BuTrans Patches - side effects - thinking of stopping taking them
Posted , 43 users are following.
I've been on BuTrans patches for 12 months for pain relief for my hip. I should have had a hip replacement on 30 July 2014 but had 4th heart attack on 16 July 2014 so obviously the operation was cancelled. (I fractured my hip 28 years ago in a horse riding accident and have managed without a replacement op till now - pain was really bad last year) I have been in hospital for the last week and was discharged yesterday - I have lost almost 2st in weight over the last 12 months. I am nauseous all the time have no appetite, I'm shakey and weak and dizzy. I've been trying to carry on and get on with life but have had chest pains which is angina caused by the fact that I am so weak I'm forcing myself to get up and eat etc and my heart is struggling. Hospital can't find out what is wrong with me - they have tried all sorts of tests including a body scan and more or less told me to get on with it - I have rehad Social worker calling daily to help me. Medication I'm on for my heart is Ivabradine to slow my heart down and Isosorbide to open my arteries, Clopideral and asprin to thin my blood and Ezetmebe instead of a statin. Hopsital say heart medication should not give me the symptoms I'm getting so only other thing can be the patches. Has anyone else had similar symptoms. What will happen if I stop using the patches - I'm desparate I will try anything I hate feeling so ill I just want to have some fun. I'm a young 68 and belong to loads of clubs and social activities - hospital want me to take anti-depressants but I'm not depressed and also concerned if I put more chemicals (tablets) in my systom, my body has also to get used to them too! Feedback would be very gratefully received. Thanks - Eunice
2 likes, 88 replies
eunice42724
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To anyone that has been reading my query about BuTrans patches I contacted the Isle of Man drug help line where I live and this is the reply I received.
Response I received as below:
I am not a doctor but I will try and help as best I can.
I am hoping someone would have explained to you that Bu Trans patches are opiates that are used for severe pain. However they arn't effective over the longer term. And I say that from someone who has a chronic pain condition and has used those patches as well as morphine. Short term they're fine but long term not so much.
Any of the opiates affect so many parts of your body, particularly your appetite. You tend to eat less - so you lose weight, move less and it does seem to affect the mood too. It is a 'depressant' so not only does it slow down the brain and thus the body, it depresses your mood. I have put a link to Net Doctor at the end for you so you can have a look at all the side effects that may shed light on some of your symptoms such as dizziness and nausea that you may not have realised. When we are anxious we don't eat so much as the body has gone into 'fight ot flight' mode and depression too affects our appetite.
Anti depressants do work - but sometimes its getting the right one for you. They are not instant and can take a few weeks to lift the chemicals in your brain that make you feel better. They are also recognised as a way to help patients cope with pain better.
However, I would say, if you have had these patches on for more than a couple of weeks, don't just stop using them as your body may go into withdrawal - which is not nice (I've accidentally done that!) and I don't know how that stress on your body would affect your heart. Among other things it will increase your anxiety, nausea, vomitting, cause muscle spams which might increase pain in your hips. Check with your doctor first. If you have already taken it off - don't just put another on before speaking to your GP as you may end up taking too much by putting a new one on before you were due. If you have taken it off - ring your doctor for an emergency appointment today.
There are other pain alternatives that you may want to look up on line. Have they considered Pregabelin? I don't know if that can be used for heart patients but that is a nerve pain killer with anti-anxiety like properties. Duloxetine? Tramadol? cocodamol? Look them up and see whatyou think. Any opiate type pain killer such as those (Pregabelin & Duloxetine are not an opiate though) will cause degrees of what you are experiencing. And there are anti-sickness tablets I am sure you can get - again - check that with your doctor.
It's understandable that you would be having anxiety as you have been through a lot physically and mentally. You were a very active person from what you say and now you are having difficulty being that same person. When our lives change so much it is hard to suddenly change how we did things. Take more time, say 'no' to things, let people help etc.. It is possible both the events, your illness and the medication combined are causing your symptoms and I would hope you have someone you can talk to about that, it helps to reduce the anxiety. Keeping busy and distracted from pain helps reduce it but that's hard when you're not in aposition to get out of bed.
You won't be the same person you were - although people may expect you to be but you and your body have been through a huge trauma. You now have a long term serious heart condition, recovering from surgery and in pain. All those things affect us mentally and how we manage on a day to day basis.
Having grown up in Andreas I also know how isolating that is - although a good place to go for some nice short walks to get you back on your feet - people need to understand that they need to visit you not the other way around. For you to be independent I think it's good that you're postivlly striving for that by considering rehab or sheltered accomodation or somewhere someone is at least on hand should youneed help.
