Fentanyl | Vellofent 133mg|

[CharaMasiakou]

Hello girls,I am on vellofent for several years.

I take maybe and 5 pills per day. Not every day, it depends from pain. During these years I have tried many different pills/drugs.

I also take fentanyl patches 50 or 75 mg.

I feel that maybe I am on drug addiction since I take these pills and patches.

Is there any other lady that deals with similar issues?

Thank you

Chara

[Kerryd22]

I take Endone or Targin daily. My oncologist told me early on that if you need pain relief it’s not an addiction it’s a necessity. So no, I don’t think you’re addicted. You can vary the drugs as you want rather than feeling like you always need to take them in increasing quantities. You wouldn’t be able to successfully reduce your dosage if you were addicted.

[atoth17 in reply to Kerryd22]

Hello,

I have had the same fear. I am on Oxycodone four pills a day, the lowest dose but still, four pills seems like a lot. I have concern because I have family members who struggle with addiction but balancing that fear with true pain from MBC is tough. My nurse assured me that the medical team keeps an eye on you and won’t let you become addicted (not sure how but I trust her).

If you are in pain, you NEED the medication. Wouldn’t it be awful to have to suffer with the pain instead? This is my opinion. 😊

Allison

[Kerryd22 in reply to atoth17]

I was woken up this morning at 6am 🕕 an hour that doesn’t exist in my life usually but the pain was intense and I didn’t want to battle through it. I think it’s the earliest I’ve ever taken pain relief but that’s how it goes sometimes. I expect the pain will settle down but if it doesn’t I’ll be phoning the clinic and reporting it as a significant change.

I agree with you entirely. We’re given prescriptions for pain relief for a reason. I had an experience several years ago now where no amount of pain relief actually worked for hours. The first time it happened I’d had a scan after it coincidentally but all the scan showed was constipation. From the amount of opioids I swallowed in an 8 hour period no doubt. A few months later the pain reoccurred but I’d had a scan a day before and this time it caught an inflammation of the gallbladder. I had surgery a week later.

Sometimes it’s just met related pain, sometimes it’s not! The current pain is in my jawline so I’m nervously anticipating my next dental exam 😮‍💨

I forgot to ask if you’re using the slow release opioid? I have found that by using the slow release I can cut my tablets from three or four a day down to one morning and night. It’s generally effective although obviously not always but I can change from 5mg to 7.5mg if needed. There’s a 10mg tablet too so there’s a wide choice for titration. You might find that helpful. I felt better mentally when I was transferred to the slow release as I wasn’t popping pills so frequently.

[Smokeyd in reply to Kerryd22]

I too take the slow release 5mg oxy in the mornings and find it manageable for the day. Occasionally will take an additional one if have been doing alot of activity n feeling pain/sore. The slow release seems to work well to spread it out over the whole day.

[Smokeyd in reply to Kerryd22]

Good luck with your dental exam 🙏💞

[chemohawk]

I appreciate your post. I, too, have felt similarly. And since my doctor just lowered my Ibrance to 75mg, I am also lowering my dosage of hydromorphone over time by half. I did notice that I was getting antsy if I didn't get my pain pill on time... so that clued me in about feeling addicted. I agree that MBC usually needs heavy pain meds... but since I'm having less pain, I decided that I needed less meds... I'm just battling my way through the adjustment period. I figure it couldn't hurt and could help my liver in the process by cutting down both meds. Best of luck to you. TAKE THEM IF YOU NEED THEM, HOWEVER. I will up my dosage if the pain increases. I'm grateful for the options.

[Kerryd22 in reply to chemohawk]

I change my pain relief around on occasions too just so I don’t get too used to the opioids. The breast care nurse suggested staying with the slow release tablets and if break through pain relief is needed frequently then that dose could be upped from 5mg. She thought Panadol Forte was an option for break through pain but it’s not OTC either. The difficulty is getting a GP to write scripts for opioids although one doctor will but he’s semi retired so appointments are few and far between. I use lighter drugs such as Paracetamol and Ibuprofen some days and I’ve thought about Voltaren but that really has to be taken with food so it’s not a good choice unless you’re going to be eating at the same time. The main reason my current oncologist and the breast care nurse are concerned is that I’m suffering with balance issues and opioids can cause that apparently but I read a post here which said it’s a side effect of Exemestane and I’ve been on it for seven years so far.

Anyway I’m taking everyone’s advice on board all the while remembering that I am not going to be a martyr to pain! I don’t have to be and pain takes away the joy of living life - with or without cancer 🤗

I think we are all on the same page as far as the necessary evil that opioids are for persistent pain. We take what we need when we need.

Rosie the riveter! We can do this.