fentanyl used in surgery

Yikes Colleen- That is a crazy jump. No wonder you feel like you are dying. Opiate detox is he*& for sure but jumping off 50 mcg of Fentanyl is VERY extreme. Do you have breakthrough meds left? You need to switch to an oral opiate and wean to a jumpable place. I did this- ended up jumping off of 100 mg of oxy and it was frigging awful but I lived to tell the tale and am so happy I did. Really, if you can't get to your doctor go back to the ER and tell them what is up.

I was allergic, severely to the adhesive that is used to keep the patch in place. The pain relief was ok but I just couldn't wear it look enough to determine it it was going to be effective. I know we have members that have been on the patch for years and swear it is better than sliced bread. Most have reported that the side effects diminish as their system adjust to the opiate. Sorry this is all I can offer.

How long does withdrawal last? I have been on fentanyl for about one year, 100 every 48 hrs. This was prescribed for me after my cancer surgery.

I had surgery and was given fentanyl and nearly 2 mos later still shows up on drug test. I only have 1 kidney, but I'm still totally shocked and it has caused me bad problems as the dr doesn't believe me when I tell him I did not take this from the street! I don't even know how to get this from the street per se! Please has anyone else had this issue with fentanyl?

It now makes perfect sense to me why you are in so much pain on the Fentanyl. Converting 360 mg of Oxycontin to Fentanyl results in 150 mcg/hr...this is conservative. Converting Fentanyl to equal 360 mg of Oxycontin with the opioid calculator results in 300 mcg/hr. This is the largest dose conversion that is shown in the fentanyl prescription leaflet that comes in the box with the medication. So your doctor's thoughts that you need to keep going up on the Fentanyl patch are CORRECT.

I was given the fentanyl patch for extream pain last summer. I had spinal fusion surgery on Dec 20th, almost 2 months ago. I took off the patch and went through what I call a week from hell. I was shaking and going through the withdrawl for 8 days. I am now on day 15 still am having a few panic attacks like I think the withdrawals will come back, I know in my head they can't. I so much want my normal life back. anyone there had this spinal fusion?? how long will it take till I am normal??

I do know that fentanyl is worse to stop than oxycontins, plus with the patch you much not get it over heated. That would rather mean no hot tubs because if you get your body temp up too high or if you put a heating pad over the patch you will release too much at one time. Do not chew any oxycontins!!! They are time released. I'm glad you are seeing someone at an addiction center. They can hopefully give you the advice that will work for you. Good Luck!

Just curious? A friend of mine told me she's on fentanyl patches. We got into a slight conversation, becuz I told her I was detoxing off percocets.(proudly I might add), she said it was an opioid. So my question is, does opioids do the same thing as far as our receptors, and endorphins in our brains from percocets. With the patch she said she has never felt the things I described to her. I was just curious, does fentanyl patches work the same way as percocets?

A horse fell over on me and bent the rods in my back, I live in pain, I need this surgery and HATE drugs. Help me please. What alternatives do I have to get this THS down so I can have my surgery. It was high once before when I had dental work done right before the tests. I am so beyond this and no one is listening to me on the correlation between the pain meds, stress and extensive x rays ..

I would call the orthopedic surgeon office who is doing the surgery and ask them what they think. I'm sure if your pain doctor told you to keep it on, it's probably ok, but you will need to make sure you tell the anesthesiologist about it to keep your pain under control and the medications that they use are correct. I'm in the same situation, I use a fentanyl patch and am having surgery next Wednesday. I've been given no information on whether to wear it or not.

What success is there with an anesthesiologist addressing pain in Failed Back Surgery?

First....I really LOVE your forum name.....it's quite beautiful ;) Second, I have read thru both of your threads/posts here and am so sorry for the troubles you have endured. Having surgery can be traumatizing enough with a qualified surgeon....so sad to read of your past dr and experience with him. Third, if you fell and hit your head and have blood in your ears...it would seem very prudent to make sure you don't have a head injury, internal bleeding, etc. Hope you did....

