Fentanyl Withdrawl

September 12, 2004

Heidi,

You wrote, " Twice now I've forgotten to put a new Duragesic patch ... within

12 hours of going without the patch, I've gone into

terrific problems with limb restlessness...Will taking another faster acting

analgesic like my Oxycodone help relieve this? "

I have experienced Fentanyl withdrawal symptoms also. I have found myself

without my patches on more than one occasion. Sometimes, the patch will come off

in the shower, or roll off with my socks, etc. Before I know it, several hours

have past and I realize I failed to replace them. It is a horrible feeling.

For a long time I did not realize that 'restless leg syndrome' was one of the

symptoms of Fentanyl withdrawal.

The problem with trying to take another fast acting Opiod is that it is a

different class than Fentanyl. It will help the pancreatic pain until the patch

kicks in, but it won't effectively treat the restless legs / spasms. The good

thing about having the Fentanyl oral lozenges on a stick is that they, of

course, will help. On the other hand, I have found that a small dose of

Methadone

(10 mg) is the best thing to treat the pain in the absence of Fentanyl.

Morphine doesn't help mucha nd neither does Oxycontin.

You know what's weird about these leg muscle and nerve problems, and other

joint pain that I get from pancreatitis, and the potential muscle and joint

aches from the Zocor I take to treat my cholesterol all start getting confused

and

I can't tell which is which.

Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

Pancreatitis Association International

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