Fentanyl withdrawal is inhumane
Posted , 53 users are following.
I am currently on day 22 of a fentalyl detox ... after the forst 3 days of punching my self in the face and wanting to end life a drup called lofexidine took away a percentage of the pain. It takes 16 weeks to get righ again if your renal system has not been damaged by the dependence. I had a year of chemo, radio and surgery in 2011 causing this to be prescribed and this withdrawal experience has bee worse than that entire year. Fentanyl should only be used in palative care or to end of life use, If you can stand the paranoia , innumeracy, and alarming spending habits it creates. Actually I never found it to be a great painkiller but its hard to admit during the intial euphoria it creates. which you quickly get used to. DONT TAKE FENTANYL it is so pure and strong it will destroy your natural happy systems forever. The NHS knoe how to prescribe it but no idea how to get you off it, Forget the fliue like withdrawal systems its brutal and dangerous and flue very pleasant by comparison. I hope taking the time to do this stops just one person taking.
7 likes, 253 replies
louis27061 harvey81891
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ripper69 louis27061
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What protein mix are you using? I want to start on some, but I don't know what to buy. There are so many! Do you put anything in it? Everyone talks about a green shake being so good for you.
ripper69 harvey81891
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I hope you appreciate how many hoops I just jumped through to register and then find your information again! Anyway, I have been on Fentanyl for several years because of cancer. Then it was upped because an idiot doctor rushed me into unnecessary hip surgery and mess up both hips. The lied about it, of course. Anyway, I did some questioning since my husband and sisters are doctors and through this long cancer battle I have had a million doctors. I am now upped to 100 but I am having terrible hot flashes etc so plan to back down again. There are a couple of things I want to say, but they might not apply to you.
When I asked my doctor why people (like a sister of mine) wanted to take more and more and get such pleasure from opiods in general, he said that it was our body chemistry. I hate the stuff and only take it because I have to. Does it make me happy or give me Euphoria? No. It kills the pain somewhat but messes with my digestive system. I like it because I can live with the pain and it is easy. It just sticks on my arm. However there are lots of people, and you might be one, whose reaction is totally different. They get a high at the same time they are free of pain so they don't want it to end. The government and whoever don't seem to be able to figure out that people are different and how their bodies react are different. On my journey I went from 50 to 75 back to 50, back to 75 and now 100 after the surgery. However I am miserable with these hot flashes so I am going to back up again. Now as I backed up and got off stuff (and there has been lots of it) I just took a little less and a little less. While I was in my long hospital stay I talked to a lot of nurses who had family members with bad chronic pain that were on all sorts of stuff. But the government walked in, and in order to feel like they were doing something, told doctors that everyone they had on some kind of pain medication had to be reduced by 85%. One old wonderful pain doctor I had told me when I ran into him a year ago that he was sorry he became a doctor. He looked old and harrassed. Just as people don't react the same to getting on something like Fentanyl, they don't react the same when they get off. Because of all the hysterics over people taking too much opiod medications, the wrong people are telling us how to fix ourselves. I do wonder if you could have found a better way to get on and off the stuff if you had a doctor who did not feel he was being told what to do by the government and by standards that didn't work for you. I have found that this past 2 years with my messed up hip surgeries done by doctors who wanted to look good and therefore refused to take any advice from pain doctors, has been difficult and the doctors who give me pain medication are standing on their heads and have not done a good job of regulating my pain or my medication. And they lie about it. You would not believe the stuff they have given to me trying to get me off what I was on. I did get off and then back on fentanyl without any effects. Now we shall see how I do getting back off now. I have to do something because this sweating and heatstoke stuff leaves me unable to live my life.Getting off the fentanyl didn't affect me at all, but they put me on methadone instead, which surprised me. Several people had their jaw drop when I told them and the next doc immediately switched it back. I feel terrible that it clobbered you. I do feel their are ways to deal with chronic pain with medications that don't leave you with pain or terrible withdrawal symtoms. Your point is well taken to listen to others and to listen to other doctors. I found that most of the pain doctors were caring people who knew what they were doing. But strange things are happening now. A "break through" pain pill that I had just in case, but never took much, was given to cancer doctors only and the pain doctors (who knew about how to do it) were told not to give it. I went to my oncologist and he said he didn't know anything about it and wasn't going to perscribe it and sent me to another pain doctor.
