Has anyone had bad side effects to buprenorphine patches?

Once a medicine is sent to the patient or picked up you can no longer return it. This is what I have been told.

I had no issue stopping buprenorphine and would certainly not even equate it to anything close to an oxy detox. We are all different so others may find the exact opposite. If someone thinks of quitting it is often best to manage with a combination of other low-level pain treatments under a doctor's supervision especially if you have an underlying medical condition as a detox can be very tough on the body, Few people successfully quit smoking cold turkey and most use nicotine patches to achieve success for a very good reason. A pain medicine detox can be viewed in a similar manner in my humble view for certain people.

We can thank those people who abuse pain-related substances for the additional pain we are all put through both physical pain and pain from our pocket. I still am of the view if you are treated by an accredited specialist then the FDA should accept that is the best treatment for the patient. How do you enforce treatment from a helicopter view never seeing a patient to understand their circumstances? My doctor said he always felt pressure to keep sending a patient to other doctors to satisfy those who scrutinize him, yet he knew it would make no difference as we knew what the issue was. We all just pay the price.

Hello there, I hope to be of some assistance through my personal experience using BUPRENORPHINE. Firstly, it’s an OPIOID! Primarily used for people with OUD, “OPIOID USE DISORDER!” Also utilized by people on opioids who want to taper down from using them and or stop all together.

At the time I was trying them, I had been every debilitated with extreme pain occurring simultaneously with Migraine Headaches, Nausea, Muscle & Joint Ache, Complete Physical Exhaustion, Post Exertion Malaise, Cognitive Dysfunction, POTS, Orthostatic Intolerance etc. The point being that I wasn’t only dealing with one or two symptoms ranging on a pain chart from 6-10 but many.
Opioids have literally saved my life.

When I was bedridden and home confined for over 20+ years, the amount of physical pain and the accompanying torture I had to endure each day was far from any kind of “life existence!” My life was totally about surviving one hour to the next.
My wife was my full time care giver for the first 11 of those years until the stress started to debilitate her and we separated, divorced and went our separate ways although we still loved each other and were very much committed to each others wellbeing., (still are)! We are still close friends today. I would never have survived without the care, dedication and love she showed me every day .
Back to the Buprenorphine!
Frankly, I never developed an addition to OPIOIDS. Although I was and remain physically dependent on them. (Similar to a diabetic being physically dependent on their insulin).
They never provided me any kind of psychological hit, euphoric feeling or and sense of feeling high,
I had so many pain symptoms to manage that at best, my pain levels would go down from a 10 to 7 or 6.
OPIOIDS, have gotten a much worse “rap” than they deserve regarding legitimate doctors and pain patients. Research has proven that very few legitimate pain patients with continuing, debilitating pain lasting many years ever abuse their medication,
For us…….there’s nothin to abuse. If we take 30mg of whatever opioid you’re taking to relieve pain, taking 60mg or 90mg doesn’t make you feel any better or take any more of the pain away.
It’s like asking somebody who takes an aspirin or an acetaminophen or two to get rid of a headache. If their headache goes away do they continue taking more aspirin or acetaminophen? Of course not, there’s no reason too. They don’t feel any more pain relief and there’s certainly nothing to experience any kind of perceived “high!” on.
Frankly, I was greatly mislead about my entry into trying Buprenorphine. I was told that it had the same efficacy and pain relief effectiveness as my Opioids.
That was just an outright lie and deception. It didn’t do anything for me. I got some minimum pain relief at best and that was it.
After trying it for a month and reporting all of the shortcomings to the physician who prescribed it to me. (Only certain physicians were actually licensed and approved to prescribe it at that time). I told him that my pain was still as severe and I needed to go back to my Opioids he refused to do it.
I explained to him that I was willing to try the “B” because he had told me it would be as effective. If it was, I would not have had any problem continuing on it. He was actually quite subversive as “HIS REAL AGENDA” was only to get me off of Opioids.
I told him in no uncertain terms that his approach was very unprofessional and grossly misleading as I left his office never to return again.
Here’s a FACT: Every patient reacts to and processes pain differently. They react to any and all pain medications differently. Some patients have or develop certain neuropathy’s that make what ever pain levels they experience two to three times greater.
You need to find what works best and use it the best way you can.
Stronger isn’t always better or more effective. Patches, pills, injections etc……all have their advantages and disadvantages.
However, the worse thing you can do is “UNDER MEDICATE” yourself. Of course, over medicating and or an OD is self explanatory.
I arm myself with facts and if any physician, who by the way, are not trained very well or at all to treat Chronic Pain or Chronic Acute Pain I continue to be up front with them and I just go to another who will listen.

It’s very difficult in today’s i environment given all of the bad and totally unrelated press to OD’s that are rarely attributable to genuine, authentic pain patients and their physicians. It’s the street drugs laced with poisonous Fentanyl that are killing people. However, the government includes all of those statistics together when assessing deaths by OD on Opioids.
It’s absolutely absurd.
It would be similar to including all fatal car accidents in the same category with those that were drug and alcohol related with those that weren’t.
Best wishes and good luck finding the physicians you require to take proper care and offer appropriate treatment who are still committed to recognizing the difference between being OPIOID DEPENDENT vs OPIOID ADDICTED.
Sometimes the utter stupidity and gross amount of mis information, dis information and the uninformed working together is a very scary and dangerous proposition.
Kindest regards,
Phil
GODSPEED

I'm sitting here With an unacceptable pain level because of this very issue. So much of my/our pain is unavoidable & incurable. Now the powers that be have made it largely untreatable.. or much less so.
I am sorry for all those who suffer.

I'm sitting here With an unacceptable pain level because of this very issue. So much of my/our pain is unavoidable & incurable. Now the powers that be have made it largely untreatable.. or much less so.
I am sorry for all those who suffer.

Like Helpful Hug

I’m having issues with the patches eating my skin anyone have advice or alternatives

Hi @cincinnati, I moved your discussion into the existing discussion titled, "Has anyone had bad side effects to buprenorphine patches?" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-anyone-had-bad-side-effects-to-buprenorphine-patches/ where you have posted before on the subject and met @lgumerman, @csearch, and @cayno.

@cincinnati, you first posted about these patches back in October of 2023, have you been using them up to this point and are your issues recent, or have the been ongoing since you first posted about the patches?

Hi csearch. I'm curious, how did you get off bupe? I'm down to 2mg tabs dissolved under the tongue twice a day. (I started with two 8 mg pills daily.) I've gone from 16 mg/day to 4. And this is Suboxone so it also contains Naloxone.

I ran out once while I was at the higher dose and suffered terrible withdrawal pains after two days with nothing. Since then, I've slowly tapered to only 4 mgs day. Any suggestions on how to get to zero from here?

Thanks so much!

Joe

Hi Joe @heyjoe415, Not sure if you have seen this discussion but thought it might be helpful.
– Getting off of suboxone https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/suboxone/.

Also here is an article on the topic:
– How to Taper Off Suboxone https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/suboxone-addiction/suboxone-taper/

Have you talked with your doctor about suggestions for tapering off?

Sure would be nice if drs discussed it with prescriptions (for those not interested in a lifelong relationship with the medication). Since it’s so incredibly difficult (and probably unhealthy) to quit. Good luck on the tapering - hope you have tapering guidance from the prescribing doctor .