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Has anyone had bad side effects to buprenorphine patches?

Posted by lgumerman @lgumerman, Oct 2, 2023

I had horrible allergic reaction to buprenorphine patches. My doctor was ingnorant of these reactions so I did my own tracking of symptoms and discontinued use of the patch and symptoms went away. What symptoms did you or do you know about? I had uncontrollable spasms, slurred speech, breathing problems, drop in white blood cells (detected in ER), intense stomach pain (my reason for taking this patch), hallucinations, and more. I had to visit the ER 3 times. Anyone else? Liz

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grannytrucker | @grannytrucker | May 9 1:46pm
In reply to @jenatsky "The issue with teeth rotting was a different formulation meant to treat addiction not for chronic..." + (show)
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The issue with teeth rotting was a different formulation meant to treat addiction not for chronic pain. The patches do not affect your teeth. I initially started at 15 mcg and after I believe 2 weeks it went to 20 mcg and I have remained in the same dose. Good luck and I hope you get relief. If you also were prescribed an oral med for breakthrough pain don’t hesitate to utilize it. And don’t take any meds that were not prescribed for you by a doctor. They will perform urine drug tests every 3 months to ensure you’re bodies metabolizing the drug and obtain a base line for your treatment.

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@jenatsky
Thank you for the info. You are exactly right.
I just got my urine test yesterday. And was clean, of course. Haven't gotten anything back on the blood test though. It may not have been related to the patches, unless they wanted to go further back for the baseline.

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jenatsky | @jenatsky | May 9 3:20pm
In reply to @grannytrucker "@jenatsky Thank you for the info. You are exactly right. I just got my urine test..." + (show)
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@jenatsky
Thank you for the info. You are exactly right.
I just got my urine test yesterday. And was clean, of course. Haven't gotten anything back on the blood test though. It may not have been related to the patches, unless they wanted to go further back for the baseline.

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@grannytrucker you’ll probably need to ask them directly. They will usually not bring it up unless there’s an abnormal result. I hope your experience is as positive as mine has been.

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carolynhughes75 | @carolynhughes75 | May 9 7:43pm
In reply to @grannytrucker "@jenatsky Put my 1st patch on a few days ago. It is for 5mcg, and other..." + (show)
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@jenatsky
Put my 1st patch on a few days ago. It is for 5mcg, and other than a "new" low-grade headache and my usual pain, I feel nothing. Was started at the lowest dose and told there would be a period of adjustment. Hopefully the patches are in 5 mcg increments so I can find some relief for my chronic pain, sooner than later.

Thanks for the tip on the arm location etc. That was all perplexing to me since it was to stay on for a week.

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@grannytrucker
I started a patch a few days ago. Developed a bad headache that wouldn't go away. After a day on the patch, I was wondering why my pain was worse. Looked it up and buprenorphine keeps my oxycodone from attaching to pain receptors, so the patch makes my oxycodone not work effectively. Consequently leads to higher levels of pain. I had to discontinue the buprenorphine.

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grannytrucker | @grannytrucker | May 9 8:49pm
In reply to @carolynhughes75 "@grannytrucker I started a patch a few days ago. Developed a bad headache that wouldn't go..." + (show)
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@grannytrucker
I started a patch a few days ago. Developed a bad headache that wouldn't go away. After a day on the patch, I was wondering why my pain was worse. Looked it up and buprenorphine keeps my oxycodone from attaching to pain receptors, so the patch makes my oxycodone not work effectively. Consequently leads to higher levels of pain. I had to discontinue the buprenorphine.

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@carolynhughes75
Yeah, other than sinus headaches from allergies, I never get headaches. So I noticed when I got one after putting the patch on.
Don't understand why they would give you a patch while you were taking oxycodone unless they are trying to bring you off of the oxy. Do you know what the reason was?

