As always and advice an opinions are welcome. I find this group of people very intelligent as well as sympothetic and very knowledgable. This is why I have come to you guys for advice and then I'll talk to my doc next week.

Sherry

just do it slowly - I dropped 5mg/day every 2weeks.

patches are hard to titerate(measure)so I would look at migrating to another drug & weaning off of that.

For example it's hard to measure 2.5mg of a 10mg pill. If I had liquid methadone I could be sure of the exact dose.

just don't do anything stupid or heroic and you'll be ok

if you feel a withdrawal symptom take a little more until it goes away - never suffer for the weaning more than you have to & let the family know you are doing it ; it help them cope with those little rages that might occur when you're cutting back

I always know when I've gone to far because my nose runs

But please don't suffer - If it hurts take a pill or something. a year and a half ago I did the same thing but when the last of the drug left my liver(it hangs around a long time) the pain was excruciating so I went back on.

I can't guarantee it but i think that I'm able to stay so low because of the Myofascial Trigger Point Release Therapy I've been getting. It's a hassle b/c it consumes a whole day or most of it; I have to drive 70 r/t to SF 1 2x time a week to get them (I don't drive except for that because of the pain but my daughters were scaring the snot out of me each time they drove me so I trade a little pain for the panic of them driving me).

The treatment breaks upo adhesions, frees trapped nerves, releases toxins and old gungy trapped blood from my muscles so I usually feel bad the next day too. At the same time my pain has diminished & I can survive on the low dose so for now it's an acceptable trade off. My therapist is very compassionate & would have prefered I stay on the drugs but even he has accepted my choice as , again for now, he sees that I can manage with out.

It is no magic bullet though maybe with more it will be better. I felt crappy & was in pain & discomfort before & I feel crappy & am in pain & discomfort now, just more clear headed, the pain is more managable because I've take the stress off my spine & untwisted my pelvis so I am able to survive with a reduced dosage. My mind won't retain any memory of pain (a coping mechanism I'm glad to have) so I'm not sure I was able to work my dogs more & go out more often when I was fully dosed but then again I didn't go out much before & working them was still a daily problem then. hope this helps

btw - I do live in California & pretty much puff away all day long opiates or no opiates but then again I can grow it so it's FREE

I was on the sandoz brand I had bad skin reactions, switched to the Mylan brand and it went away..

Hope that might help, there is a steroidal spray out there that you put on first and then you put on the patch that is suppose to help..

I have other feeling on the patches..

but

hope this helps..

CRaig

I am so confused as to whether I have FM or not. I was told ten years ago I did by one doctor, but since I was diagnosed with MS it is up in the air. The symptoms seem to overlap so much and back then most docs denied that MS could cause significant pain so they would explain my pain with the FM. However, it was never official, no one ever checked me for it, it was just assumed. Now all the MS literature is actually finally acknowledging PAIN as an actual symptom with MS (duh). But I have so much myofascial pain that I suspect the FM is in the picture as well. I have a lot of connective tissue oddities. I have plantar fibromatosis (nodules on the arches of my feet that are painful), bone marrow edema of the feet. And I recently had ankle surgery for a large ankle tendon that was shredded into 4 segments and the sports medicine orthopedic surgeon had no clue how to explain it since none of them had ever seen it before!

I have been seeing a pain doc for a few years now. I reluctly agreed to the patches since I couldn't tolerate pills. I haven't had any problems with the Fentanyl patches except skin reactions...

Funny that I react to the name brand but not Sandoz (the only one I can take so they write that on my Rx). I don't think I'll have a problem with withdrawal if I decide to go off since I many times procrastinate about changing it and don't seem to have any symptoms.

I've noticed there is some commercial for an injury attorney advertising "if you or a loved one has been on Fentanyl patches" blah blah blah..and I wondered what that's about. Worried me a little. Especially for the long term. However, i have to work full time to have insurance and make a living regardless of how sick I am and I don't think I'd be able to tolerate the 12 hr nursing shifts if I wasn't on the meds I'm on. I also take neurontin, zanaflex (spasms) and others.

I'm curious how many FM patients out there may have been thoroughly checked for MS or suspected it? It is really shocking how it all sounds so much a like!

Take care

Like you I have tried many times to get off Methadone and I'm pretty sure I could do it if I just stay focused, and definitely taking Ibuprofen and Ativan can help with the withdrawals some.

With Vicodin that's what worked for me as I weened myself off of that stuff. It felt great no longer being on that leash, but then I realized I had restless leg syndrome and couldn't get any sleep the normal way so I take sleep meds for it.

Doctor's thus far are pretty useless in my experience when dealing with this issue. They either say, "You're in pain, you need to take this medication" or "Just ween yourself off by taking 1/2 off each week." Another was pretty blunt and suggested that I admit myself into a treatment center which I seriously was pondering.

Personally I think it's a matter of personal goals and what you're trying to achieve in your pain management. If it's to be totally rid of narcotics altogether so that you can attempt the non-narcotic avenues then perhaps it couldn't hurt to do so, though there is no clinical research to suggest that it will help.

No matter what people say, or think, or are passionate about this subject the choice is ultimately yours and I would assess the benefits vs. liabilities. If the Liabilities list is bigger you may want to wait a while before starting.

Sorry so long, that's my 2 cents and a quarter.

I admire you guys for trying to do with less. As mr. s. knows i too went through taking myself off of some heavy duty stuff. When i was coming off of methadone, i asked my joe, out of the blue, 'what did she say?' he said 'what did who say doll?' I told him, 'the lady who just went back to our bedroom, what did she want, and why was she here?' there were a few instances like that for about 3 days, a lot of tears, i thought i was losing my mind.--hey, maybe i did, and thats where its been this whole time! (-look, i have to go to st. pete beach, i'll be right back)

I totally commend you for what you are doing, but the most important things is, it IS medicine, and you do need some of it... so don't be a hero, if it hurts, do something about it.

and mr. s. ....rubbin' it in.... but hey, we all know a college student or two right? just be careful.

i don't know... i am not even sure if i am sane enough to be posting again. tom petty's 'breakdown' is still playing in my head.

hugs, and admiration,

pondering

So, wishing you luck. -T