Posted 3/3/2015 8:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Mark,
Sorry to hear about your increased pain. I know that getting the right balance of pain medication is important to your health and mental well being.
I can say from my experience, I have been on the Fentanyl 50 mcg patch for just about 3 years with Oxycodone 10 mg as BTM. Just very recently though my BTM was changed to Dilaudid 4mg because I had a flare up of my SI joints and I needed more pain control.
I use the Mallinckrodt matrix patch and have not had any problems with it. I have used the gel pads and did not have good results with them. I also use Tegaderm covers over my patch for better adhesion and that's works very well. The matrix patches are much smaller and I feel that the medication is more well dispersed with them.
There are so many different opinions of which brand of patches are the best, it is a personal liking thing. There are so many factors that can be in play with you right now, it is hard to say what could be the problem. Has your condition worsened or have you become more active and aggravated whatever condition your being treated for? The patches can be affected by your skin, your metabolism, etc. The breakthrough meds are used as such, so is your pain elevated throughout the entire duration of wearing the patch or intervals?
I would make a journal for your PM doc to document when your pain is elevated, what you were doing, when you took your BT med, etc. They ultimately will decide whether you need a higher dosage of patch or to change your breakthrough med. I for one would not make any demands on my PM doc as far as medication but rather stating the problems you are having with your pain not being as well controlled as before.
Hope this little bit helps from a personal perspective.
Hugs from Texas,
Pam