Buprenorphine patches

[Nikki70]

Has anyone had these and had any side effects I'm on 20 mg changed every three days

[Philip]

Hi Nikki,

I'm on the patches but mine are 35 mg And I change every 4 days and the only thing that I have found is that if you take it off to swap over, then please don't forget to put another one on lol, I went through hell when I forgot lol.

Another thing too is that you need to build a few spare somehow that can be used incase the patch you have on falls off or water gets in it and then it's no good because the morphine in the patch works better than soapy water. Apart from that I've not had any problems.

One more thing if you f el like you need a higher strength, try not to change because the higher you go the more addicted to it you will be.

Anyway good luck and God speed if the morphine don't work lol.

[nomoreheels in reply to Philip]

Do you wear multiple patches Philip?

[Philip in reply to nomoreheels]

No, just the one is enough for me thank you lol

Philip

[nomoreheels in reply to Philip]

So you're prescribed a 35mcg? I didn't realise they went that high, I thought 20mcg was the highest available?

[nomoreheels]

Hiya again Nikki. I'm on 20mcg/hr BuTrans patches for OA pain but I change mine every 7 days. I don't have any side effects. The only thing I could say is if I get overly hot then they make me feel a bit woozy but it soon passes. Are you having problems?

[Nikki70 in reply to nomoreheels]

Hi yes I get dizzy and get hot flushes a lot was just wondering if it was to do with the patches

[nomoreheels in reply to Nikki70]

It could be like me that rather it's when you overheat it's releasing more of the buprenorphine so you're getting an extra boost of the drug?

Can you tell me why you change it every 3 days? I've read this somewhere but my GP prescribed it every 7 days though I have told her I don't think it's as effective by the seventh day, she's said do not suffer & to change it on the sixth day. Not done it yet & put up with the little extra pain.

[Nikki70 in reply to nomoreheels]

I was just told to change every three days I have been on them for over two years and they have been upped twice to what I'm on now they do help with the pain just not sure the dizzyness and the flushes are worth it

[nomoreheels in reply to Nikki70]

I started on 5 & was increased monthly until I reached the 20 I'm on now. It is interesting though you being told to change them every 3 days, I would have thought it was wasteful but maybe I don't understand quite how it's prescribed other than how I was told?

[Philip]

Yes and I think they go to 50 mg, a bit scary if they do go that high.

[nomoreheels in reply to Philip]

Oh, didn't know that, I thought 20mcg was the highest. Mine are manufactured by Napp butrans.co.uk/hcp/about-but...

[nomoreheels in reply to Philip]

Is it Transtec rather than BuTrans you're prescribed Philip? Same drug different brand name, mundipharma manufacture them I think. They make them up to 70mcg....scary!!

[Philip in reply to nomoreheels]

Yes it is transecting but aren't they the same? As I'm sure I have both in my cupboard lol,

[nomoreheels in reply to Philip]

Following a bit of delving it would seem they're the same drug made by the same manufacturer under different brand names. Both BuTrans & Transtec are made by Napp Pharmaceuticals Ltd. BuTrans are available in 5, 10 & 20μg/hr patches & Transtec are available in 35, 52.5 & 70μg/hr patches.

This is copied from the Napp information for medical professionals

"What is the difference between BuTrans® patches and Transtec® (buprenorphine) patches?

Both patches provide continuous analgesia. BuTrans patches continuously release buprenorphine into the systemic circulation at a rate of 5 µg/h, 10 µg/h or 20 µg/h over a 7-day period. Transtec patches release buprenorphine at a rate of 35 µg/h, 52.5 µg/h or 70 µg/h for up to 96 hours.

It is not anticipated that patients whose pain is currently managed by Transtec patches would benefit from a switch to the lower strength BuTrans patches."

Hope this clears it up!

[Hidden]

I tried to use them but felt so sick all the time with them I stopped and went back to tramadol which just makes me feel like a zombie. xx

[Philip in reply to Hidden]

I haven't had any problems and I use tramadol sometimes as well as my patches but then again I do take a lot of meds to keep me going lol.

Philip

[Blackwitch]

I was very sick on them. I increased to 20mcg and with all the other painkillers, I felt like s***!

Decreased them by 5mcg weekly until I was off them. I didn't really notice any increase in pain!!

I'm finding it quite liberating to be off a lot of pain meds and realise now that all they were really doing was enabling me to stay on at work following back surgery. Even then I had to take medical retirement because my concentration was zero. Now I've retired it's easier to experiment. I really feel for those that are still working with pain. ToD xx

[Philip]

Good on you, my wife sometimes wishes I didn't use them but it's my pain lol, good luck to everyone.

Philip