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We have been told not to flush other drugs so why flush the patches? Won't these also end up in the drinking water eventually? You need to come up with a better soultion, like taking them off the market completely as they don't work anyway.
Making a statement like "they don't work anyway" is just plain wrong. Every medication works differently for each individual and just because it doesn't work for you, doesn't mean it won't work for someone else. I and several other people I know, have found them to be very effective in fighting certain types of pain.
thanks for the info, karen! wasn't it just a short while ago, they recalled the 25mg. and the 50mg.? i am currently using the 75 mg. ( really hasn't helped much lately w/ my chronic back pain, they are always falling off, or half way off, with the warm weather) wonder when they are going to recall the 75's?? they should just take these off the market all together, in my opinion and prescribe something oral. therre is only one kind from one manufacture that i have tried that sometimes do stay on, i had problems with others that the pharmicist, said were a cheaper brand and they NEVER stuck...hate being in pain and on top of it paying for something that doesn't work. and try to tell the dr. that they felll off, so they can be replaced...doesn't happen, they just tell you to wear them longer, yeah that works...whenthey don't even stay on!!! cindi
in response to your post..if you get a hold of Janssen Company, who is the maker for the Duragesic brand "Patches" the will send you, FREE of charge Bioclusive Site Covers, which you apply right over the patches and they keep them from comin off. and they do work. My husband is a user of the patches and he is also a profuse sweater and takes several baths in a day for pain control, and the covers do not come off. the 800 Number you could try is this 800-526-7736, and tell them you need something to keep your patchers from coming off due to sweating and humidity.
Good Luck
My problem has made me crazy. My insurance provider will not cover the name brand Duragesic. Sandoz is completely out of the patches!! So my pharmacy gave me the Mylan brand. They would not stay on; then I got paranoid and started thinking they weren't even working when I tried taping them on. Needless to say I am looking for an alternative. I just heard of the Watson brand. I use 2 75mcg. patches every 2 days and it has helped me tremendously! (until this recent episode!) The fentanyl patches have changed my life. The most frustrating thing though is that I am now IMMUNE to any other narcotic! These are so strong that my tolerance evidently is sky high. For me the patches are "safer" to use than oxycontin, which I was tempted to abuse on occasion.
According to the FDA's list of approved drugs, in addition to Mylan and Watson, the following manufacturers make fentanyl patches in the dosage you use:
Lavipharm Labs
Actavis
Teva Pharms
Noven
I hope that helps you find a brand that will work well for you.
You might also want to look into whether an intrathecal pain pump could be an option for you. It's an implanted device that delivers pain medication directly into the spine around the clock. Because the medication goes straight into the spine, much, much smaller doses can give greater pain relief. Here's a link to more info: Pain Pump We also have a great pain pump discussion group on our forum if you want to hear from people who are using the pump.
(Note: If you've never been to the forum before, you'll have to register separately from your registration here on ChronicPainConnection. You can, however, use the same e-mail address and password if you like to make it easier to remember.)
The advice to dispose of defective fentynol patches by flushing them in the toilet is extremely irresponsible. That allows the medication to eventually get into the ground water, especially in the case of any flooding. Testing in the lakes and rivers in the state of Iowa has found alarmingly high amounts of medications and this is becoming a danger 
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This isn't the first time these patches have been recalled. Several years ago, before I had the intrathecal pump implanted, a similar recall involving leakage was announced. In this case, the leakage resulted in my having an inadequate dose of medication which resulted in very unpleasant opiate withdrawal symptoms.
Also, in a humd climate like Hawaii, I found it difficult to keep the patches properly adhered to the skin so I used additional tape to cover and keep them in place. I found them fairly effective in controlling my chronic back pain but they were relatively inconvenient to use and the recall caused me to abandon them completey and switch to oral medications.