Scared--advice

I just saw a new doc yesterday..pain mgmt. He took over all the pain issues from my primary care. I used to take pills for pain, but he has now switched me to 25mg Fentanyl patches. I am scared to death. I put the patch on last night at 6pm. I am not in pain (which is great) but have researched this drug and am so scared about if and when I get better, coming off. I am only 30 and do not want to have drugs not work on me in 30 years. Was this a good move on his part? I have severe malabsorption, but still I am just so frightened. I want to feel good about not being in pain, but according to the web, this drug is the strongest. Any advice would be great?

Should I call my doc?....he wrote the script like it was nothing...He said people with your condition have very high pain tolerances, and the amount of meds you take now, this will be much better, steady, and you will get better relief.

thx Mikel...I have never been scared of a med prescribed before...I was taking 10-12 tabs a day, and they had stopped working. Do you think this was an appropriate step up?

Songstress I was on Fentanyl patches for awhile and then had to move on to something else. I think its awesome that you have a PM dr that knows something about CP and is willing to help his patient not suffer. The patches are also used for people with CP, not just with cancer. You indicated that you took quite a few pills a day that did not help, so why would you want to stay on those I am not understanding that. I would be glad that a dr took my pain serious and was willing to treat it. If you read this forum much there are far too many on here that their pain is under treated so kudos to your dr for having the knowledge that quality life issues are involved with CP patients. You are on a low dose and when I was started on them it was the 25mcg. It is scary reading up on any medication, even Tylenol is scary reading it. You have to understand if one person reports a problem it has to listed as a potential side effect.

Enjoy having some low pain days you deserve it.

Yeah I feel much better after reading all of your comments, so I really appreciate the feedback. I feel 100% better, except for some headaches, my pain is GONE. I feel like an entire new person. This is my 4th day on the patch and it is wonderful. No more pills, no more remembering, no more ups and downs. Thank you all for your advice. I think the internet scared the crap out of me! There are so many horror stories about this patch on google. I really should stick to listening to my doctor and gaining that trust. It is hard when you have so many docs undertreat you for so long.

Fentanyl is a wonderful pain medication when it is used for the right patient, in the right dosage, for the right condition.
Don't let the internet horror stories scare you, most of them are simply someone who has read a story somewhere and repeats it, and they were based on some problems with the old delivery matrix of alcohol and fentanyl and problems with the consistency and manufacturing problems with the design of the old forms of the patches.
Fentanyl has a new delivery method, the fentanyl is in the glue matrix that adheres the plastic to your skin. With the new matrix, there is much better consistency in the blood plasma levels and a smoother delivery of medication to the blood stream over the course of 72 hours.
Most of the horror stories related to the old delivery method, not the new one.
Stray is right, you should check your box to see how often you are supposed to change the patch. The standard is every 72 hours.