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Fentanyl Withdraw Advice - Urgent

Posted , 9 users are following.

shawnkatt1
shawnkatt1

 Hi folks... I'll try to be brief. I'm a 52 year old female. Fit, active. Never have been addicted to anything I guess until now, I'm sad to say. 

Severe neck pain in early 2000 resulted in a failed cervical fusion in 2009. And that resulted in increased pain as my hardware shifted and my spinal cord Is being compressed.

I'm in a rural area in WV, known for opioid/drug abuse and a high number of drug-related deaths. If was accepted into a pain clinic not far from my home. I began a series of injections, dry needling, ablation, physical therapy, yoga... You know the drill. Ended up on Percocet for a few years and they became less helpful. Enter the fentanyl patch.

Started on 12.5 every 48 hours and ended up on 75mcg of the Mylan brand every 48 hours. It certainly helped, and continued helping for a couple of years.

Last year legislation passed new regulations for our state due to the high incidence of abuse and deaths. My pain Dr. relocated too far away for me to follow him. I met with my new Dr. (Or Nurse Practioner I believe) a week or two and was informed I would no longer receive ANY patches in ANY dose, just my Percocet. That's it. I was speechless and scared. Expressed my fear of withdrawal to her and after much back and forth she did give me clonidine. 

I never failed a monthly pill count, never missed one appointment, and never failed a scheduled or random urinalysis. She says it was just new policy, because in their opinion my neck "shouldn't hurt that much."

So, I strategically cut the remaining patches into smaller and smaller sections every 48 hours. And as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm really sick right now, and scared, and tearful.

I'm have sweats with intermitant chills that are so bad I was covered in 5 layers this morning. Very bad diarrhea, minimal appetite. I am trying to stay hydrated. My B/P it's usually in the good-low range. It's running very high. Bottom# in upper 90's or lie 100's. Pulse very high. Heart palpitations, panic attacks, bad night sweats. Very runny nose and crazy yawning.

I'm take no other meds other minipress as needed for nightmares.. Prescribed years ago. 

I'm den new to one corner of the 75mcg patch. I would estimate its 18mcg's and put it on thus a.m.

Any feedback or suggestions wold be wonderful. How long will this last? Should I do anything differently? Am I in danger at this point?

Thank you all in advance!

 

2 likes, 23 replies

23 Replies

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  • shawnkatt1
    shawnkatt1

    Posted

    Hi folks,

    Just wanted to check in.. I'm 6 days patch-free. Feeling a bit better each day, but still a lot of withdrawal symptoms. Benadryl, hot baths, Imodium and Pedialyte popsicles are my saviors! Very moody, snappy, tearful... God bless the hubs.

    Thank you all so much for the support.

    I'll be in touch ? 

    • Actiquser
      Actiquser shawnkatt1

      Posted

      Well Done, you are over the worst now. Make sure you get rid of any left over patches, give them back to a pharmacy for safe disposal.

      Try increasing your activities to get your endorphine levels up, exercise if you can, the sweats/shivers lessen as the days progress. Tears are common and often you will not even know why you are crying. Its just the brain chemistry re adjusting and it often stops just as quickly as it starts. You are lucky to have such a caring partner to support you. Let us know at what day you feel the withdrawal subside so it may help others on their journey.

      Lots of warm hugs.

    • Pointer99
      Pointer99 Actiquser

      Posted

      Absolutely, well done.

      I had all kinds of weird sensations and emotions when I quit the ft. Even 10 days later I would cry for no reason (I'm 41 yr old guy and guys "aren't meant to cry". It's just not like me at all.) also the super-sensitivity, jumpy to small noises etc.. it will all pass if it hasn't, and if you have had them. 

      Stick in there, you're on the home straight!!!!

  • shawnkatt1
    shawnkatt1

    Posted

    Hi friends,

    I'm noticing a TON of hair loss in the past few weeks since dc'ing the Fentanyl! Anyone else have this  as a result of stopping the patch? My hair was thick and now it's thinned out by about 1/2.  😔😔

    • Actiquser
      Actiquser shawnkatt1

      Posted

      Hi shawnkatt, I too have lost more than half my hair. It was very noticable as I have very long hair. It was rather depressing reminding me of results of my chemotherapy. When I look at old pictures now I realise just how much my hair has thinned. I dismissed it being due to my low level of vitamin D amonst other things so am getting bloods checked out this week. I see a dietician every 4 weeks and during my fentanyl withdrawal she could not answer why my hair was falling out.

      On a more positive note you should be over the worst by now and how are you doing. Remember you will get hyperanalgesia and suffer from all sorts of random pains but it settles down. Its your brains response to not getting what it wants.

      I am finally seeing a pain psychologist this week (6 mth wait) with a view to doing a 12 week course on pain management. They have an initial assesment with a pharmacist to see your pain is stable with current drugs !!!! A group meeting to see if this is suitable for individuals and they want to participate. I just hope its not a mindfulness course as I went to one 18mths ago when I was diagnosed with 2 compressed fractures of vertebra in my spine (radiation damage) and couldn't sit for long and they sat all the time, so I only attended once.

      I spoke to the pain psychologist yesterday and he seemed understanding so I'll let you all know how I get on.

      Good luck with your fentanyl abstinance and warm hugs.

    • shawnkatt1
      shawnkatt1 Actiquser

      Posted

      Thank you for the encouraging words!

      So pleased to be able to say there is definitely light at the end of this tunnel.

      My BP has normalized, aches and pains are subsiding, not as tearful or "as" grumpy. Belly issues are not as pronounced. Eating a little more each day. Still some tachycardia and insomnia. Fatigue is getting progressively better.

      It's a rough ride folks, but with support from this group, from my hubs, and pcp I realized it was doable. Baby steps each day!

      16 days patch-free and counting ?

  • margaret67943
    margaret67943 shawnkatt1

    Posted

    Just joined and read your message. How are you doing? Did you go to an emergency room? They can help and refer you to a competent pain doc to titrate you more humanely. That's where I'm headed.....my doc just put me into a similar situation; and I'm on chemo!

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