Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Wednesday, October 01, 2008 hurting36 asks

Q: Recent Fentanyl25 patch user,but had 2 that had to be disposed of.will make me short on my script.

Was prescribed 10 patches(25mch) on Sept. 19. First patch had no clue what I was doing and it folded in half,could not salvage.On the third application,2 days in,taking a shower and fell off. I also have Norco 10/325 3 times a day for breakthrough pain. I have DDD,3 bulging in lower back, and have losing bladder control for 2 weeks off and on.Pain Dr. is aware and very understanding.  My problem is I don't go back until Oct. 17. I will be short 2 patches equalling 6 days without. Do I call and explain,worried about what he will think,but also worried about withdrawal. I'm still in alot of pain and Dr. had said would probably up dosage next visit. I'm just confused on what to do. On the literature it says dont worry if you damage, or if a patch falls off,they say just put another one on. But like I said I will be short. PLEASE help with some feedback. Sorry so long,but everyone on this site is great so I hope you will understand.

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Answers (3)
10/ 2/08 7:07am

You might be in for a rough ride unless you have a very understanding Pain Doctor, and have not pulled this stuff before! If you keep coming up short on your pain medication, they are going to catch on real quick, because everyone uses the same reasons, I lost the bottle, someone stole the pills, the drug store must have shorted me, and in your case, the patch had no glue. That one is a new ne, I have not heard that or had that happen when I had been on the patch, but they did fall off of me every other day. In the shower, if I got hot, they just did not stay on my skin at all past 2 days at the most.

 

This has happened to me before, the company that makes the patches has a toll free number on the box, or inside the box on the paper that comes ith it. They have a speciel larger patch that goes on top of the pain patch and it is supposed to hold the medicated patch on for the 72 hours. Some people, the medication goes into them quicker then the 72 hours, Sometimes its all gone in 60 hours, They call that rapid injestion at the medical company that amkes the patch. The first thing i'd do , is call the company that makes the oatch and tell them your problems this month. Explain both situations to them so you have it documented. Plus, they are going to send you the patches that cover the pain patch through either DHL or UPS overnight. They pay for them and they have 50 patches in each box. They do the job well. Now, for the gleu not being on the patch problem, I hope you kept it! There is no reason not to, you need that so you can prove to your Doctor this has taken place, and the other one had fallen off in the shower, and he must give you a script for 2 patches to get you through the 6 days at the end of the month. The bottom line is, if you are a trusting perosn, and you have not had these problems often, your Doctor is going to believe you and take care of your problem. And if you come out and tell him you have called the company on your own and told them about your troubles, he's going to relize your not some junky looking for an extra fix, you have had these problems and he or she can trust you. I have dealt with severe chronic pain for 12 years. I have gone through this bul;shit so many time with total idiots for Doctors that I used to think it is better off not going through this stuff, and to just end it here and now! But the great thing is, they have come out and made pain something people actually have and have made it a priority. So, if you do the things I have told you, call the company explain the glue issue, tell them about the other patch falling off, they are going to take your information and do an incident report on it. Because they might have a bad batch of patchs, and the keep track of that stuff. And, get them to send you the covers for the pain patches, at there cost, they are not going to charge you a thing. If all this gets done, call you Doctor and let them in on ths situation, tell them everything, and you also stated your pain is not being controled with the current patch? If not, bring that up asap, tell them the same time you call the office and ask for the 2 replacment patches, tell them he has to go to the 50 size patch, or the 75. They go up to 100, I used to have 2 sizes at one time, The 100, and a 25. All I did is sleep! Then, if I got in the shower, with in 15 hoursm they are coming off. I just got off them and I take something that works great for me. No more running out of pills early, nothing. The pill I take is grat. But like I said ,be up front and honest, and they should take care of you as long as it is not a problem that seems to happen quite often. Plus, the last thing you need is to have withdrawls for the last 5 days. That is no joke when your on Fentynl. that is the strongest medication for pain you can take. If you have any questions, just ask, I'll try and help. Good luck and I hope I helped without sounding like an idiot!

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10/ 2/08 11:23pm

I've had this problem with the patches also.  When they give me the "small" patches, they fall off quicker and don't seem to have the same amount of adhesive.  However, when they give me the "larger" patches, they last a lot longer, and seem to have more medicine in them.  I don't know why this is. The prescription is written the same, and supposedly filled the same way.  I just know that when I go back for a new prescription, I will request the pharmacy to fill the patches with the bigger patches.   I use a small pharmacy for my pain medicines, and when I have a problem with the patches, I usually just take the patch back to them and explain what happened.  They have exchanged some of the patches, but they won't do it very often.  I've tried talking with my doctor about this problem, but he doesn't hear things.  (He has a god-like complex)  His assistant has said that I should use some type of tape over the patch, to try and hold the patch on longer.

Hope this helps some.

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1/ 9/09 11:40am

I had no problem with the patch. It stays on Make sure you you put in on clean skin. Been wearing it for year . If you are just starting with the pach give it a chance ti work. My pain has gotten worse now I use it every other day. Much better. Good luck.

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