My husband and I are trying to figure out what I should do...
I'm in pain and am not sure if I should use my FIRST Fentanyl patch and hope it kicks in and works, OR take some medicine and not start my patch. The medicine isn't very affective anymore b/c of my tolerance--hence the patch. How long once you stick the first patch on do you have to wait for relief?
2007-11-28 16:41:35 · 4 answers · asked by dmbdreamgrl 3 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Pain & Pain Management
I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. It's where all the vertebrae in your spine and several other parts of your body (lungs, SI joints etc) might eventually fuse together and make it unable to bend or turn your head, fusing of the lungs might suffocate a person. I'm definitely not taking the patch for a broken foot or a torn ligament. I also have Fibromyalgia and can't get around very well on my own unless I have something controlling the pain. Today the patch started working, but I had a bad reaction to some medication that my doc gave me and my tongue broke out in lesions and my eyes were swollen. The doc said I have iritis and gave me some drops for my eyes. . But the patch has helped. I can still feel pain, but that's going to be the case for life. At least it helps give me SOME relief. Thanks for your responses.
2007-11-29 11:35:51 · update #1
I still didn't say what the pain was for in regards to A.S. Your muscles work to protect the bones from fusion. It's called enesthesis and it SUCKS.
2007-11-29 11:37:44 · update #2
Do the patch believe me it will help a lot better and last a lot lot longer. Good luck and i know how pain can be a pain in the Butt. But you have the right meds. So you should be okay for at least 72 hours or depending on the strength of the patch. I hope i have made you feel alittle at ease even though you are in pain.
DJ JOJO
2007-11-28 19:02:30 · answer #1 · answered by djjojo 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It can take up to 18 hours for the fentanyl patch to reach it's full affect. I could not take it as it gave me a racing heart. It is very effective if you can take it. It is very addicting and I would not take it if I had a condition which could be fixed, I would deal with the pain. I have a condition which is inoperable which morphine didn't help with either so I am on a very high dose of methadone and find it quite effective. Since you say you have developed tolerance I assume you are already dependent on opiates. If you have something that you are always going to have you are always going to be dealing with tolerance and having to up your dose. I have been a chronic pain patient since '79 and have dealt with a lot.
2007-11-28 22:56:42 · answer #2 · answered by Born2Bloom 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Umm if you were prescribed the Fentanyl Patch then you should have started using it in the Docs office and all other pain killing drugs withdrawn? You never leave Fentanyl Patches lying around unused, as they have found their way out onto the streets, and street drugs.
2007-11-29 05:16:46 · answer #3 · answered by gillianprowe 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Go to: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/fentanyl.htm
Hope this helps you.
2007-11-28 17:14:13 · answer #4 · answered by tlb5859 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