I don't know whether that was helpful or not but I would suggest you contact your doctor today to tell him you have removed the patch and ask is there any risk to your condition from any withdrawal. That is very important that you inform him.
garland91665 eunice42724
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penny54223 eunice42724
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jason07411 penny54223
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eunice42724 penny54223
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I'm still connected to this forum so I do still read any messages I receive. I personally will never use an opiated pain killer again. I'm still waiting for a hip replacement and really struggling to keep going - I'm only using paracetomol as pain relief - it helps but I am still in the most excrutiating pain - operation is imminent hopefully in the next few weeks. I have lived thru some pain in my life but nothing as severe as this - but....... it's better than the way I was using the BuTrans patches and I was also taking co-codomol 15/500 x 2 3 times a day. At first I was ok on them and they did give me pain relief but gradually they made me very ill. I was only on 5mics which my body eventually got used to and this is when the problems started because my body was craving for more - hence all the side effects. It was absolute purgatory - there is no way to describe the obnoxious emotional and physical effects I was suffering - maybe it's me - maybe I have a low tolerance - but whatever I would not recommend to anyone. I have twice recently taken just 15mgs of codeine during the night to try and relieve the pain - omg have I suffered the following day.
It's your choice and I know how desparate it can be especially during the early hours of the morning when you want to sleep but the pain wont let you. You have to weigh up the options. Maybe co-codomol without the BuTrans? I took co-codomol for over 10 years but I was taking more and more which is why I was prescribed BuTrans patches - which is when everything fell apart!
Hope you find the right answer. Good luck. xx
Jan999 eunice42724
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garland91665 eunice42724
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tori63563 garland91665
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eunice42724
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Go for it and good luck. I've been off all opiates since 10 December 2014. I suffered for 4 weeks and it was really hard to get over the withdrawal symptoms but it was so worth it. I'd rather put up with the pain than exist in the state I was in. There is light for me with regards to the pain as I'm just waiting for a date now to have a hip replacement - hopefully within the next 12-14 weeks I've been told.
I went 'cold turkey' but I'm a very strong minded, stubborn and determined person. I would suggest you speak to your doctor and gradually decrease your opiate medication otherwise you will get some terrible withdrawal symptoms.
Good luck - go get your mind and life back.
jason07411 eunice42724
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eunice42724
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I went cold turkey as you have but I was not on as strong a med as you are. I'm not sure if gradually reducing would be easier for you as that would prolong the withdrawal time! Have you contacted drug rehab people in your area - they will help you - you are a victim of prescribed drugs - all done legally and prescribed by your doctor - you should be getting help from the professionals. I found the help I got - albeit just talking to someone at the drug rehab - was invaluable.
well done on getting to day 5 you are almost out of the worst part - it will get better but you will continue to have bad spells but they do get less and less. I'm so glad I did it - I'm myself again and having some fun when I can
keep going - write to me if you need some support I'm only too happy to help you get thru. Good luck. XxE
em55719 eunice42724
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Hello Eunice!
What does were you on, if you dont mind me asking on butrans, and how long had you been taking it? And so happy you feel much better after only 22 days!
I want to too
so thought id ask so i can compare to my dos etc
jason07411 eunice42724
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eunice42724
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penny54223 eunice42724
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jason07411 eunice42724
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eunice42724 jason07411
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Good to hear from you and to hear you are getting there - well done - so pleased for you. Yep you've been thru 'cold turkey' - and come out the other side - I hope life is getting better for you?
I'm doing ok - still waiting for an op date but hopefully I'll get that in the next few weeks. Other than hip pain I'm doing ok - getting out and about as much as I can - meeting friends for lunch etc - life is much better without the opiates !!!!!!
Keep going - keep in touch. xx
jason07411 eunice42724
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RJATWORK345 jason07411
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just found this thread as a suggestion from the site,.. I read through the discussion and boy did i have some flashbacks of some prety rough times. Even beter though was the expiriences you all have had. Truelly going through some kind of hell to get your lives back and you continue to fight for your life and your determination is inspiring. I have been down the opiate path too many times now and i still struggle with the pain and the meds. I am only 32 but have had more then my fair share of medical misfortune starting at age 12. I have since had 15 sugeries and now sit with two knees that are extremely painfull and need to be replaiced however due to my age will not be taken care of for another 10 years possibly. Any way what I wanted to mention was how pain and depression can get the better of us and how sudenlyI found myself right back in that horrible purgatory with the choice of quality of life vs the short term withdrawel effects i was far too familar with. I do want to mention the first time i stopped opiate pain medications i was in a sorry state. I was 26 yrs old beyond morbidly obese, taking BP medication, antidepresants, gabapentin, anti anxiety meds, couldnt sleep without coming dangerously close to repritory failure, and after i got off the meds i had a Neurologist tell me i had brain damage likely from severe respritory depression. I had comepletely given up on life and did not care if my eyes opened in the morning towards the end truelly thought it would be better if i did not wake up. I thought my wife and son (who was only 10 months) would be better off if i wasnt there to hold them back. I went from a true fighter, someone who has overcome tremendous obsticles (12 surgeries + an infection that paralized me from the chest down, i did regain most function but it took 2 years to jump rope again.) I was one of the lucky ones many people who suffer Transverse Myelitis dont fully recover. With in a year and a half of starting opiate pain management meds I had become a sickly, overweight, self loathing, world hating, spitefull, depressed, misserable person. The meds worked well at first but soon needed constant increases in doses. At the end i was taking 200 mg methadone per day according to my perscription. Which is a phenominal amount but i also began abusing it taking up to 800mg per day.
