Re: duragesic patches - Angie

[Guest guest]

Angie,

Hopefully you'll have a quick response with the patches. Your doctor

has taken the suggested conservative approach with promise of

additional increases as needed, and that's great. She sounds as

though she's really interested in finding a solution for you, and

medication that you can tolerate, and that kind of treatment is hard

to find and important to keep.

I use a 75 mcg. Duragesic patch now. For the several months prior to

the beginning of summer I was only needing to use the 50 mcg. patch,

and was contemplating a decrease to the 25 mcg. However, after all

that pain and continuation of misery that began on Father's Day and

wouldn't quit, my PM doctor raised me up to the 75 mcg. two weeks ago.

He said there was no sense in being in pain all the time when an

increase might be all I needed for a while. I'm thinking of going

back down to the 50 mcg. again on my next appointment, since I've only

used 30 mgs. of the oxycodone in the past three weeks.

When I'm only needing that small of a dosage of BT meds, it usually

indicates that the patch is doing more than enough work, and that a

decrease is feasible. Fortunately, there seems to be no adverse

reactions or side effects whenever I increase or decrease this

medication in 25 mcg. stages....just another reason why I like it.

The only difficulty I've had is keeping the patches on, especially in

this hot and humid weather where all over skin perspiration is

constant and I'm swimming nearly every day. I ran out of the

Bioclusive overlays, and there was a 3 week delay in my reorder, but

they called me today to let me know that they were express mailing my

order so they would be here by the end of the week. Whew! That's

great news for me since I've had a dickens of a time keeping them

adhered these last several weeks.

If you notice any itching around the skin where you've applied your

patch, just let me know and I can tell you some of the tricks I know

to get rid of the itching. Some people get it really bad and can't

even use the patch because of that reason. Fortunately, I'm not one

of them!

Glad that it's working for you so far!

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

hhessgriffeth@...

www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

SC State & SE Regional Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or

opinion only, and should not be substituted for professional medical

consultation.

[Guest guest]

Heidi,

My doc upped me to 50 mcg. the day after my first application of the patch.

It was not working well, she knew it probably wasn't going to and said to give

it 12 - 24 hours and see how it worked and then we would increase. I did that

and I think that it is better but I am still having to use more of my

breakthrough med than she wants me to so I think the 75 will be the answer. She

said

to try and wait until Monday and that then she would increase it again.

I did not have any itching until I took the patches off and replaced them

today. I don't know if it is just because of the adhesive residue still on my

skin or what it could be. It is not bad, it is not red or inflamed at all. Any

ideas for the itching would be greatly appreciated.

What are the bioclusive overlays? I do like to swim in the summer but now

that I am back at work I don't have the time to swim during the week. I would

like more info on them if you don't mind telling me about them. Are they

prescription or can I pick them up at the pharmacy?

I like the patch so far. I haven't had a headache since I started on it and

it doesn't have the side affects the oxycontin did. I have been a little more

sleepy since we upped my dose. I know that it will just take time for my body

to adjust.

Thanks for all the info!

Angie in SC

" The happiest of people don't necessarily have the

best of everything; they just make the best of everything that comes along

their way. "

[Guest guest]

Angie,

I'm glad that you haven't had any annoying side effects. You

mentioned the itching AFTER you took off the patch and replaced it.

You aren't putting the replacement patch on the same place, are you?

If you did replace the patch on the same area of skin where you'd

just taken it off of, that would itch! Each time you apply a new

patch you need to place it in a new location. I rotate between four

different places on my back, and have never had a problem.

A way to remove the adhesive residue is to rub over the area with

rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball or the tip of a washcloth. You may

have to rub rather vigorously, 'cause that adhesive is strong stuff.

Another way I remove the residue is to soak in a hot tub for a long

time, and then roughly rub over the area with a towel when I get out

- that always works!

The manufacturer's say that it's more effective if worn above the

waist, and it should be placed on a flat area. Since I wear tank

style, sleeveless tops or a bathing suit 90% of the time down here

in Sweatland, the only place left where I can wear it without it

being seen is on my lower back.

One thing you can do to avoid any itching is to spray Benadryl spray

on the area where you plan to place the patch. Let it dry about 5

minutes before applying the patch. I don't recommend trying to use

any of the generic anti-itch or antihistimine sprays....I tried this,

and they didn't work at all, in fact, they made the area slippery,

instead!

If you are using a Duragesic brand fentanyl patch, you can get free

Bioclusive overlays to apply over it. These overlays are only

available to people that use the Duragesic patches, and aren't

available to those who use the generic Myland ones. The overlays

are larger than the patches and go over the patch, and will protect

it and keep it from coming off. They stick so well that it's

actually quite difficult to remove them when it's time to change the

patch, but it's worth it, since once the patches get wet they are

useless and can't be used. Are the patches you use Duragesic? If so,

call 1-, and follow all the prompts. That's the number

for Janssen Pharmaceutical Products, distributors of the Duragesic

patch. They will send you a free three month supply of the overlay

patches in the mail.

I hope the 75 mcg. will be the one that works for you. I tried both

the generic Myland patches and the Duragesic patches, and did find

that the generic ones didn't seem to work that well for me. I was

very disappointed, since I thought they'd be the same, but they

weren't, for me, at least. My doctor had warned me that he'd read

that there were some problems with the others, so he always makes

sure that my script says " no generic substitution " . That way my

insurance company can't complain and try to supplement with the generic.

If you have any other questions about it, please let me know.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

hhessgriffeth@...

www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

SC State & SE Regional Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or

opinion only, and should not be substituted for professional medical

consultation.