't seem willing to wean me or taper me off. I hope everyone trying to get off these patches does okay and the ones that are off can stay off. If I ever do get off and survive I don't want to ever blindly take another drug. Although I'm worried that is exactly what I'm doing with Suboxone, if I can ever get in a program. Right now Iam just so afraid of what the doctor is going to do on Friday since I haven't been able to get in a program.

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Wow, Rose, I am so proud of you for wanting to be free of that devil fentanyl. I am 57 and have high bp also. 6 years is a long time to use the patch. I think someone wrote in a while ago that it was developed for terminal patients!!! Well, you don't have to be terminal. Keep us posted on what you doc says Friday. Also be honest with doc. tell exactly how much of everything you use!!! Your treatment depends on it. With Best Regards. I am 3 1/2 months off the patch. So much better and feeling joyful again.

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Big Ben, I'm amazed that you can even walk out of the house, much less function at work, on all those meds. I was given Lyrica 3 years ago, and told the doctor that it should come with a cane because the stuff makes me fall down. 24 hours after my one dose, I was still so dopey that I nearly made a left-hand turn on a red light at a 6-lane intersection.

Be sure you taper off the fentanyl. Not knowing any better, I went cold turkey after being on the 50mcg patch for 4 weeks. After a night of hell I found this forum through a Google search. It's been 2 weeks, and only today do I feel like myself again, and not itchy or twitchy.

Rose, I can't understand why the doctor refuses to have you taper off the fentanyl. Can Medicare help you find someone else? Or can you bring a family member with you when you see her again, to help argue your point? Don't know if it would help, but try calling the manufacturer of the fentanyl patches you're using & ask if they can recommend any resources.

You shouldn't have to feel guilty and ashamed for getting addicted to a substance that was prescribed to ease your pain. Getting some counseling might help with your overwhelming feelings. I know because I've been there.

Best wishes to all!

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Correction: I was only on the 25mcg patch. So there was a 2:1 ratio between use & recovery time. And that was going cold turkey. I should think it would take several MONTHS to taper down from 100mcg (Rose) or 150mcg (Big Ben).

Benadryl greatly eased my cold-turkey itching, but it might interact badly with other meds. So check with your pharmacist first.

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Ben and Rose I feel for you both. We're talking about being on these patches LONG TERM, 5, or 6 years in the body and they are horrible, you get used to what your body is taking. The chronic pain management the doctors start with is the Lyrica or Antidepressants, then they add the Benzo's when the others give you panic attacks then after 5 -6 years your body is used to that so they give you Vicodin, then percodan then long term oxycontin or patches. I found the BEST INFO if you really want to taper comes from a rehab / detox center or certified pain management doctor, because the regular docs have no idea what happens when you taper this stuff. I have personaly talked to people who have gone off stuff thru detox and/or cold turkey. My brother has a friend who has an addiction problem but wants to be clean he has cold turkey'd things, tapered things about 7 or 8 times and he says he would rather COLD TURKEY HEROINE again than Methadone or the Patch, Sandoz Brand from what I'm finding out is worse than Mylan. You got to get the right help for you I'm fourteen days off patch and am physically shaky, still really tired but finaly able to sleep 3 hr stretches, etc, I tried to quick anti depressants and benzo's at same time, DOCTORS said this can get you in trouble, I had been taking them longer than the patches. Some of the doctors out there giving out this stuff like candy should have to have 5 days of the cold turkey withdrawal the rest of us have gone thru then they might get it!!! Sorry about the ranting, I just feel better already but have a long way to go with the anti depressants and very small dose of Xanax because when you come some patches or synthetic narcotics (from other research done so far) you can go into HYPER SENSITIVE mode and tapering actually prolongs the pain, if you read back through some of the old posts some people got super sensitive. After 14 days of NO PAIN MEDS, tylenol, advil, anything, I took a 200 mg advil and it was like taking a lortab if you've never had one. If you've been on this stuff for a long time there are easier ways to do it but find the right help. all our situations are different. God Bless all of you out there that put this devil patch on. I'm praying for all of you! Good Luck, don't give up it does get better and better and better, some of us have to go slower with some things than others depending on health problems and what we have been previously on.

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Rose, sorry I didn't read your post careful the first time, If you have been on the klonepin long term....years, if you do have to cold turkey your patches (worst cast scenario) the rehab people I have been speaking with and the doctor my husband spoke with who prescribes the suboxone says If you have been taking fentanyl long term it can take 27 days to get out of your body, after you take off the patch. I have gone through all the same symptoms of trying to taper patch and I finally just quit because it prolonged the agony for me. I had four HELLACIOUS days/nights, running together but the klonepin can actually help, check with your doc but I found setting a timer to take the benzo exactly when needed was MORE HELP than the bottle of Oxycodone dr gave me to help me taper off patches, I took 2 or 3 out of the 50 pills he gave me but for me it was worse when I took them so I just quit, I quit everything tho and ended up in ER, keep your others meds exactly the same and don't miss and dose and try to find even a counselor from a rehab or detox place. DONT FEEL bad, these docs can prescribe this crap but then you go to them or to the ER Rooms and LEGALLY they can't help get you off it, ITS CRAZY STUPID!! Hang in there whatever you do don't quit everything, only patch. Good luck.