To sum it up, no everyone has the good and bad reactions that we have had. You have to be followed up by a pain specialist that is caring and know what he is doing. You need to ask questions--lots of them-- and I did lots or praying. Don't take pain medication lightly, but if someone is in a lot of pain, there are a lot of things out there if taken correctly can help--as well as surgeries etc. I wish you well and hope if you have any more problems, that you find a doctor that understands you and your body and metabolism and can help you more than hurt you as they did in the past.
ripper69
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louis27061 ripper69
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ripper69 louis27061
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Louis, that is very good advice. To follow up, I found I still had some 75s and I just put one on instead of my 100. I did pretty well, I thought. My hot flashes are very isolated now. My problems is that my cancer gave me 8 compression fractures and my hips are still messed up. So my exercise routine isn't what it ought to be.I know this is mainly a group of people that believe that Fentanyl is a curse, but do realize that it isn't for everyone. As you said, you have to rule the patch, but really your whole body and your medication. My second child was born without her esophogas attached. She has surgery the day she was born and had every complication known to man through her early years. A friend visited me in the hospital and said her advice was (after having 2 chronically ill children) that I was ultimately responsible for what happens to my daughter. I needed to do what I felt was right even if it was standing in the hall and making a scene. That advice saved my daughter's life more than once, and I did end up in the hall of a hospital making a scene, but they did get a doctor there! But it is advice I have also learned to use for myself. Get second opinions, Ask questions. If you don't feel right about a doctor, go to another one. Find one that listens. Don't take medication if you don't feel right about it. Ask for alternatives. I don't mean act like you know everything, but I have started telling doctors that if they will explain it all to me, then I am much more likely to go along with what they say. If they come in with the attitude of "because I said so" then I tell them I want another doctor! Ask if the doctor has your interest at heart. This surgeon that did my hips didn't have my interest at heart. He pressured me and it moved so fast I broke my own rules. Never again. My cancer is not curable. It is in my bones and they can treat it and try to keep it somewhat controlled for as long as possible, but they don't consider it curable. When it gets out of control it is very painful. I don't believe that fentynal is some evil poison that I should never take. I don't plan on living me last days on this earth in terrible pain because someone says I should. My son, the doctor, had some good advice. He said if you are not feeling any pain, you are taking too much. If you feel pain, but you can manage it, you are probably taking the dose that is about right for you. You have to choose what you can life with. It is about quality of life. This stuff has side-effects and for some people the medication is beyond what they can stand. For me, not so much. The pain is worse than my side effects. When I don't like something, I tell the doctor and ask to change it. It has worked for me.
brenjane60 harvey81891
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After 2 months of being off my patch I went back to my doctor yesterday because I thought I was gravely ill. If I was a dog I think my owner would have euthanized me. She told me that what I was going thru after being on the patch for 8 years was the same thing a heroin user would be going thru and that to not give them methadone for life would be inhumane. She put me back on my patch. I cried. She told me I had been on it so long that my body had forgot how to do things for itself, and possibly would never remember. But that I had gave it a good strong valiant effort. She said be glad you are off morphine and off of the pain pump you once had and don't be so hard on yourself. But thats hard. And I wish I had never put the first patch on. Because now it seems to be my destiny if I want any quality of life at all. And that makes me really sad
ripper69 brenjane60
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I have been on the patch for a while because of the cancer. Once I went on vacation and forgot the patches. I found a doctor who would give me a couple to make it through until I went home. When I told me pain doctor I had forgotten them he was VERY concerned and said that I could not stop them cold turkey. He said it could kill me! I was not alarmed at that because I have taken a lot of different drugs and there are a lot that tell you to wean off of them. He told me if it ever happened to go to the emergency room. Several years later I went back to this same doctor who switched me to methadone. I was rather shocked by that but he said he didn't think the patches were working if I was still hurting. For other reasons I went to a pain doctor that was linked to my oncologiest who immediately took me off the methadone. I have weaned myself up and down on the doses of the patch. I am not sure why she didn't suggest that. I have gone from 100 to 75 to 50 with very little ill feelings. I don't know what dosage you are on, but if your body needs to relearn how to function, why not let it relearn it a little at a time? The patches come in all sorts of strengths. There is also the question of how many days you keep it on before changing it. I have forgotten to change it and gone a couple of days beyond that without realizing it. After a while, I recognize the withdrawal symptoms. But there are ways to cut down a little at a time. If you are not in pain, I would think with the right kind of help you should be able to just wean yourself off instead of just quitting and setting your body into shock. Why don't you find another doctor and another until you find someone who will worth with you. We are military and I am so used to changing doctors. Some know what they are doing and some don't. There is no room to give examples, but trust me--second and third opinions are a great help.
harvey81891 ripper69
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Be strong
Harvey
harvey81891
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Kris69 harvey81891
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Hey Harvey81891!
