Chronic Pain Support Group

Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...

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/ Chronic Pain Support Group

lowering fentanyl patch to get rid of tolerance

openroad
openroad
Hi,
Well, I've gone from the 100mcg/h fentanyl patches to the 75's and my body is aching like a SOB. I'm on percocet 5/325 and I looked it up and found that you can get it in 7.5's and 10's as well. I hope my pain doc will raise my dose of that until I get used to the drop in fentanyl because I can barely walk around as it is. I'm less worried about the percs by far than the fentanly since they're strength is like an aspirin compared to heroin and I think I need the higher dose.
Am i misreading this info, is it a different drug that has he higher dose or just stronger percocet? If just moving down to 75 has done this then moving down to fifty is going to lay me right up and that will lead to another bout of deep depression for sure. The pain and depression are linked no doubt about it and this has already got me feeling down quite a bit. There's nothing like being in agony to make you feel really down and that's a fact.
Anyway, let me know about the different strengths of percocet or if I'm just misreading the info ok, if you know.
openroad
hurtingangel
hurtingangel
Hi openroad, I'm sorry your having such a difficult time and your pain is so high. One thing my pain Dr. said to me years ago when I was weaning off of a med is that your body is going to be in more pain because it's used to the higher drug. Do you keep a pain journal? If not it might not be a bad idea to start one. Write down when your pain spikes and what you were doing at the time & also keep track of when you feel the pain is tolerable. Have you tried self hypnosis for pain, guided imagery or meditation? All three of these work pretty well at lowering your pain level. You will find many great videos on You Tube. Also I have found EFT (emotional freedom technique) to be really helpful. Basically you just tap various spots on your head & face & repeat the words that are being said. Robert Gorick has some fantastic videos on You Tube. One night my back was an 8/9 on the pain scale. After doing his one video that is 10:38long my pain was about a 3 & stayed that way for several hours. Check it out all you have to lose is the pain. As far as the patch is concerned it's the same medication only a lower dose. As you stated your Dr is lowering the dose because you have built up a tolerance. There are lots of us that change meds every six months or so just for that reason you don't build up a tolerence and the new meds tend to be more effective. You didn't say how long you have been on these meds. Make sure you voice your concerns with your Dr. Write down what questions you have that way you won't forget to cover a concern. Have you done PT ? I find ice really helps my back. I've had nine back surgeries. Maybe talk to your Doc about using a tens unit or Lidoderm patches these patches basically numb the area that hurts. They don't always take all the pain away but they help enough to keep you moving at least they do for me. You keep these patches on for twelve hours. So it's 12 on & 12 off. Also have you tried a warm pool. Like anything else you should check with your Dr. But at least with the pool it's not putting pressure on your joints. I'm sending up prayers for healing & comfort. Please keep us updated on how you are doing.

Hugs & God Bless
Lisa
billwfriend
billwfriend
I feel for u and sending hugs
deleted_user
deleted_user
One thing you have to remember about Fentanyl is that it is the strongest Pain med that you can get outside of a hospital setting. So lowering it in big chunks like 25 mcg's your going to feel the difference in that. Raising your Percocet strength is most likely not going to take over the increased pain. Trying to use a Short Term pain med with a short half life to cover for a Long Term med very strong med....probably not going to get much out of that.

You can try doing other things, alot of which Lisa mentioned to try and manage the soreness and all over pain. Your Dr. can also cut your dose by 12.5 mcg, as long as you have the flat patches that contain the Fentanyl in the adhesive of the patch. If you use patches that have a kind of bubble with liquid in them, then that's not possible.

Sense your having so much pain with these large decreases ask you Dr. about doing 12.5 mcg decreases, all you do is cut a 25 mcg patch in half.

Take care and hope you get some relief soon.

Kat
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