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Hi Rose..That is the problem with the laws today, its ok for a doctor to keep giving you opiates for years, but when we reach out to them for help, even if they wanted to help, it is against the law for a regular internest to help you quit. It is either methadone, suboxone or CT. Not every doctor can give suboxone, and unless you can't live W/O opiates you wouldn't want to go to a methadone clinic. When my doctor cut me off of opiates many years ago and I reached out his exact words were I am too old for this s***. Opiates are wonderful drugs but they can turn on a person who is in chronic pain like a bolt of lightning..Bottom line is if a person is in chronic pain but can live W/O narcotics that would be the best thing, but realility is a lot of people can't live with the pain, so our choices aren't that great. I choose methadone because I can't live with the pain. From what I have learned on this one forum, if a doctor suggested fentanyl to me, I would run for the hills. that drug scares me just hearing about it. I really feel for anyone who is dependent on it..Rose one thing you may want to consider is a lot of methadone clinics also offer suboxone so if you live near a clinic give them a call. I know living in a small town must be hard, but don't give up...I just wanted to say that if you have panic attacks like I do, klonopin shouldn't be a problem for you as long as you take it as prescribed. I take xanax, luckily I only have to take it once in awhile, my husband has to take it everyday, but before he was prescribed xanax, he was homebound with his panic disorder. Without xanax, he wouldn't have a life today..However if you want to quit taking it that is your decision, but please have your doctor help you You can't just stop taking benzos..It is dangerous to quit CT...Good luck and I hope your news is good tomorrow!!
Pat

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Hello again to everyone ! I have pretty good news for anyone who wants to quit the fentanyl patchs...It's been about 12 days since I quit cold turkey. I went from 150mcg/h for about 5 years ( + all the other meds ! ) down to 100mcg/h for about a month and then to 50mcg/h for another month...From there, I got up one morning and decided I had enough. I just stopped sticking this crap to my back. After about a dozen crappy days of pretty much every withdrawl symptom there is, I'm now feeling A LOT better. Only a bit of diziness and headache left. I feel like I'm finally getting my old life back ! My energy level is growing every day and I'm dreaming again ! My old self is peeking thru and it feels awesome. TRUST ME...IT'S WORTH EVERY DAY YOU'LL FEEL BAD WHEN YOU QUIT. I now know it's a lot worse THINKING about quitting, than it really is ACTUALLY QUITTING ! If you're thinking about getting off the fentanyl patch, don't listen to all the horror stories there is out there...IT'S REALLY NOT ALL THAT BAD. And I didn't hear this from the friend of a friend...I DID IT MYSELF ! Anybody can do it...just put your mind to it and don't give up...You'll be gratefull you stopped ! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE IN THIS SITUATION. AND REMEMBER...DON'T GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT ! YOU WON'T REGRET IT !

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Congratulations, BigBen! It's so wonderful to feel like one's old self again. I'm amazed you could get off the patch so quickly, considering how long you were using it, and at such a high dose. Kudos to you for toughing out the withdrawal symptoms.

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Oh and one last thing...my pain comes from a scyatic nerve damaged beyond saving and 2 herniated discs that I had to have removed 6 months ago. I now have two 4-inch pins screwed to 3 vertebras with 2 screws each in L4-L5-S1. Pain has been part of my life for years now. To help with the pain and restlessness that I feel since I stopped taking fentanyl patches, I only take Robax Platinum and rub my back with Voltaren Emulgel. You can find both of then over the counter without prescription. Robax Platinum has a muscle relaxant & analgesic while the Voltaren gel has an anti-inflammatory. None of then used to help me when I wal using fentanyl...but now that I'm not anymore, they helped me get thru the withdrawl. It's worth the try, no ? Worked for me ! Good luck !....Bigben44.

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...And try to move around as much as you can. Do any activity you can. I know it's hard and you don't feel like anything, but once you start moving, your brain focuses on something else than that damn pain ! The more you move, the more you'll want to move and you'll feel lots better !

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Big Ben Thats GREAT!! I'm now 21 days out and Feel GREAT!! ALTHOUGH there are differences in chronic pain conditions COMBINED with medical conditions that create more problems for some than others. Pat is exactly right about the medical profession and Rose AND IT SUCKS!!! I'm working on becoming completely drug free like Jenny and You Ben even with my Chronic Rheumatoid ARthritis, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Badly in need of a knee replacement, and HUGE family history of DEPRESSION. The Xanax or Benzo's do help certain people. I won't touch a Narcotic Again BUT I ALSO HAD A GASTRIC BLEED, which means all the advil, Volteran, and wonderful anti-inflammatories out there I CANT TAKE, they DO actually work BETTER than the narcotics but if you have a bad stomach you're between a rock and a hard place. My two cents worth is tho, I have decided I would go through another stomach surgery before I take a narcotic again but that is my personal feelings, I'll take the Voltaren like stuff if I have to which does work Great for Chronic Pain if you want to be narcotic free, and If I have stomach problems again I'll have to have another surgery, but it's better for me than to live in the mental fog or narcotics. HAVING SAID THAT PAT AND ROSE, I have a brother who has the artritis, lupus and other stuff that is doing very well and successful on the methadone and/or suboxone stuff because people are dealing with all kinds of different problems!!!! My hats off to all you out there who have quit and feel great!! All of you who are still struggling, don't give up there is hope, there are answers and my prayers are with you all! The Lord God is mindful of Every Sparrow that falls, how much more then does he love and care about us his own children. I don't care what religion you are if you believe in a God you know this is TRUE. LOVE AND PRAYERS TO ALL!! GOOD LUCK!!

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BigBen, you're the example of what could have gone wrong with me! I had a herniated disc between L4 & L5 that was pinching the sciatic nerve. Fortunately that was fixed (I hope) with microsurgery, cutting off the herniation and the arthritic spurs on 3 vertebrae that were pressing on the discs.

Had my first P-T session this morning and as a result am in bed with one ice pack under me and another wrapped around the top of my left thigh. (My 13-lb cat is draped under my left arm, with one paw resting on the base of my thumb.)

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