Could switching to Butrans from Norco cause w/d?

Each opioid affects us differently. So, the balance of receptors that hydrocodone hits will be somewhat different from the buprenorphine.

Hopefully, the degree of WD will be minor and your body will adjust swiftly.

It's pretty amazing that you are close to being pain free! Usually with using every modality including medication...many people with chronic pain only get to a 5 or so on the pain scale...

The part I was concerned for you is when you said your Dr. didn't even see you for doing this med change. Most Drs. will make sure you have an appt. go over your previous medicines...explain to you about this new one, and how to tirate off one onto the other to prevent any withdrawals.

It will be more difficult to get ahold of someone over the weekend except the on-call Dr. but they usually are for emergencies but you can try and see if they have any advice for you.

What kind of symptoms are you having?

I think there are a few people on the boards here that are using the Butrans patch and have really good success with it..

Keep us posted.

Hi, the butrans is a different narcotic than the hydrocodone, so you could get some withdrawal. The subotex, which you mentioned, is not a pain medication, its a combination of the buprenorphine and naloxone, which is an opiod inhibitor, which was used for opiod addiction. I used butrans for a month, but found it to be alot more unpredictable than the pills.

The adhesive matrix is released by heat, and is heat sensitive, so please be very careful of hot showers, having the patch exposed to direct sunlight, and that sort of stuff. I accidentally ran hot water on my patch in the shower the 1st week I had them, and suddenly felt extraordinarily drugged, euphoric, and ready to fall asleep where I was standing. It was very scary. I also felt it was a little more powerful on hot days, and got almost no relief on colder days, until I had enough layers on to warm up.

Also, with all four patches, around day five, I started to have severe pain in several muscles, right around the joints. I asked my PM about that, he said it was a normal side effect.

The last thing I found with them that was a bit of an annoyance, is when you take the patch off, it always takes the top layer of skin with it, and will be a little raw like a carpet burn for a few days. Apparently this is also normal.

I had mixed reports about covering or not covering the patch, I tried covering the first one with Tagaderm per my pharmacists suggestion, but found it to be a waste of money as the patch stayed there on its own, wet or dry, without assistance.

I hope they work for you, and do be careful if you need to drive, I had to not drive anywhere after my daily caffeine wore off, as I was prying my eyelids open half the time, severe drowsiness with those. God bless

Ok thanks for clarifying that, I was working from memory, which apparently isn't working very well today lol. Sorry for the mix up. I keep doing that lately, especially with keys lol.