For example, over the last three weeks, I have gone thru Vicodin, then Norco, then OxyContin, now Fentanyl. I will be having surgery on 3/31, then hopefully my painful condition will start to improve. With all the posts on Fentanyl withdrawl, I am terrified of going thru that. My question: with short term use, will withdrawl symptoms be as severe as long term use, and if so, what is the best way to reduce/avoid withdrawl?

I stopped taking my Suboxone strips for 24hrs. Went into immediate surgery. They gave me Fentanyl, several hydromorphone doses, and a benzo. Got out of the hospital waited 12hrs took my Suboxone. Been taking it for a week. Still feeling surgery effects and I have these weird withdrawl like symptoms. One minute the hairs on my neck stand up, the next im sweating only minor, then I get nausea, then I feel shaky. Its been 8 days since surgery.

It was a one time use with amnesia medication for a colonoscopy.I am only 100 lbs and they told me used 4 times the amount to keep me asleep I ended up in the ER vomitting for 18 hours off this they had to abort the procedure and had to go back the next day for "local" anesthesia. I just want to know how to get this out of my system so I can get my sleep back. It is driving me crazy. I have discussed it with my next surgeon and he said they will not use it.

I have been on fentanyl since my first failed fusion 8 years ago. My primary care dr said I would realistically never get off of it. I want to now that my back has fused. I have a lot of pain at present after the hardware removal. My pain has not been controlled because of the fentanyl. I was warned but there was nothing I could do to prepare for it. I feel like someone was digging for hours in my flesh! I want to get off the patch as soon as I heal from surgery. How should I start?

There is no reservoir of medication in a matrix patch - instead there are layers of the medication. There is no fentanyl gel in a matrix style patch. A matrix fentanyl patch places the fentanyl in adhesive. By all means return the defective patch to the Pharmacy where you purchased it. As Phil said, contact your prescribing physician and make him/her aware of the defective patch. Be cautious when handling the defective patch as your body can still absorb the Fentanyl is you touch it.

i have 5 herniated discs and am on 100mcg fentanyl patch and i an still in pain. is there anything more effective?

I am currently on 30mgs. of instant release oxycodone 3 times a day,and 75 mcgs. Fentanyl patch.I havenever used the patch before.I am ok with the 1st 48 hours of the patch ,but the last 24 hours,or every 3rd day my pain comes back.So he recently wrote for the 75mcg patch to be used every 48 hours.Has anyone had the same problem as me with the patch not being effective on the 3rd day?,and if so what happend with you?

Hi! Thanks for having this online resource! I'm researching the pro's and con's of the fentanyl patch. My fiance has been in a great deal of back pain and is prescribed oxy's, morphine and percocet. However, he doesn't take them because they the only things that work for him are 80's and roxy's that he gets from family and friends.

With more information, you may get better responses. I was on Fentanyl, among a lot of other things, and in hindsight, I should have tapered more slowly (but I was on 75 mcg for much longer.

Thank you very much Hector. First and foremost I want to wish you the best of luck with your treatment and a speedy recovery from it. My thoughts and prayers will be with you. I wasn't always allergic to fentanyl. So they used that for the major surgeries. I haven't had major surgery for a long time.

My pain mgmt dr. put me on Fentanyl 50mcg/hr 6 months ago after i had my 3rd spinal surgery. I told him from day one that this wasn't an acceptable long term solution for me. After a couple of months of being on the 50s i insisted that we back down to the 25s because I had heard how addictive these patches were. So I have been on the 25s for about 4 months. About 6 weeks ago i started experiencing EXTREME fatigue, loss of appetite and headache which were constant.

I am on 12mcg of the fentanyl. I cannot take more than that otherwise I get severe chest pains. The pain clinic dr won't give me anything else says he can't help me if I don't stick with the hydrocodone 10/325 and the fentanyl patch. I have severe neuropathy in my feet and I can't take Lyrica, neurotin or the generic. If I try to go to a different pain clinin then they will think I am just looking for drugs and I'm not I'm looking for some kind of pain relief.

Fentanyl used in surgery

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