@cincinnati hello! I’ve been on and off the buprenorphine patch for the past 12 months. Prior to that I was on oxycodone, targin, ect. In June last year I was on the 15mcg patch and in time got down to 5mcg patches. I stopped them in November last year and stayed on temgesic sublingual tablets, which is the oral form of the same drug. 2 tablets 3x per day was the initial dose then down to 1 tablet 3x per day. I’ve recently had my 18th major abdominal surgery for my intestines, I’ve been discharged with 5mcg patches as well as the sublingual tablets both delivering buprenorphine (norspan patch + temgesic sublingual tablets). This works really well. If you find your side effects do not go away, you could request a weaker patch and add on the temgesic sublingual tablets to break through and moderate pain as you have a touch more control over how much of the drug you’re getting.
The rushing in your ears, dizziness when standing and balance issues are commonly due to rapid changes in blood pressure because of the medication. I got the exact same side effects. This is when I went from a 15mcg patch combined with temgesic sublingual, down to the 10mcg patch, and eventually 5mcg patch all while supplement with temgesic sublingual for breakthrough pain moderation. Once I found a balance on a weaker patch and only having 1 or 2 temgesic sublingual tablets when needed, these side effects stop.