[eskielover]

I have migraines that have not been able to be controled by any procedures or meds except for the 200ug of Duragesic Fentynal that I have been on for over a year. The blood tests are fine, & I haven't had any migraine pain since I have used these patches.

I read the information pamplet from the pharmaceutical company that comes with the med to get as much information about it as I could. I read in it that there is a minimum weight that needs to be maintained. I have been losing weight & am afraid to ask this question of my pain specialist. I am curious as to what may happen when using this med at a weight lower than specified. I can't afford to mess up my ability to use this med but am having a problem controlling the weight loss

[silver_queen]

I don't know and I don't really know how to explain this scientifically, but maybe it goes off body mass or something. Or perhaps how the chemicals are distributed throughout the body. If say you haven't much muscle, flesh and fat on you, maybe its effects are too concentrated and damage nerves etc. You could perhaps just drop the question into conversation:
"And what happens if I fall under the recommended weight?" But he might not know the answer either.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I know it's badly worded. But I hope it helps you, if you can decipher it...

[bptoo]

Hi eskie,

I was on varying strengths of the Fentanyl patch following major back surgery about 5 or 6 years ago. It was really good for controlling the pain but it did have it's side effects. The major one for me was sleep loss. I would wake up a doxen times a night on the first of the three nights, only for about 10 minutes at a time, but enough to be a disturbance. The second night was usually about 6 times, and the third night maybe three. I would change patches, and the cycle would start all over again. I also had appetite loss, but what was helpful there was to force myself to eat carbs, even if it was small amounts. Carbs will help to keep your weight up. The appetite loss usually runs in cycles, and you'll have periods where you feel like eating normally. The other thing I can remember is I would periodically get a rash, usually on day one of the patch that caused this incredibly irritating itching.

The last thing, and I hope I'm not out of line here. Fentanyl is a very addictive drug, especially at the higher doses. I was on the patches for almost two years, and it required a five day stay in a treatment facility to detox me. It was a very rough time of my life. I hope that you are one of the lucky ones who does not easily become addicted to medications, but in the event you are, you may want to talk with your doctor now about establishing a gameplan for when it comes time to titrate off this med. There are ways to minimize the discomfort of this, unfortunately myself and my doctor didn't have that foresight. The thought of you going thru what I did gives me chills.

I wish you the best of luck with this, and hope you are feeling better very soon. I've only had a few migranes in my life, but know how nasty they can be.

I hope I've helped a little here.

Greg

[eskielover]

Thank you...silver & Greg,

I appreciate your responses. Silver, I think you may have some good ideas about how the chemicals are distributed. I am about 5 lbs under the specified weight & so far, haven't experienced anything unusual.

Greg, it is interesting to hear about your side effects. I was surprised to hear about what you have experienced. My pain specialist has told me that "addiction" is when I need more of the med because I am misusing it for the feeling I get from it. He explained the other possibility is building up
"tolerance". This is when your body needs more of the med in order to control the pain. After over a year at this level (I had been on 100ug for 5 years prior which never worked) neither condition has occured...guess I'm lucky. They take blood anualy to check liver & kidney functions. I am surprised they don't check weight, but am thankful they don't. There is no plan on my going off the fentynal unless this dose stops working. At that time, I will worry about coming off of it. At that time I will also have to find something else that will work & that is never fun either

Thanks,
Debbie