Butran anyone?

I used to be on Tramadol but had too many highs and lows with pain control. Doctor put me on the Butrans patch starting me on 5mcg with the intention of increasing it over time to reach the right level of control. He also prescribed an anti sickness tablet just in case. However the first week I actually had withdrawal symptoms from coming off the Tramadol which wasn't very nice. As far as feeling queasy, I think I may have taken about three of the anti sickness tablets over a three month period as they havent really affected me so much in that way. Since then my dose has been increased monthly by 5mcg so I am now on a 20mcg patch. I do get the odd sleepiness and I do still have to manage my pain to some degree and do my back exercises but its changed my life. I can do things after work whereas before I was in too much pain. I go for regular walks, line dancing, ice skating etc. Like I said I still have to manage it and I get moments where I feel uncomfortable but nothing like it used to be. Ps.....I have never really been a drinker as I was on Tramadol before anyway and it used to affect me badly but it affects you more on the patch so best to avoid. A small price to pay considering how much my quality of life has improved. I hope this helps you.

No problem Andrew . Yes its been a nice sunny Leeds today . It's not a quick fix with the patches as they can't put you straight onto a high dose but you will build up to the right one for you. I could have possibly got by with 15 mcg (one patch of 10 and one patch of 5) but that's all it would have been, getting by so i advised doctor i just needed that bit extra. its down to you to tell them really. Getting the 20mcg just made that extra difference. You will feel tired etc at the odd times each time you have a dose increase but it does all balance out once you have found what is right for you and you have been on it a while. I recently went on holiday overseas and was advised to take a copy of my repeat prescription with it being a controlled drug. I would also recommend asking your doctor for an extra prescription so you have 4 spares. There have been the odd moments where they have come off in the shower so I have had to put a new one on. Your doctor will understand and should appreciate this as if something happens and you can't get the prescription then that's defeating the object of trying to maintain a constant level of pain relief. I do sometimes find on the last day that its losing its effectiveness and I asked the doctor if he could prescribe me them so I could use them every 6 days but unfortunately it's licensed as a 7 day patch so it wouldn't be legal for him to do that. Once again though, considering the overall improvement to what I can do now, I can live with that. I was initially apprehensive about going onto it.....probably even a bit scared of it but I now realise doing it properly and in a controlled way with the doctor it's almost as if I have gone back ten or fifteen years to a time when my symptoms weren't so bad. I hope all the bits of information are useful and have reassurec you but by all means if you want to know anything else, give me a shout and ill see if I can help .
Take care

Hi! I had extreme solemness on the Butrans patch where I would fall asleep anywhere at anytime. My son had to wake me up at a red light three days after starting it. Then I had an allergic reaction on my skin where the patch was placed. My doctor said my case was rare and pretty severe... In fact I have to include it on my "allergy list of meds" now. But I know so many folks with a great outcome from the switch to Butrans and swear that it's a miracle drug. Good luck to you!

I have never tried that patch but I am on fentanyl patches and they work wonderfully for my pain. There are no "ups and downs" with a patch, and as long as they stay sticking to your skin just fine, in my opinion they are one of the best options out there. The only downside that I have found is like everyone else, it would cause me to get sleepy at random times, but the upside to this is that at night I can usually sleep better than normal.

Good luck with it!

its called norspan here in aust and im on 20 mg with very little effect I started on 5 mg about 5 months ago . my dr is trying to get approval to up the dosage to 30 mg I was hoping this drug would help me greatly but tbh im pretty disappointed in it so far .

I use b/t meds every day use a tens machine hot wheat bags you name ive tried it the only time ive felt any effect was once I had a really hot bath and it must have released a whole heap of it into my system a few hrs later I felt light headed and out of sorts and little pain lol . but not something I would like to do again.. I have a friend who has been on 10 mg for a few yrs and it helps him a real lot so it def works on some people better than others .

im not really sure what the next step is for me if I go to 30 mg and it doesn't have much effect I truly hope that it works good for you tho .

cheers dean