Congrats on the detox... The 1st 22 days are the nastiest I'm sure. It will be A year this Sept I've been fentanyl free, out of the system. Last summer from May - Aug. was spent indoors, on the couch overwhelmed by sickness, sweats, irritability, and being miserable. I can't even describe the hopelessness & have actually sort of forgotten the entire withdrawal feeling. I started getting shots of emotional joy back throughout the weaning by 12% less patch every 2wks. and it have me hope that my brain was returning to normal. The pain meds are now 2700mg of gabapentin daily, and I take 9 - 12 Tylenol 1's on top of that, instead of one simple patch. The good thing is I'm fentanyl free, bad news is I feel the pain now and am basically on my own to deal with chronic pain from a neck injury in 2009. But my mind & overall quality of life has improved 98%, and t feels good to have beaten fentanyl.
Opioids are the only thing in my opinion that temporarily kills chronic pain (unfortunately). There are opioids that do not "f" you up as severely as fentanyl, or cannibis topical/oral products out there to calm the pain. I am doing lot of research in hopes to find the answer. Keep up the awesome work, it's so worth it!
Cleo2017 Kris69
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Well done Kris and a massive congratulations on being fentanyl free. At the moment I'm reducing from 50 mcg to 35 mcg every 72 hours, and I feel so depressed, I've got bad thoughts in my head, t I'm feeling i can't continue like this, headaches, nausea, severe pain, very bad muscle spasms, it just goes on, I just feel so ill. I've never felt so bad in my entire life, and I've been through a lot. It's worse than malaria. Leading up to a major spinal operation they put me on fentanyl, over 5 years ago and since the failed op I've been so much worse with the pain and muscle spasms as a consequence. The reason for my reduction just over two weeks ago, was by day 2 of the patch, I was in severe pain and severe spasms and thought this wasn't right. The doctor reduced my patch, but I can't believe what I'm going through, I had no idea i was going to live a hell of a nightmare like this. Your saying the first 22 days are the nastiest, I'm so afraid and can't even imagine another further reduction of the patch at some point I hope. Some excellent advice by Melissa was to fold the patch over and reduce it that way. I am on lots of other pain killers, but not much seems to be working. Any advice is really appreciated, I'm scared.
melissa7471 Cleo2017
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Vicky,
Please let me clarify something. I don;t know anything about "folding" the patch. I believe what I said was that I "taped" my patches. I used scotch tape and would put a strip on my patch. I kept doing it until the last of the patch was used. It was much better than going 25 mcg at a time. The withdrawals are still difficult, but I know you can do it. SO many times I wanted to quit but so glad I hung in there. I'm no longer a prisoner to Fent. But - just to reiterate, I don't know anything about folding the patches. Hang in there! You got this!!
Melissa
PS - What part of the world are you in? I'm in FL (well, right now in GA)
Cleo2017 melissa7471
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Hi Melissa, I am very very sorry, it is entirely my mistake, you did say about taping the patches but in mind I was imagining folding and taping the patch. Now I am understanding, you just put the scotch tape on the patch in a strip little by little. I am trying to hang in there, as I don't want to be a prisoner to fentanyl for the rest of my life. I live in the U.K. Well done for your massive achievement, you are an excellent example. Hugs Vicky
don84131 Cleo2017
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I think something else is wrong here, a 15mcg decrease should not do what your experiencing. You said you take other Pain Meds too, Right?
It could be one of those causing you these problems. I’ve studied all the different type pain Meds, I wouldn’t take anything unless I knew exactly what it was. So please listen to me, talk to your doctor about SUBUTEX.. NOT SUBOXONE.. SUBUTEX is a Pain Med I used years ago to get off Morphine when I thought it was rebound pain from Meds. Subutex will take away all your withdrawal symptoms, I guarantee it. It will take your doctor to figure out Dosage as he/She weems you off the Fentanyl. The Max Dose Of SUBUTEX is 4 - 8mg per day, you let them dissolve under your tongue for at least 20 minutes, then swallow... Do not spit out like they say you can, it does make a difference. Your symptoms will be gone around 10 minutes but keep ( Now all liquid) under your tongue for the entire 20 minutes. Please let me know how this works for you if you choose to go this route.. each SUBUTEX should cost you about $3.50 each, Insurance will not pay for this Med..
Good luck and there’s no need for you to suffer this much.
Maybe a New and Better Doctor would benefit your future.