I have chronic pain due to Lyme Disease that was not diagnosed for 32 years. I started off on all the lower dose drugs for pain. I have always had a low tolerance to meds , no matter what they are. I take them for 6 months they don't work anymore. Well I had used the Patch for maybe a month. It did nothing for me. Between that and it not wanting to stay on and I tried everything out there to keep it on.
I ended up on oxycotinin and oxycodone for breakthrough pain. I have been on the ocycotinin for about 5 or so years now. I mean of course my doses have went up but it was the only thing that really helps. I am thankfull that it never gave me any bad side effects or "high" feelings. I do however wonder howit will be coming off of it.
They also wanted me to do the injections and I refused, my Lyme doctors told me that it is only a band aid and isn;t heling the problems so why risk taking them and have them mess my neck up permantaly. If you have a good tolerance to meds you may be o.k. with the patch but moxt people I know that have had them it really never worked real well.
I wish you the best and hope that theu can find something to help your pain.

I was on the Fent patch for about a year started at 75 Mg's and went up until it didn't work anymore and my Doc changed to a different opioid. The good thing about the patch is that is an extended release medication and it avoids the taking medication every 4 hours or whatever it is you do, so that is why I like ER medications.

Break through medications are important to me, but not everyone needs them. I am a former Endo sufferer in my younger years and a complete Hysterectomy, so I feel for you.

About shots... As far as I am concern,they don't work. They are just money making procedures for PM Doc's and for most people they just work for very short period of time. Good luck with your PM Doc and what ever you decide, remember that it takes time to get used to any medication, so don't give it the thumbs down right away if it doesn't do it for you immediately.

Fentanyl gives me a lot of sensory distortion and not a lot of pain relief. Its not very effective for me.

I was on the Fentanyl patch for awhile for my Endometriosis pain and it worked pretty well, except it wouldn't stick to my skin. I also have been on oxycontin; that worked pretty well. It didn't make me as sick to my stomach as the hydrocodone can. I'm on Norco 10/325 right now. Where are you from? I'm trying to find a pain doctor.

brenn,,plz share if u find a good pain doc..at this rate im willing to go as far as i need to find a good doc..
dear SSwarning..i have degenerative scoliosis. Hav been on i think all the opiates in the book...with little to no effect.i also hav hi tolerance for the meds so after few mnths they stop workin. shots were a waste of my time and had my hopes up cz they didnt work. sciatic nerve block shots and regular cortisone along the spine...no luck with those.my doc only stopped when i passed out on the table cz they thot they had punctured my lung, then i was put on fentanyl patch, started with 25mcg, tht was too strong..and on day 2 of the first doze, it almost stopped my breathing and i ended up in ER which just traumatized me. i then went thru withdrawals from the fent cz i cldnt take it anymo- i seriously thot i was dying...(worst experience ever- worse than this daily pain) anyhow, i was given lower fent doze..12mcg...i tried it out of desperation but with a lot of fear. granted i had very minimal pain, but i was a zombie- the side effects were horrible- v dry mouth, i mean it took the taste out of my mouth completely and i cldnt eat nothing. the drowsiness and serious mental confussion. i cldnt even drive. it totally altered my mind..i mean it wasnt even a high. it felt like i was drowning and cldnt get any air...i took that patch off and have sworn off them. im stuggling with the pain and GI probs from narco 10/325 ...but at least my mind is not messed up..no fent patches for me-ever
good luck..its all trial and error with these drugs..what a life hah :(

Hi- I have numerous back / neck issues resulting from a car accident about 2 years ago. I've been on the patch now for about a year and a half. The patch works really well for me. However, I would like to mention a few things. First of all make sure you dont use a heating pad on the area where your patch is. You can OD this way. Also, make sure every time you put on your patch you use a different spot on your body. For instance i alternate using the underneath of my arms & my waist. If you place a patch on an area that were you just had a patch the medicine in the patch can be released to quickly and it could make you feel sick. I also use the Mylan brand which for me works best. The other brands use a different glue and it would irritate my skin sometimes making the edges around the patch bleed. I hope this helps... I also started at 25mg and quickly moved up until I found a dosage that worked for me. I'm now on 100mg and take hydrocodone for the breakthru pain. Good luck to you!

I've have had chronic pain for many years and used vicodine for most of them.They worked really well in the beging but 15 years later I needed a change.So PD suggested we try a patch and another break thru med which is oyxcodone .I havn't felt this good in a long time,so I gotta say i'm pleased with the patch.

Well.... If anyone wants a great pain management Doc, I have one! Is Miami though... His name is Max Velasco, you can find him online, or I will send his info. (phone # and address) to anyone that I can help. The University of Miami has a great pain management program and he is from that program :-).

Tipper

I was on the patch for about 3 days. It did help with the pain, however it made me sooooo extremely drowsy and my tummy was upset all the time. I had a bone scan done my 2nd day on the patch it lasted about an hour and I kept falling asleep in the table- LOL. Plus I kept twitching so they had to restart the test a couple times. Maybe it will help you with the pain. it's always good to try different opiods to see what works best for you. Good luck to you. I hope it works out for ya. : )

I was on the patch for about 3 years. I never did like them, the pain control was poor, they did not last 3 days by any means. They fell off too often. I had periodic WD symptoms due to poor dosage regulation and failed patches.

I finally started returning the failed ones to the pharmacy, and finally switched to something else.

-Snake

I started on the patch 3 weeks ago, 25 mcg. At first I still needed Vicodin for breakthrough pain but MD changed the patch to every 2 days instead of 3 and that did the trick! Have not needed breakthrough pain meds for a week. I feel the best I have felt in a year! No real side effects either. I hope it works for you. It is nice to not have to take so many pills.

Be careful with those epidurals, especially around your back. I had epidural blocks with my children and since then I have had back pain that I did not have before.

Have you considered a hysterectomy? I think I would bring it up if you aren't planning any children. I had pelvic pain for years and that pain is not pleasant either! I'm not sure which is worse though, the pelvic pain or the fibro pain. They both suck.

I am trying to avoid a hysterectomy as long as possible even though my DH and I don't want children. I have many reasons why but the most important that keeps popping up in my mind is I feel that if they just "take it out" and it is realized that something else is going on that is causing the pain besides the endo. "Oh! Well looky here! All this time you had xTHISx..." I want to explore more options and perhaps check things over some more before we jump to conclusions.

I had an appointment today with my PD with no real answers. I explained my situation about the hysterectomy so he suggested more injections but in different spots. With this, he stated that it may give me relief but it would be short lived due to the endo. He sent me home with a Rx for Lyrica. Not sure if I'm too keen on this because of the side effects but I will try it at night and see how I handle it.

This could be something totally different. Lately I've been experiencing "gagging" sensation and I thought it was due to pain but I realized I have been loosing weight when there is NO WAY that should've happened with the way I have been eating. I go in tomorrow for a blood work up checking everything from my thyroid to my blood sugar.

I really appreciate all the help. Everyone is so kind and are helping me tremendously with really important decisions!

Stay Gold!!

I have been on Fentanyl for a few years. It works nicely for me. You really do need to be careful about exposing the patch to heating pads, hot tubs, etc. I had an OD episode from a heating pad & it was very scary. You should also remove the patch if your body temp gets too hot. I am currently coming off the patch. I am doing it slowly, but I am doing it. I hope it works for you. Oh....you should use the Mylan brand if possible. My insurance switched brands on me, & the generic was like wearing a plastic bag that kept falling off. Mylan is like a smooth second skin...you don't even notice it. Good Luck!