Trying to come off butrans

[Smokey70]

I'm trying to come off buttrans patches on 15 patch and 3 X 50mg tramadol. Only want to come off patches as they cause burning to my skin, but am so depressed and still in a lot of pain I am finding it hard to cope.

[derk28]

Hi Smokey,I'm on 20mmg BuTran and if I was you I'd just reduce your dose to 10 and see how that goes and then if there is still a reaction go down to 5 but just slowly as you will get cold turkey ,I've been there done that and know exactly how you're feeling,ask your pain clinic about meloxicam you only take one at night time it is a pain killer,hope this is helpful.All the best Derek.

[Kelly-paino]

Hi there, sorry to hear you are suffering with so much pain. I understand.

I had the same problem with butrans patches, after about a year I started reacting to them just as you describe.

Be aware that buprenorphine is available in sublingual tablet form. (You put them under your tongue n let them disolve.

Ask your gp to convert your patch dose into a sublingual dose. I'm maintaining my chronic pain condition with 200mcg three times a day as background pain relief.

Don't suffer any more than you need to x

[linlow]

Smokey70 take a look at using curcumin for pain relief. Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric and acts as a powerful painkiller. It is known to be as good as, if not better than, a number of prescribed medications greenmedinfo.com/blog/scien... . There are reports from users of tramadol that curcumin is the 'bees knees'. It is also very effective with depression (if you truly are rather than just at your wits end).

You don't say why you are in pain, is there anything else that might help?

[Smokey70 in reply to linlow]

My pain is neuropathic, I have severe osteoporosis and have five compression fractures in my back. In addition I had my gallbladder removed many years ago and also due to severe ulcerative colitis ended up having my large bowel removed five years ago. I am having six monthly injections for the osteoporosis and was managing my pain with 15mg butrans and 1x 50mg tramadol, but as the patches burnt my skin I am trying to come off them and taking 3x 50mg tramadol, but they don't seem to be having any effect and I'm feeling so desperate. Am seeing doc next Thursday.

[linlow in reply to Smokey70]

Turmeric/curcumin's anti-inflammatory effect works through such actions as its ability to inhibit the production of inflammatories interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and TNF-α. turmericforhealth.com/turme...

Reducing sources of omega 6 in your diet to a minimum and adding foods high in omega 3, such as ground flaxseed (or supplements), will also help to combat inflammation and reduce neuropathy.

Coconut oil is another anti-inflammatory that also helps reduce pain, increase mobility plus improve sense of well-being because of its high lauric acid content. It can also be used outside as well as in so is a good medium for massage and as a treatment for wounds/burns. (Ghee may be better apart from its lack of lauric acid)

Research has shown that there is a link between gut health and osteoporosis, the brain and pain for that matter. Kefir, a home made probiotic drink, is probably the best natural source for improving gut health. Regular consumption has also been shown to improve bone density, even to the extent of completely reversing osteoporosis. It aids weight control and improve general well-being.

[Smokey70 in reply to linlow]

Many thanks for that, I do take probiotic with what little I do eat but will take on board your other suggestions, thank you for taking the time to reply.

[RAYJAYC in reply to Smokey70]

Hi Smokey

As your pain is nerve related, have you considered either Pregabalin or Gabapentin? I take Pregabalin for nerve pain and now I've gotten to my therapeutic dose, I find it does help. It does need to be started at a low dose and increased slowly but it may be an option for you? You'll hear many stories of bad side effects from both Pregabalin and Gabapentin but sometimes you have to push on through them (if safe to do) to get a good result!!

I'm also prescribed Duloxetine which is an antidepressant but also has nerve pain properties. (I'm prescribed it primarily for my depression but with its other benefit, I get a two effects from one drug!!)

It's surely worth asking your GP if you could start on one or two of them to try to help you?

Also, do you take Paracetamol and Ibuprofen (if you're able to take this) regularly throughout the day? They're both very underestimated drugs but are really important 'baseline' meds for pain.

RAYJAYC

[Smokey70 in reply to RAYJAYC]

Thanks for that, unfortunately I had a bad reaction to pregabalin when I was given it in the form of Lyrica. I am now managing on one 5mg butrans and am coming of that on Friday. I am taking tramadol 50mg X 4 plus amytiptylene. Hopefully that will work.

[Sweetyassi]

Hi Smokey, I'm on those patches to for my Endometiosis, back pains etc...

I did take the patches a few years ago for 6 months and I just went cold turkey when I wanted to come off them,nit was very hard for a week as my bones were hurting so bad I thought at one point I might shatter if someone touched me. I kept myself busy so I wouldn't think about it, my OCD kicked in and I kept cleaning my house. It worked for me but it was very hard.

I'm back on the patches but on a low dose, as my pains have returned with vengeance.

Go see your GP tell him/her that you aren't coping well.

Sweety.

[Hidden]

DO NOT come off them quickly!! I was on 25 patches and I just stopped putting them on. I now know what drug takers go through when they try to come off!! I wss doubled over with stomach cramps - felt as though there was something gnawing away at my insides. Managed to see a GP who laughed and called me a silly man! She gave me a selection of 10s and 5s and I dropped down slowly over about four weeks. I was also on 3 x 100 mg of Tramadol at the same time but I have never had any side effects from them at any time - starting, using or coming off. Managed to get rid of the L5-S1 pain eventually by the Pain Mgt Consultant going in twice with a radio frequency heated probe that burned off the facet joint nerves.

[Hidden]

I came off the Butrans patches for the same reason but changed to 3 day Fentanyl patches. The pain was getting worse as well. I have not had any skin reaction to the Fentanyl patches. Maybe an option to talk to your GP about?

Best wishes,

Dave

[Smokey70 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you all for your comments, I will certainly speak to my G.P. About the Fentanyl and the Temgesic.

[Smokey70]

Thank you for your advice, I will certainly speak to my g.p. Next week.

[Cast007]

I was starting to get rashes with the Butrans but it mostly disappeared with antihistamine tablets. Hope this helps.