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grannytrucker | @grannytrucker | May 9 9:27pm
In reply to @jenatsky "@grannytrucker you’ll probably need to ask them directly. They will usually not bring it up unless..." + (show)
Profile picture for jenatsky @jenatsky

@grannytrucker you’ll probably need to ask them directly. They will usually not bring it up unless there’s an abnormal result. I hope your experience is as positive as mine has been.

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@jenatsky
I am really excited about especially because the guy in charge said that buprenorphine does not show up in a drug test unless they are specifically looking for it.

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jenatsky | @jenatsky | May 10 6:17am
In reply to @grannytrucker "@jenatsky I am really excited about especially because the guy in charge said that buprenorphine does..." + (show)
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@jenatsky
I am really excited about especially because the guy in charge said that buprenorphine does not show up in a drug test unless they are specifically looking for it.

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@grannytrucker that is correct but your pain doc will use a test that is a wide spectrum of medications. You can ask to have a copy of your report too.

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carolynhughes75 | @carolynhughes75 | May 10 9:16am
In reply to @grannytrucker "@carolynhughes75 Yeah, other than sinus headaches from allergies, I never get headaches. So I noticed when..." + (show)
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@carolynhughes75
Yeah, other than sinus headaches from allergies, I never get headaches. So I noticed when I got one after putting the patch on.
Don't understand why they would give you a patch while you were taking oxycodone unless they are trying to bring you off of the oxy. Do you know what the reason was?

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@grannytrucker
The NP gave me the patch in an attempt to try and control my pain which is out of control.

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hippo | @hippo | May 10 10:39am

I was extremely allergic to the adhesive on the patch. I wish I hadn’t been allergic because it completely done away with my chronic pain without any other side effects. Plus it’s not addictive. My insurance would not approve another form of it or I would still be taking it. My doctors put me on Fentanyl Transdermal Patch around 10 years ago. I hate the way it makes me feel. Now the insurance company and the laws governing pain medications are constantly trying to have my doctor take me off of it. It helps my pain but I’m never NOT in pain. I have tapered down the last few years from 100mcg per hour (highest dosage) to now I’m on 25mcg per hour and they want me completely off it. My opinion is that the insurance companies and the government officials need to stay out of it and allow the medical professionals alone to do the job they were trained to do.

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grannytrucker | @grannytrucker | May 10 7:14pm
In reply to @jenatsky "@grannytrucker that is correct but your pain doc will use a test that is a wide..." + (show)
Profile picture for jenatsky @jenatsky

@grannytrucker that is correct but your pain doc will use a test that is a wide spectrum of medications. You can ask to have a copy of your report too.

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@jenatsky
Got the results of what they tested for. Like you said, a "wide spectrum", very long list of uppers and downers, THC, opiates, etc., and it said everything was undetected. Haven't had any pain medicine since January 6th, and Tuesday can't come soon enough! Haha!

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kayejen | @kayejen | May 17 9:13am
In reply to @sidegate "I have been on Buprenorphine buccal patches for a few months for neuropathy pain. It is..." + (show)
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I have been on Buprenorphine buccal patches for a few months for neuropathy pain. It is the only medication that helps. So far, no side effects. I’m 83 and have all my teeth which I take good care of. If they do rot it will be worth it to get the pain relief for advanced neuropathy after more than 10 years of pain from several different problems. I have to weigh the benefits.
The patches do make me sleepy and I don’t like that.

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@sidegate I have been on the Buprenorphine 7.5 mg patch for a year now and I've noticed that the patch is not as effective as when I first started taking it. Now, my neuropathy doctor is putting me on a 10 mg patch. I don't think I'm going to like that because I was and am very sleepy with the 7.5 mg patch but one of the warnings on the patch is that it might cause drowsiness and it does. My neuro doctor is also looking to surgically implant a PAIN PUMP in my hip as soon as he gets my insurance approval for this. I have chronic pain and doctor seems to think that this will be the best for me. It is a Waiting situation now.

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