I notice addiction doesnt seam one of your guys's weeknesses but long term chronic pain can lead you right to that door. Pain and depression can play such a huge role in how we feel. Pain increases depression and deression increases pain a sick cycle that only goes down hill. When introduced to opiates to treat pain I really thought it was the answer. I felt so good, much less pain, and that kinda high feeling all the time i could do what i wanted and not worry about how much it would hurt later. It did not last long before i needed to have an increase i would prob increase every couple months. The longer i was on it and higher doses caused me to slow down living. Could not sleep but i was always tired. Pain was present most of the time. Gained 100 pounds in a year if that dont cause some fatigue I dont know what would. My testosterone levels dropped to close to zero which has its own set of problems. I was ashamed of what i had become so weak unless i over used. It was a hell i was not going to last long in. I could not see past my fear of pain or my fear of failure i was affraid of everything. Kinda froze. I finally had used up all my meds about 2 weeks early and was facing some seriouse withdrawel symptoms so i sought help through a treatment facility. It was a tough detox even with some meds to help. The first week or so there was no way i was going to accept that i just could not use opiates. My head started to clear and I could see how horrible things had become over just a year and a half. I came to my own realization of what i needed to do, and became very very determined to treat my pain without opiates. I did amazingly. My wife left me 2 months after I came home from treatment (which hurt like hell but I servived). Over the following year i had dropped 125 pounds almost half my weight and felt great. I made it 2 and a half years before i started having trouble with my "good knee" my left knee was hopeless since the age of 24 but i had thought my right knee was good but needed to have it scoped and found out it was far worse then i had thought. n There were pain meds with the surgery and for a time after, the meds coupled with a declining mood because of the dissapointing health news lead me back to using opiates and back into severe depression. Dispite all the determination and the absolute idea I had when I got of the opiates my mind slowly worked its way back to that being the solution. Depression and pain can drive a person crazy and I let it bring me down again. I cought myself fairly quickly but the damage had been done. It would take me a while to recover and get back to life with limited pain control.
I am sorry if no one can relate to my story because i became an addict. I still think my expirience could be valuable to someone who has a long road ahead dealing with chronic pain and possibly other health conditions. I just wanted you illistrate how strong pain and depression can be how they can strip away a persons will and their identity by taking away the life someone knows it isolates too. All prime conditions for the opiate "HERO" to step in. At first it seams great you can do more and be more comfortable and your mood seams better until you get used to them and then it just doesnt feel quite right, you become irritable and moody and pain becomes unpredictable until the Doc gives you a little more. Things improve shortly and there you are again discontent and barely getting by. I wanted to share my expirience because it may be similar to what some of you may have to face. I never did any kind of recreational drug or even drank much, but I became a full blown drug addict through completely legal and lagitamate prescriptions. By the time i knew it the damage had been done. I was so certain that I would never open the door to opiates again. I was so sure of what i needed to consider every day as i deal with pain and strugles that I got a tatoo on my forarm that says addict as a reminder of just how important it is for me to stay way from narcotics. Constant pain and depression can weeken ones resolve it can make you forget truths and things that seamed so glaringly clear. ( i am sure addiction had a hand in me going back to the meds but I think not treating my pain and my depression opened the door for me to revisit the same hell i never wanted to be in again)
I really hope I did not bother anyone because my story is also about addiction. I really feel that most people who have chronic pain are going to face the question of am I addicted at some point or they are going so find themselves in the hell of side effects and will face detox and all its unpleasant characteristics. Maybe some one has read these stories and feel they are different because they couldnt go cold turkey. It is a tough decisian even with out having to have to pay for it by getting terribly sick for anywhere from 7 days to 2 months.
I am writting this to everyone who has shared in this discussion and any one who stumbles upon this at any time in the future. No matter how hard today is things can and will get better. There are so many people who can help through this site. You may feel like the only one but you are not. Others can help. Share with someone. Please,,Set aside your pride, your fear, your shame. This site has helped me so so much just in the past couple months.
Thank you eveyone for listening and sharing
Sincerely RJ
jason07411 RJATWORK345
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vix66 RJATWORK345
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Write a book! I would buy it
Seriously your story is sad and inspirational, but has a lot of meaning that I am sure would help many people.
I have only been on these patches for a couple of months but I stoped them 3 days ago and I am suffering, but onwards and upwards. I think I am an addictive person so best I stop them now.
Good luck RJ xx
colin93220 RJATWORK345
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